BC fills director of sustainability

In light of the Vatican's recent declaration that pollution is a modern-day sin, it seems that Boston College is moving in a more environmentally-conscious direction. As of last Monday, Deirdre Manning, utilities manager in Facilities Services, was appointed director of sustainability and energy management, a new position created within Utilities Management.

"The position was created at the recommendation of Tom Devine, vice president of Facilities Management," Executive Vice President Patrick Keating said. "It is really a broadening of the role Manning previously had to include sustainability initiatives in addition to her energy management ones." Recycling, construction, local buying, and energy conservation will be among Manning's sustainability initiatives. "Manning will work with many of us at BC to develop goals, objectives, and programs for sustainability and energy management," Keating said. "One of the first tasks will be to assist the University in describing our approach to sustainability in the documents we submit to the city of Boston as part of our Master Plan."

Manning cited current efforts by the University, like the composting of dining waste, as something BC already does in an effort to be more environmentally conscious. She also said that her relationship with Ecopledge, the student environmental organization led by Katherine Walsh, A&S '08, stands as a step toward achieving the common goals of conserving energy, encouraging students to recycle, and making recommendations to administrators about environmental issues like what type of energy the University should purchase.

Future Ecopledge initiatives include a petition to the University, asking that one of Manning's first tasks be to create a sustainability assessment report of BC, examining the different aspects of the University and making suggestions for changes the University could make, like only using fluorescent light bulbs in residence halls. The official BC sustainability Web site is set to launch on Earth Day, April 22. Ecopledge also has a film series planned in celebration of the day.

In the more immediate future, Walsh plans to continue the bulb brigade, changing the current bulbs in BC-issued lamps in suites in residence halls to fluorescent bulbs. Ecopledge was recently awarded the venture grant to start an organic garden on campus. "In the future, the hope is that if it is successful, we'll be able to sell the organic vegetables back to Dining Services and they'll be sold in the dining halls," Walsh said.

"[The creation of the director of sustainability position] is an affirmation of the work we've done in the sense that the University is listening and recognizing most importantly that the students are demanding this," said professor Eric Strauss, director of the environmental studies program and a member of Sustain BC, a group of faculty and students concerned about environmental issues. From the conversation about environmental awareness, the need has developed for new courses from the biology, geology, and geophysics departments with a sustainability component, popular among the over 100 environmental studies minors. "These students want more courses. They want a more environmentally sustainable campus," Strauss said.

"This is definitely the first of many steps, but it is likely the most important step," said Chris Denice, president-elect of the Undergraduate Government of BC (UGBC) in an e-mail. "Manning must be given the ability to use her title to induce change, and not be restricted by bureaucratic red tape. The UGBC hopes to spread the McElroy garbage disposal program to other dining halls. We want to find creative ways to increase awareness about the environment without annoying people," he said. Denice called for a carbon accounting survey to compare BC with other universities as the next step on the institutional level. "Given that electricity usage will be a major percentage of our ecological footprint, we must make an effort to purchase alternative energy," Denice said.

Energy conservation and environmental awareness are important tenets of BC's long-term plan. Manning said she sees the Master Plan as an opportunity for BC to handle energy issues correctly from its inception. "Buildings like Ignacio and Rubenstein are heated with electricity, and that's inefficient," Manning said. "When you're starting from scratch you're able to make the buildings more energy-efficient, like with day lighting so people can work by natural light instead of fluorescent light."