In one of many steps toward campus sustainability, Interim University President Lisa Lynch appointed a Presidential Task Force on Sustainability last month. The task force will deliver a new climate action plan to Lynch sometime in January 2016, according to a Nov. 19 BrandeisNOW article.

The article also stated that the Task Force’s mandates include developing goals and objectives to better serve the University’s social justice mission through sustainability; reducing the University’s carbon footprint; identifying areas of potential environmental impact and developing solutions and both short and long term implementation plans; recommending sustainability policies for the campus; and promoting sustainability in the University community.

The committee, which will be co-chaired by Matt Smetana ’17, Prof. Sabine von Mering (GRALL) and Vice President of Campus Operations Jim Gray, also includes 22 students, professors and staff members.

The graduate and undergraduate students serving on the task force include Philip Wight (Ph.D.), a member of Brandeis Climate Justice, which has staged many divestment rallies in recent months. Additionally, Profs. Laura Goldin (ENVS), Dan Pearlman (BIOL), Eric Olson (Heller), Cameron Anderson (THA), Paul Miller (NBIO), Judith Herzfeld (CHEM) and Carol Osler (IBS) will serve on the task force.

Sustainability Manager Mary Fischer, Dean of Students Jamele Adams and Senior Advisor to the President Peter Giumette will also consult the task force.

Lynch’s dedication to promoting sustainability on campus has been developing for months; in a July 1 interview with the Justice, she stated that during her tenure as Interim President, the University would be focusing on sustainability as a priority. “The 350.org movement has certainly changed how universities in particular, but more broadly how we as a society are addressing issues of climate change,” she added. “Brandeis has a relatively small endowment. We don’t have Harvard [University's] endowment.”

As an initial step in this direction, the University hired Fischer over the summer to oversee sustainability efforts on campus. The most recent of these efforts took place over October and November, pitting first-years in North and Massell Quads against each other to see which could recycle more and conserve the most energy.

The competition began on Oct. 15 and ran for exactly one month. It was the first competition at the University to measure recycling rates and energy consumption.

Fischer was quoted in an Oct. 27 Justice article as saying, “Our campus recycling rate is one-half of the national average. The national average is 35 to 40 percent, whereas our current rate is less than 20 percent.” At the beginning of the competition she also stated “I’ve challenged Massell and North to strive for a 50 percent recycling rate during the competition. Why? Because we are not ‘just average’ in any way as a university, and everything we do should reflect that, especially our sustainability efforts.”

The challenge, which was co-sponsored by the Department of Community Living and Fischer’s sustainability program, ended in a victory for North Quad.

At the end of the month, North Quad’s baseline recycling rate had increased to 29 percent from its original 14 percent at the outset of the competition. Massell Quad, on the other hand, ended with a 27 percent recycling rate, which was 15 percent above its original 12 percent rate. The competition also measured the energy consumption of both quads, though both quads reduced their communal energy consumption by a smaller percentage than their recycling rate increases. Massell Quad reduced its energy consumption by just two percent, from its baseline of 1324 kilowatt-hours per day to an average of 1311 kWh per day.

In contrast, North Quad reduced its energy consumption by seven percent, though it started out at a higher baseline of 1612 kWh per day and finished with an average of 1494 kWh per day.

The end results of both recycling and energy reduction reflect the average for the entire month, not just the last week of the competition. Gordon Hall was also noted for reducing its energy consumption by the most compared to the other seven residence halls.

—Rachel Moore contributed reporting.