Tag: Tips

#GreenGraduates: Featuring Raunak Shrestha

The Green Graduate series is a collective of interviews and conversations with environmentally-minded and eco-conscious NYU graduates. As these students move on to the workforce, graduate programs, and other opportunities, we are struck with how different the world seems today than it did a few months ago. Our hope with this series is to inspire, motivate and most importantly, honor the class of 2020. 

Raunak on a mountain

Throughout his four years of college, Raunak Shrestha has seen many victories, large and small, towards making NYU Abu Dhabi a greener campus. 

As a first-year, Raunak joined the student interest group, Ecoherence, which works to promote on-campus sustainability through efforts like increasing student awareness and pushing the school to adopt more environmentally conscious policies.

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A teen with a bike and wagon

Community Composting Options in New York City

Amidst safety concerns and budget cuts resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, New York City temporarily suspended its city-funded curbside and drop-off composting services last March.  Thankfully, in the past few weeks, several neighborhood groups and nonprofit organizations have stepped up to provide an option for New Yorkers to recycle their organic waste, which makes up roughly 1/3 of our city’s waste stream! Whether you’ve been collecting your food scraps in the freezer for months or want to start composting for the first time, below are some resources to get you started. Please be sure to click through the links and review acceptable materials as they vary from site to site.

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Best Practices for Paperless Meetings

To avoid sharing printed copies of materials, follow these best practices for paperless meetings created by the IT Sustainability Initiative and the UCIO Council.

  • Prepare ahead of time by adding notes and presentation materials as attachments to your meeting invitation – let attendees know they can access them electronically and hard copies will not be provided. Make use of cloud-based storage solutions (such as Google Drive) to easily share documents.
  • Use a projector / laptop / electronic display to display the agenda and other related meeting documents. 
  • Consider holding a remote meeting via web conference, using NYU Zoom.
  • Encourage meeting attendees to take notes on their laptop or another electronic device to further reduce paper waste.
  • Scan paper handouts and email meeting notes to participants after the meeting.
  • Use an electronic signature service (such as DocuSign).

If you have to print, #ThinkBeforeYouPrint:

  • Only print the pages you need.
  • Use an ink-saving font like Courier, Century Gothic, or Brush Script. 
  • Reduce margins and font size to waste less space on a page.
  • Set printers to print in black and white by default (color toner has a greater cost and environmental impact).
  • Set printers to print and copy in ‘duplex’ or double-sided mode by default.
  • Use print preview to avoid printing unnecessary pages.
  • Print multiple slides per page when printing PowerPoints.
  • Use recycled toner and recycle cartridges when empty.

 

Energy Savings During COVID-19 Remote Period

row of computersWith buildings largely quiet besides non-essential employees, NYU has dramatically decreased energy usage across campus. Much of that reduction occurred organically as people departed their residences or workplaces, turning off lights and bringing home laptops. But, a number of devices — such as printers, copiers, student computer clusters, lobby displays, desk phones, coffee makers and microwaves — were left on.

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10 Actions For a VIRTUAL Earth Month

virtual earth month 2020

As we practice social distancing and find ways to reach out and check in with our neighbors, we are being called to consider how our actions affect the most vulnerable among us; is that not the very same collective action the climate crisis demands?

To that end, recent reports have examined how social distancing due to the spread of the coronavirus may have unexpected consequences for climate change. Many of the actions people are taking during this time from reducing air travel to consuming less could significantly reduce one’s carbon footprint.

Though in-person gatherings in honor of Earth Day at 50 have been cancelled or postponed, there are still ways to mark this occasion even in self-isolation. Here are 10 things you can start doing during this unique moment to stay healthy and safe while honoring the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, and committing to a more sustainable life now and into the future. Read more