limelight: Bates College

Bates College receives highest score for going green
Aimee Arsenault, Coordinator of Alumni and Parent Programs at Bates College

Last summer, Bates received a 99--the highest possible score--from the Princeton Review and ecoAmerica green rating system, a score shared only with 10 other colleges and universities from across the country.  Bates has been working for over a decade to contribute to and further explore the ways in which it can become more conscious of its carbon footprint and effect on the local ecosystem.  As an institution that has always ensured community involvement, public service and giving back are top priorities, Bates feels that not only should we operate in accordance with  the campus-wide Environmental Policy, but also focus our efforts on outreach, educating faculty, staff and students, and exploring new and better ways to incorporate these ideals in the local community.

Environmental awareness has been a deep-rooted and important aspect of Bates’ culture since the early 1900s, as much a part of Batesies’ identities as the historic bell that still tolls every day from the tower in Hathorn Hall.  In 1920, The Bates Outing Club was formed, and is now the second-oldest collegiate club in the country.  Alumnus and former Maine Senator Ed Muskie ’36 was a champion for environmental issues on a national level, authoring landmark legislation including the Clean Air, Clean Water and Resource Recovery Acts in Congress.  And the results of Dining Services’ waste minimization program in 1995 have been phenomenal—today 80% of its waste is diverted through recycling, composting, donating pre-consumed waste to a local pig farmer and donating leftover meals to a local food bank.

Recently, Bates was fortunate to receive an anonymous $2.5 million gift earmarked for a food-awareness initiative.  “Body and Mind: Bates Contemplates Food” is a yearlong enterprise that focuses on complex issues regarding food systems and eating locally.  The gift coincided with the construction of a new energy-efficient Dining Commons, which is now committed to ensuring that at least 28% of the budget spent on food items goes to local, natural and organic food.   The initiative has prompted faculty lectures, symposiums, classes, events at Reunion, Homecoming--even a Bates signature maple cookie made from local ingredients.

But being green is also important to another constituency off-campus—alumni. There are many different ways Advancement or Alumni Relations Offices can become greener, and encourage alumni engagement and participation simultaneously

• Holding a nation-wide community service event such as Bates’ National Day of Service, can focus on river and park cleanups as well as a variety of other environmental projects.  This annual event is in its fifth year at Bates, with over 500 alumni and parents participating in 18 cities across the country last year alone.
• Hosting Business Network and regional events with speakers from environmentally friendly local companies.  In Boston we were able to get the Environmental Coordinator from Staples to speak to nearly 100 alumni and parents about the unique and impressive ways the company is environmentally conscious.  And, similarly, in Portland, Maine we had speakers from Tom’s of Maine, a local company that produces all-natural toiletry products, and the Director of Bates Dining Services speak about why sustainability is important to Maine.
• Using “green” souvenirs at Reunion and Homecoming—classes can have a green theme with giveaways such as reusable Bates travel mugs or aluminum bottles.
• Relying more on e-mail communication and electronic event invitations and registrations for young alumni.  Send alumni a “We’re going green!” postcard asking for updated e-mail addresses, explaining that the office is trying to cut back on paper mailings.
• Market online donation and monthly giving!  Encouraging alumni to donate online and early in the fiscal year cuts down on the number of paper solicitations and buck slips. And, monthly giving means there’s one less check to write and mail in each month.
• Create an environmental designation in your annual fund.  Alumni and parents who feel strongly about this relevant issue may be more inclined to give if they can specify that their gift goes directly to green initiatives on campus.
• Most importantly, highlight these new ideas and why environmental sustainability matters to YOUR institution in monthly e-newletters, or the alumni magazine!  Open up the lines of communication about this very timely issue using message boards on your Online Community.

For more information on Bates’ commitment to environmental sustainability, visit: http://www.bates.edu/sustainable-bates.xml.