51¾«Æ·ÊÓƵ

51¾«Æ·ÊÓƵ’s BYO[Bag] reusable shopping bag program is among the impactful initiatives highlighted in the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) 2018 Sustainable Campus Index.

To encourage use of reusable bags at 51¾«Æ·ÊÓƵ, after the first two weeks of each term, students pay 25 cents for a plastic bag at campus dining or bookstore locations. Half the proceeds from the fee and from sales of BYO[Bag] reusable bags go to the to support other sustainability initiatives.

The program, one of , has cut the number of plastic bags used at campus dining locations and book stores by 98% — from 30,000 per week to about 600 per week, said Nick Goodfellow, sustainability coordinator for Sodexo Dining Services at 51¾«Æ·ÊÓƵ.

That’s more than 1.3 million bags saved and nearly $6,500 raised for the 51¾«Æ·ÊÓƵ Green Fund since BYO[Bag] launched in 2014.

The AASHE Sustainable Campus Index recognizes top-performing colleges and universities in 17 sustainability impact areas, as measured by the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System (STARS), and highlights innovative and high-impact initiatives from STARS institutions.

51¾«Æ·ÊÓƵ achieved a STARS Silver rating in its first-ever STARS submission this year.