One month after the launch of the Energy Conservation Campaign on April 15th, 2009, over 2,000 student, staff, and faculty have taken the Energy Pledge, which commits each individual to 8-12 actions that help conserve energy, use it more efficiently, and reduce Dartmouth's greenhouse gas emissions. Student volunteers tabled and canvassed dorms and affinity houses, handing out Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs (CFLs) and "I Am Green" buttons. For each of the 2000 pledges, the College is donating $5 towards a renewable energy project for the campus.
Following a record profit from the 2008 Sustainable Move-In Sale this September, the leaders of the student environmental groups decided to fund community projects with the proceeds. The first two beneficiaries of these Sustainable Dartmouth are Bones Gate Fraternity and the Upper Valley United Way’s WARM Fund. Bones Gate will install a motion detector lighting system to serve as a model for other Greek houses and the WARM Fund will assist local low-income families with home weatherization and heat bills this winter.
The 19 residents of Dartmouth's first Sustainable Living Center proved throughout their first year what a difference behavioral changes can make. Without the benefit of any retrofits or any infrastructural changes they succeeded in reducing the building's electricity consumption by over 50% below the five year average for the Fall, Winter, and Spring terms. Check out the SLC's website for pictures and full descriptions of their activities.
In 2008, four LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) gold certifications were awarded within four months to two new dorms (Fahey-McLane and the McLaughlin Cluster) and two new academic centers (Kemeny and Haldeman). Read more about their energy efficiency achievements here.
In August 2008 the Energy Task Force submitted a report that outlined goals for reducing the College's energy consumption as well as a strategy for achieving them. The Task Force's process included a comprehensive energy audit of many campus buildings. This aspect of campus sustainability falls under the purview of recently hired Energy Engineer Steve Shadford. The Board of Trustees approved a $12.5 million investment in energy efficiency upgrades to existing campus buildings in order to reduce the College's greenhouse gas emissions.
This past year, GreenLite monitors were installed in the renovated New Hampshire dormitory, Epsilon Kappa Theta sorority, and the Native Americans at Dartmouth (NAD) Affinity House. Plans to expand to Thayer Dining Hall and McNutt are in the works for the coming year. 
This real-time energy feedback system, inspired by the work of the late Donella Meadows, debuted in Spring 2008. Engineered by Computer Science Professor Lorie Loeb and her students, this initiative consists of a prominently placed screen that uses animation to alert a dorm's residents when their electricity consumption is exceeding the previous week's average. The aim is that this feedback will encourage behavioral change. Read more about Green Lite here.
Dartmouth has launched several new initiatives to help students, faculty and staff save money, save energy, and reduce pollution associated with travel to and from campus. Two Toyota Prius zipcars are available on campus and a vanpool pilot project for employees was established in August 2008. Free shower passes are provided to commuters who bike to work and covered bike racks are in development. For more information about these programs click here.
In addition to recycling and composting, Dartmouth Dining Services is implementing creative ways to make its a la carte dining model more sustainable. One of these new initiatives is the "plate-default" program that encourages the use of real plates instead of "to-go" plastic and paper containers. On May 17th, the Sunday all-you-can-eat brunch at Homeplate went tray-less, meaning that customers were not supplied with trays to carry their food. Waste was decreased by one quarter, which will prevent 15,000 pounds of trash from entering the waste stream each year. For more information, click here.
