The Campus Race to Zero Waste (CR2ZW), in partnership with the National Wildlife Federation, has awarded Chapman University with special recognition! Last year the Office of Sustainability took part in the CR2ZW case study competition, and we received an award in the Food Waste Reduction Category for a report detailing our food waste reduction efforts with our Weigh the Waste events!

The Campus Race to Zero Waste (formerly called RecycleMania) is an international organization that provides tools and opportunities to inspire, empower, and mobilize colleges and universities to improve their efforts to reduce or eliminate waste. Since 2001 they have engaged with more than 1,000 colleges and universities in the U.S. and Canada helping them reach their waste reduction goals through hosting a friendly waste-reduction competition. Over an 8-week period each Spring, colleges record and report their recycling and trash produced each week or submit case study reports of their sustainable actions. The participating schools are ranked in various categories based on which school recycles the most on a per capita basis as well as which school generates the least amount of combined trash and recycling. National recognition is provided to the winning school of each category on the website as well as a national press release. You can read the articles featuring Chapman as well as more about the CR2ZW organization with the links below.

• National Press Release
• CR2ZW 2022 Case Study Winners and highlights blog
• More about CR2ZW

Thank you for your participation in our events on campus, Panthers! Collective efforts make a big difference, so every action you take toward sustainability counts!

The Office of Sustainability's annual survey is now open! 

As part of the Office of Sustainability’s goals and commitments, we have created a sustainability survey to gather data regarding the current sustainability initiatives on our campus and within the Chapman community. With this data, we hope to provide more resources and sustainable practices to our campus. Specifically, the survey includes information about the following: transportation, food resources and insecurity, energy and water conservation, and sustainable resources around campus. Please use this survey as an opportunity to share your thoughts on how we can make Chapman more sustainable. The survey will close at the end of October. 

Those who complete the survey can elect to be entered into a raffle to win a gift card!

Take the survey here.

Throughout the month of October, the Office of Sustainability will be hosting Ecolympics, a water conservation competition among the on-campus residence halls! The residence halls included in this competition are:

• Glass Hall
• Henely Hall
• Morlan Hall & Harris Apartments
• Pralle-Sodaro Hall
• Sandhu Residence Center
• Davis Apartments
• The K Residence Hall

We will be tracking water use during the month and will provide weekly leaderboard updates so each dorm can see where they stand in the ranks. Check back on our Instagram for leaderboard updates each Friday during the month of October. The residence hall that reduces their water use most significantly will bring home the gold medal. Each resident in the winning residence hall will take home a $50 gift card!

We’ll be tabling at Attallah Piazza on Wednesday, October 12th from 11 AM – 1 PM. Take part in activities to learn about water saving tips and the financial savings associated with water-conserving measures you can implement in your day-to-day life. Stop by and win a sustainable prize for participating!

We’ll be hosting another Weigh the Waste event at Randall Dining Commons on Wednesday, October 26th from 11:30 AM - 1:30 PM. At these events, we collect all the food waste produced during lunch, weigh it, and leave it on display during the dinner period so students can guess how many pounds of food waste were collected. These events allow us to raise awareness on food waste as an issue beyond just Chapman’s campus and collect data that helps Chapman to make informed decisions to reduce food waste. 

We held the first Weigh the Waste of the semester on September 21st, collecting 251 pounds of food waste. A big thank you to all the volunteers who helped us collect the food waste!

Create less waste by bringing a reusable coffee cup to stores that allow it. Many coffee shops even offer a discount for doing so! Some local spots that offer discounts for reusable cups include:

• Miffies: 10% discount with reusable cup
• Starbucks: $0.10 discount and bonus stars added to your Starbucks Rewards
• Contra: Bring in a reusable cup and receive one stamp on the punch card. Once you get 10 stamps you receive a free small drink.
• Einstein Bros. Bagels: Bring a reusable cup and receive a $1 discount on self-service hot coffee, iced coffee, and iced tea.

The Great Salt Lake has already shrunk to 2⁄3 of its original size and is at risk of completely drying up. Economic consequences include the halting of magnesium extraction from the lake as well as deteriorating the conditions of local ski resorts. Biological impacts include lake flies and brine shrimp dying off leaving no food for the 10 million migratory birds that pass through the region annually. Heavy metals will be released from the lake that will cause ¾ of Utah's population to be exposed to poisonous air.

To learn about the solution, you can read this NY Times article. If you are a Chapman student, you can activate your NY Times account through this link.

The recently signed Inflation Reduction Act is the largest federal investment the US has made to combat climate change. The legislation was introduced with the goal of reducing the country's greenhouse gas emission levels by 40% below 2005 levels by 2030. To meet these goals, the legislation incentivizes green investments through tax credits, grants, and rebate programs.

To learn more about the Inflation Reduction Act, read this article from PBS.

Know a fellow Chapman student/faculty/staff interested in sustainability and the environment? Forward this e-mail and have them subscribe here! Also, make sure to follow us on Instagram @sustainchapman!