Replacing Bottled Water on Campus First Project of University Sustainability Council

The project of the University of Arkansas Sustainability Council 1) requests that deans and heads of other campus organizations consider serving municipal or filtered water at their events, 2) encourages student groups to join a public education effort that informs the campus about the energy and environmental impacts of bottled water use, 3) seeks means to provide additional filtered water outlets on campus and 4) will develop a knowledge base about water quality and water filters.     

The project to limit bottled water use on campus is completely voluntary, and will not result in removing bottled water from the shelves of campus vendors.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The University of Arkansas Sustainability Council unanimously adopted its first campuswide project during its Aug. 26 meeting. The project is an education program aimed at reducing the use of bottled water on campus. The project was prepared and proposed by the council’s water resources working group.

“This is the first specific action the Sustainability Council has taken since its creation last spring, and I think it’s a good place for us to start,” said Mike Johnson, associate vice chancellor for facilities and co-chair of the council. “The project is practical and realistic. When we talk about sustainability and the university’s commitment to environmental stewardship, it can sound abstract and vague. This is the kind of example that people can relate to and understand.”  

The goal of the project is to teach the campus community that bottled water may be unnecessary, expensive and harmful to the environment. The project intends to show that drinking municipal tap water or filtered tap water, and using refillable containers is an inexpensive and sustainable alternative. The organizers intend to recruit college deans, campus organizations and student groups to help promote the voluntary project. A kick-off event is being planned for November.

“One important thing this program will teach is that if we can make small changes in our habits, we can produce significant reductions in energy usage, greenhouse gases, and waste while saving money in the process,” said Robert Cross, co-chair of the water resources working group. “This is the message of sustainability. And bottled water is a good place to start. When we realize that something as seemingly harmless as a bottle of water on the store shelf can have a negative environmental impact, we will hopefully begin to examine other aspects of our surroundings to find still more steps we can take as individuals to help save the environment.”

A report prepared by the working group calculates, based on national averages, that the university community consumes more than 2.1 million liters of bottled water a year,and spends approximately $2.1 million. The energy used to produce, package, transport and distribute this water is equivalent to 3,375 barrels of oil. Carbon dioxide, a green house gas produced by this energy use, would equal roughly 1,350 metric tons. Across the nation, energy equivalent to 50 million barrels of oil is used each year, 6.4 million metric tons of green house gas is produced and 900,000 tons of bottles are thrown away. The working group report concluded that recycling is not a solution; while it would help reduce waste, recycling would make only a small dent in the energy usage.

“That’s a lot of money, energy and pollution,” said Cross, “especially when you consider that municipal tap water is as safe to drink, or even safer, than bottled water. We don’t suggest that people stop drinking water. But it’s easy to see that something as simple as using refillable bottles for tap or even filtered tap water can make a significant environmental difference.”

The campus Sustainability Council was created last winter to help lead the university to its goal of becoming a carbon-neutral institution. The council began meeting in March, with Jon Johnson, executive director of the Applied Sustainability Center, and Jong Shin, vice president of the Associated Student Government, serving as co-chairs with Mike Johnson. The 21 voting members and 10 non-voting members include students, staff and faculty representing each college and most departments on campus, along with several community representatives.

“The Sustainability Council will enhance communications and coordination of sustainability-related events and projects and continually refine the institution’s environmental stewardship mission,” Mike Johnson explained. “They will do this by facilitating partnerships, identifying worthwhile projects, engaging the campus and the community in these projects and making policy recommendations to the University of Arkansas administration.”

Last spring the council members worked to define and establish seven working groups – also called “pillars” – each representing a specific area of sustainability emphasis. The working groups will consider projects and policies and present their findings and recommendations to the council at-large for approval. The working groups and a brief overview of each group’s focus area follows.

1. Academics and research – Identifies curriculum committees and projects in place and assesses the need for additional sustainability-related course offerings, degree programs and research efforts.
2. Energy – Develops and manages a strategy for making the University of Arkansas carbon-neutral; promotes energy conservation and renewable energy.
3. Water resources – Develops and coordinates water conservation projects such as storm water pollution and prevention plans and policies that will reduce the quantity of water used.
4. Food, agriculture and forestry – Facilitates development of projects that support local agriculture, increasing the use of locally grown products on campus and eliminating food waste. Fosters sustainability in Arkansas’ agricultural and forestry sectors.
5. Land use and development – Assesses the Campus Transportation Plan, the Campus Master Plan and several other growth plans as they relate to sustainability issues to develop strategies that result in more efficient energy use and a more livable campus.
6. Pollution prevention and waste minimization – Develops projects to divert food waste and other solid and hazardous waste to productive and/or non-polluting ends, including but not limited to the development of “green” purchasing policies.
7. Social and community – Assures that social and community sustainability is built into University of Arkansas policies, projects and programs; develops town-gown projects to improve resource use in Fayetteville and on campus.

Voting members of the council and the areas each member represents are:

• Jong Shin, Associated Student Government
• Jon Johnson, Applied Sustainability Center
• Mike Johnson, Facilities Management
• Maggie Strain, Associated Student Government
• Myria Allen, Faculty Senate
• Felisha Perrodin, Staff Senate
• Cynthia Sagers, J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences
• Robert Cross, College of Engineering
• Dennis Brewer, Graduate School
• Bryan Hembree, Honors College
• Juana Young, University Libraries
• Nilda Burgos, Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences
• Jeff Murray, Sam M. Walton College of Business
• Jerrid Freeman, Student Affairs
• Tahar Messadi, School of Architecture
• Uché Ewelukwa, School of Law
• John Murry, College of Education and Health Professions
• Chris Erwin, School of Continuing Education and Academic Outreach
• Jim Hashbarger, Office of Business Affairs
• Charlotte Taylor, University Development
• Gary Hume, University Housing

Non-voting members of the council are:

• Nick Brown, executive assistant for sustainability
• John Coleman, city of Fayetteville director of sustainability
• Catherine Baltz, Arkansas Alumni Association
• Laura Jacobs, University Relations
• Norm DeBriyn, Razorback Foundation
• Juanita Muckleroy, Arkansas Union
• Justin Maland, Department of Intercollegiate Athletics
• Andy Gilbride, Parking and Transit
• Bill Zemke, Chartwells
• Sarah Lewis, Fayetteville Council of Neighborhoods

The Sustainability Council meets once a month.