William Paterson University: An Array of Sustainable Initiatives
This video is an entry in a contest we’ve launched with Second Nature’s Climate Leadership Awards. See below for how you can vote for it.
See more entries in this contest
William Paterson University in Wayne, New Jersey, is committed to environmental sustainability and is proud to provide a positive example for its 11,500 students while leading by example for our surrounding community and beyond.
William Paterson’s campus-wide solar panel installation is a dramatic and visible sign of the University’s commitment to the environment. The solar initiative, with phase one completed in 2010 and phase two beginning in spring 2012, ranks among the top ten largest installations at higher education institutions in the United States.
The University targets carbon neutrality as a goal and includes conservation efforts that integrate sustainability across the curriculum, such as a new bachelor’s degree in environmental sustainability. This degree will unite areas of tangible study and research, and include courses in environmental science, biology, chemistry, mathematics, law, political science, and economics. Graduates will be prepared with the interdisciplinary skills needed for careers in sustainability to meet the growing demands in academia, business, and government.
The conversion to smart buildings via upgraded energy management systems and use of electric maintenance vehicles has vastly reduced the University’s total energy consumption, as well as energy costs. In the past decade, the size of the physical plant has increased by 16.5 percent, while electric energy consumption was reduced by 30 percent and natural gas consumption by 50 percent.
In addition to this significant reduction in carbon gas emissions, the University has saved more than $17 million over the same time period through cost avoidance.
William Paterson University continues to vigorously pursue energy efficiency initiatives and educational programs with the strong support of students, faculty, administrators, alumni, and community leaders.