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Looking to advance sustainability in your department? An offset is an optional added fee to the cost of traveling (air or ground transportation) to fund a separate project that reduces carbon emissions elsewhere, such as a wind farm or forestry project. In some cases, offsets can make the net carbon footprint of travel effectively zero. For OSU-funded travel, the Sustainability Office offers assistance to campus units by sourcing high quality offsets and bundling offset purchases. These offsets are affordable -- 1 metric ton of CO2 emissions can cost as little as $10 to offset! They also make a significant impact -- if all OSU-funded travel were offset, total emissions would drop by 14%!
Registration for the Washington Oregon Higher Education Sustainability Conference (WOHESC) is now open! Last hosted in 2023 here at OSU, the 2024 conference host is Western Washington University in Bellingham.
WOHESC is a platform for inspiring change, facilitating action, and promoting collaboration around sustainability and social justice within the Cascadia region's higher education institutions. Educational sessions, meetups and networking opportunities empower participants to advance action steps to create change. The 2024 theme is Learning From Place: Solutions Beyond Boundaries, which focuses on using the environment to ground inquiries that span politically-drawn boundaries to be inclusive of place within a bioregion.
To learn more visit wohesc.org
Green Certifications help the OSU community further sustainability efforts and receive recognition for excellent work. Green Office, Lab, and Greek certifications utilize online Qualtrics surveys to assess existing practices, such as energy and water use, waste management, purchasing, transportation, and outreach. Each survey can be saved and continued at any time, allowing you to complete it at your own pace. Once data entry and analysis are complete, we will send your score and certification level, as well as customized recommendations for improvement to reach the next level!
As part of a recent Capstone project, four senior-level Mechanical Engineers teamed up to design and implement a new mechanical cable management system for the OSU Solar Trailer. The Solar Trailer has a flexible conduit connecting the panels to the lower part of the trailer, and the new system is designed to prevent the conduit from getting caught or damaging other moving components. The simple device can be easily assembled and adjusted for future uses. Learn more about this project here.
Check out other innovative Capstone projects at last year's Engineering Expo.