Paul D. Camp Community College has begun development of an expanded sustainability initiative.

The goal is to reduce the carbon footprint of the college and to promote more environmentally friendly practices among staff. Another important objective of the initiative is to engage the community in the college’s efforts to positively impact the environment.

“Colleges were some of the first places to widely adopt recycling, and today many have adopted even more green-friendly initiatives. And we want to do more to embrace the movement,” said Dr. Paul Conco, college president.

Following are several of the college’s sustainability priorities:

4Conservation and waste reduction — This includes evaluating LED lighting, expanded temperature control processes and executing virtual signatures to cut down on paper usage.

4Building recycling opportunities where possible for faculty, staff and students — This includes continuing the use of post-consumer recycling content and establishing paper and plastics recycling centers throughout our campuses and center.

4Enhanced education — The college will invest in professional academic and leadership training and hold college-wide professional development in the area of sustainability.

“In 2007, we began an electricity- and fuel-saving plan, along with other VCCS colleges,” Conco said. “Through this project, we can calculate our electricity and fuel usage over time, going back to 2007. And to date, we’ve saved roughly $31,000 in energy costs due to our energy-saving practices. In practical terms, through reduced energy usage, our efforts have had the cumulative effect of removing 293 cars from the road this year or the planting of 399 acres of trees.”

For more information, visit www.pdc.edu.