Thrive, Issue 1

THRIVEUNC Charlotte 2014 Sustainability Report

2

RAISING VISIBILITY, ACCOUNTABILITY ON SUSTAINABILITYI am pleased to introduce

“THRIVE,” UNC Charlotte’s first annual

report on sustainability. The University

recognizes the importance of

sustainability for a strong and healthy

society, as evidenced by the myriad

ways it is being practiced, taught and

researched on our campus. As this

report demonstrates, UNC Charlotte’s

sustainability efforts provide shining

examples of the integration of

economic, ecological, regional and

social issues.

As the leader of a growing urban

university, I am conscious of how

challenging it is to create a sustainable

institution. I understand the potential

for cutting operational costs, improving

safety and protecting the environment.

I also see the opportunities for

intellectual growth in challenging fields

that address social and environmental

issues. Furthermore, I hear the

excitement within our community

about the steps we are taking to help

build a sustainable 21st century

economy.

In response to these challenges

and opportunities, UNC Charlotte

has taken great strides in maintaining

the brisk pace of our sustainability

journey. The University appointed an

Executive Sustainability Committee

and hired our first sustainability

officer, Dr. Michael Lizotte, to provide

leadership and oversight. We are also

taking steps to enhance the visibility

and accountability of our sustainability

commitment by implementing tools

such as this annual report.

The University already makes

regular reports to government agencies

on energy consumption, water use, air

pollution, safety and other measures

relevant to sustainability. Since 2009,

we also have reported our progress on

reducing greenhouse gases, supporting

my endorsement of the American

College and University Presidents’

Climate Commitment.

In the coming year we will join the

other UNC campuses to report our

progress in meeting the sustainability

policy passed by the UNC Board of

Governors in 2012.

Our broadest sustainability

assessment to date will be a report to

the Association for the Advancement

of Sustainability in Higher Education

(AASHE) covering over 75 items in its

Sustainability Tracking, Assessment &

Rating System (STAR). This report will

be available on an AASHE website that

allows for comparison with hundreds

of college campuses. Several national

publications use the AASHE database

to inform the public and prospective

students about the sustainability

of university operations, teaching,

research and engagement.

This annual report demonstrates

UNC Charlotte takes seriously the

responsibility of sustainability, both in

what we teach and research and in how

we run our institution. As we continue

to put sustainability into action, I hope

you will enjoy a few of our early success

stories.

Philip L. Dubois

Chancellor

THRIVE | FROM THE CHANCELLOR

FROM THE CHANCELLOR

3 TABLE OF CONTENTS | THRIVE

TABLE OF CONTENTS 2 From the Chancellor 3 Introducing the Four Sustainability Claims 4 Editor’s Note & Credits 5 Economic Claim

12 Ecological Claim21 Regional Claim28 Social Claim37 Gems

40 Shaping the Future41 Meet the University SustainabilityOfficer

CLAIM 1: ECONOMIC EPIC, solar research and operational initiatives are just a few

ways UNC Charlotte drives economic sustainability.

CLAIM 2: ECOLOGICAL

From zero-waste measures in football to climate change and

water conservation, environmental commitments are a priority.

INTRODUCING THE FOUR SUSTAINABILITY CLAIMS

5

CLAIM 3: REGIONAL

The Urban Institute, EEA Office and Blue Line Extension show

the University’s sustainability leadership is alive and well in the

Charlotte region.

CLAIM 4: SOCIAL

Building a solar house, launching UNC Charlotte Center City

and creating the IDEAS Center are big campus investments in

social sustainability.

21 28

12

4THRIVE | EDITOR’S NOTE

WELCOME TO THRIVEProduction of this first issue of

THRIVE has been somewhat like trying

to capture the ocean: story choices are

vast and deep, information develops

and changes quickly and the impact of

initiatives and research is extensive.

The challenge was how to present

and organize such a massive amount

of information in a digestible

way. Additionally, it became

quickly apparent not every single

accomplishment can be covered in

one report. These, of course, are great

opportunities.

Ultimately, we chose a story-based

report format organized mainly by four

themes, or “Claims,” as mentioned in

the chancellor’s introduction. Within

each Claim are stories that exemplify

the remarkable work being done by our

University. You’ll even notice a fifth

section, “Gems,” which provides further

snapshots of notable activities.

Some major stories you’ll uncover:

how the Energy Production and

Infrastructure Center is a powerful

driver of economic sustainability for

our region; how the Urban Institute’s

partnership with two government-

planning organizations resulted in

a $4.9 million HUD grant to boost

regional sustainability; and how UNC

Charlotte students have built bridges in

a Peruvian village to increase the social

sustainability of the community.

Our goal is to share THRIVE with

you annually and to communicate

stories frequently as well. Mike

Lizotte, the University’s sustainability

officer, is committed to providing you,

our stakeholders, with insights on

partnerships, research, accreditations,

initiatives and much more. You’re

invited to read his thoughts on page 41.

Enjoy the debut of THRIVE!

Shelly Theriault

Editor, Facilities Management

Communications Officer

VOLUME 1, NUMBER 1

EDITOR

Shelly Theriault

UNIVERSITY SUSTAINABILITY OFFICER

Mike Lizotte, Ph.D

ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Susan Shakelford

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Mike Lizotte, Ph.D

Samantha Kirby

PHOTOGRAPHY

Wade Bruton

Edward Davis

Nancy Pierce

Lynn Roberson

Brett Tempest

Charmeck.org

Foreignfoodie.wordpress.com

N.C. Department of Environmental and

Natural Resources

UNC Charlotte 2013 Solar Decathlon Team

UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens

UNC Charlotte CHARP

UNC Charlotte EPIC

UNC Charlotte IDEAS Center

UNC Charlotte Office of Waste Reduction and

Recycling

UNC Charlotte Projective Eye Gallery

DESIGN

Myron Macklin

THRIVE is published annually by the

University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Facilities Management Building

9201 University City Blvd., Charlotte, NC 28223-0001

Editorial Contact: [email protected]

The University of North Carolina at Charlotte is committed to

equality of educational opportunity and does not discriminate

against applicants, students or employees based on age,

gender, race, color, national origin, religion, creed, disability,

veteran’s status, sexual orientation, gender identity or

gender expression.

EDITOR’S NOTE

5 CLAIM: ECONOMIC | THRIVE

SUSTAINABILITY STRENGTHENING THE WORKFORCE

INTRODUCTIONThe economic dimension of

sustainability can be easiest to relate to

but the hardest to understand.

Most people can relate to the

idea that households, businesses,

governments and the economy as a

whole need to be financially sound and

able to support future generations. That

is because people spend much of their

time steeped in the world of jobs and

everyday transactions required to live.

The challenge is to understand

how economic concerns relate to

other realities. With sustainability, the

imperative is to build a sound economy

that also creates a positive future for

the community and the environment.

Imagine the economy as an object

that we place into a large box we call

the community, which goes into a

larger box called the environment.

The shape and size of the economy are

important, and it’s possible to imagine

an economy that that doesn’t fit well

within its community or environment.

An economy is complex. We might

imagine it has some fragile parts but

also some hard edges that can damage

the larger boxes of the community and

the environment. Thus, for an economy

to be sustainable, it needs to be well-

designed, handled with care and

protected by a resilient community and

an intact environment.

UNC Charlotte focuses on how

economies, communities and the

environment can co-exist and flourish.

The stories in this section describe

exciting new research institutes,

cutting-edge projects and best

practices adopted by the University.

These highlights demonstrate UNC

Charlotte’s capacity to contribute

knowledge, strengthen the workforce

and demonstrate leadership in

economic sustainability.

CLAIM 1: ECONOMIC

6THRIVE | CLAIM: ECONOMIC

‘DELIVERING TALENT’EPIC CULTIVATES ENGINEERING WORKFORCE, FOCUSES ON SUSTAINABLE ENERGY FUTURE

When UNC Charlotte’s Energy

Production and Infrastructure Center

(EPIC) opened its new building

in late 2012, its story of economic

development was front and center.

“EPIC is a stunning example of UNC

Charlotte’s responsiveness to the

workforce development needs of a

key industry that helps to drive our

regional economy,” said Charlotte

Chamber President Bob Morgan. “EPIC

is delivering talent for the energy sector

jobs of today and tomorrow.”

Begun in 2008, EPIC’s role is to

develop engineers and perform

research to benefit the energy industry.

The local region is home to more than

200 energy operations, including

heavy hitters such as Charlotte-

based Duke Energy, Siemens Energy,

AREVA and Westinghouse Electric.

Those companies and 19 others have

contributed or pledged $17.5 million to

EPIC so far.

In the spring of 2013 when Paris-

based AREVA announced it was moving

its North American headquarters

to Charlotte, CEO Mike Rencheck

sported a UNC Charlotte tie at the press

conference. He cited the airport and

EPIC for determining the relocation.

“Being part of that energy hub, with

strong academic background, makes all

The AREVA Power Systems Teaching Laboratory is one of EPIC’s many sites for hands-on learning about energy.


the difference in the world,” he said.

While economic development is a

key part of sustainability in and of itself,

EPIC takes the concept much further.

PARTNERS WITH INDUSTRY

EPIC Director Johan Enslin has

described the center as a university-

industry partnership “to study and

evaluate new energy technologies for a

sustainable energy future.” The center’s

vision echoes the point, saying EPIC’s

goal is to meet “the education and

research needs for a safe, reliable and

sustainable energy future.”

Sustainability is a ribbon that

connects primary EPIC concerns —

curriculum and degree programs,

research, Charlotte Engineering Early

College high school and even the

EPIC building itself — a gold-certified

LEED (Leadership in Energy and

Environmental Design) structure.

Working closely with industry

partners, the center provides input

to the Lee College of Engineering on

undergraduate energy concentrations

in four engineering fields: electrical,

mechanical, systems and civil and

environmental. The same is true

with master’s degrees in systems

engineering and in energy and

electromechnical systems. EPIC

also works with the Belk College of

Business on its master’s in business

administration with an energy

concentration.

With research, EPIC draws from

more than 100 faculty members,

who hail from five colleges and 14

departments across campus. The

researchers work in five clusters

— energy markets and system

engineering, large component

design and manufacturing, power

infrastructure and environmental

development, power systems

modernization and renewables and

energy efficiency. Their research dollars

grew 43 percent from $6.6 million in

2011 to $9.4 million in 2013.

Projects with a sustainable bent

range from studies of capturing energy

from sun, wind and ocean waves to

ones that focus on applying energy-

efficient LED lighting to more devices

and mimicking the incandescent

shades of light that people find pleasing

for everyday use.

SMART GRID LAB

The Duke Energy Smart Grid

Laboratory allows researchers to use

a real-time digital grid simulator to

test algorithms, models and devices

being developed to modernize the grid

and assess the impact of renewable

energy. Researchers also are seeking to

improve solar panels by examining how

clouds reduce energy output and how

battery-like devices might compensate

for that.

EPIC also uses its AREVA Power

Systems Teaching Laboratory,

environmental lab and high-bay

structures laboratory for teaching and

research. The high-bay lab played a

pivotal role in developing the school’s

award-winning Solar Decathlon house,

UrbanEden, (see pg. 29) which will

be a “living lab,” Enslin says, for the

Charlotte Engineering Early College.

Researchers used the high-bay

lab to stress-test a new geopolymer

in the house’s walls, one that

provides good insulation and reduces

pollution by using coal ash in the

With research, EPIC draws from more than 100 faculty members, who hail from five colleges and 14 departments across campus.

EPIC’s high-bay lab played a pivotal role in developing the University’s award-winning Solar Decathlon house.

The Duke Energy Smart Grid Laboratory allows researchers to use a real-time digital grid

simulator for experiments.

http://www.usgbc.org/leed


place of traditional portland cement.

Manufacturing portland cement is

a significant contributor to climate

change, and the ash is a toxic

by-product of coal-fired power plants

and a contributor to climate change as

well.

EPIC is also home to The Center

for Sustainably Integrated Buildings

and Sites, best known as “SIBS,” and

founded by UNC Charlotte. “We are

trying to minimize the impact of the

built environment,” says SIBS Director

Robert Cox.

Clearly, EPIC’s attention to

sustainability has many dimensions.

When Enslin ponders the center’s

influence, he says, “In terms of getting

people organized around the topic of

energy, workforce development and

research, it is very, very powerful.”

EPIC BUILDING: A ‘GREEN’ MARVELThe EPIC building’s sustainable, or

green, features are so extensive that the 200,000-square-foot structure uses about 30 percent less energy than typical buildings its size.

That’s thanks primarily to its lighting and its heating and air conditioning system. “We have a lot of natural, indirect lighting from the outside, which saves on cost and creates a nice atmosphere,” said EPIC Director Johan Enslin. “We also save 40 to 60 percent on the typical HVAC bill because we use chilled and hot water circulated in pipes that cools and heats the building.”

The most prominent lighting feature is an elliptical daylight well in the center of the building. The well extends 30 feet above the roof and allows light to stream into an atrium, where the light is distributed into the building by translucent fixture shelves made from recycled materials. At the roof level, an overhang reduces heat but doesn’t compromise light flow.

The building also minimizes water use by using rainwater and HVAC condensate. An attractive outdoor garden courtyard rests above a 20,000-gallon underground cistern, which collects rainwater from the roof and grounds for irrigation. No potable water is used for that purpose, and the landscape minimizes the need for watering with drought-tolerant plants. With the HVAC condensate, the center collects it in a 6,000-gallon

underground tank, cleans it with ultraviolet light and then uses it for bathroom toilets.

That the building achieved “gold” status from the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program is no surprise. And EPIC’s Enslin is inspired to do more. One day, he wants to retrofit the roof and a nearby parking deck with enough solar panels to power the building.

“In terms of getting people organized around the topic of energy, workforce development and research, it is very, very powerful.”

Lab equipment used at EPIC.

The EPIC building’s sustainable features include an elliptical daylight well in the atrium. Drawing fromnaturallight,translucentfixtureshelvesdistributeitthroughthebuilding.

http://sibs.uncc.edu/


SHAPING ENERGY’S FUTURE: HARNESSING SOLAR RESEARCH

University researchers create and

test the future. They examine issues

that emerge with modern societies,

identifying problems as well as

solutions. The value of UNC Charlotte

expertise can be seen in nearly $1

million granted to two projects from

the U.S. Department of Energy’s

SunShot Initiative.

Deborah Strumsky, associate

professor in the Department of

Geography and Earth Sciences,

is leading a team studying how to

forecast investments for emerging

solar energy technologies. Similar to

people considering a wide range of

complex, inter-related factors when

building their retirement funds — such

as what funds are available to them, the

amount of risk involved and how long

until they retire — Strumsky and her

fellow researchers are considering how

various factors impact the performance

of solar technologies

She is working with researchers

from Arizona State University and the

University of Oxford. The research team

is exploring how solar technologies

in the past have been influenced

by technical improvements, public

and private investments and public

policy. By analyzing hundreds of

years of patent data and historical

cost and production data, the team

will construct a model — called a

“technology ecosystem” — to forecast

technological progress.

“New technologies arise out of the

evolution of ecosystems of existing

technologies,” Strumsky said. “These

models are trying to determine the

best way to allocate your research and

development dollars to get the best

bang for your buck. This information

can help businesses better focus their

solar research and development efforts,

and it can help policymakers design

more effective energy policies.”

The SunShot grant is also

funding the Energy Production and

Infrastructure Center (EPIC) as the

primary research partner to SineWatts

Inc., to develop a new technology for

solar panels that generate electricity.

SineWatts, founded in 2011 in

California, has relocated to Charlotte.

EPIC will provide SineWatts with a

team of students and post-doctorate

fellows to assist in the development

of new, patent-pending technology.

The team is working on using

miniaturized electronics to create

photovoltaic panels that efficiently

convert electricity to the alternating

current used by the grid, reducing the

infrastructure and costs of solar power.

Babak Parkhideh and EPIC Director

Johan Enslin, both professors in the

department of electrical and computer

engineering, are leading the research

team. “This is a great opportunity for

our researchers to bring our expertise

to the development of a potentially

industry-transforming solar inverter

technology,” Enslin said.

UNC Charlotte researchers are studying how to forecast investments for emerging solar energy technologies.


OPERATIONAL ACHIEVEMENTS Sustainable operations

on a thousand-acre campus easily

demonstrate how changes in day-

to-day activities accumulate into

big benefits, including economic

advantages. Several UNC Charlotte

operational initiatives demonstrate

how this is done.

When the state set goals to reduce

fuel consumption in vehicles, the

University responded by changing the

type of vehicles it uses. “Electricity is a

much cheaper fuel than gasoline, and

the approximately 150 electric vehicles

now used on campus have helped cut

our fuel use by about 1/3,” said Mike

Lizotte, the University’s sustainability

officer.

Cited as a “N.C. Smart Fleet

Champion” in 2014 by the N.C. Clean

Energy Technology Center, UNC

Charlotte has made major inroads

with its fleet. Today, 39 percent of its

vehicles run on alternative fuels.

Meanwhile, using “green” cleaning

products and practices has earned

Housing and Residence Life national

recognition. The group won the

Cleaning Industry Management

Standard’s Green Building Certification

with Honors award in 2013. Housing

and Residence Life was the first

applicant from North Carolina to be

recognized for such effort to improve

worker and resident safety.

Implementing building

performance contracts is another

powerful way to promote sustainable

practices, as it provides greater

financial returns on long-term

investments. UNC Charlotte now hires

contractors who agree to profit only

if they install energy-saving lighting,

controls and other equipment proven

to reduce energy bills. Combined

with repairs and renovations to

older buildings, efforts such as these

“provide an avoided cost of over $3

million per year alone,” according to

Anthony Schallert, UNC Charlotte’s

energy manager.

Efficiencies are also found by

working closely with staff and

contractors to improve waste

management. Educational events and

workshops, as well as increased and

improved recycling bins, have led to

more than 40 percent of campus waste

being diverted from landfills. This

means over two million pounds of

waste per year is kept out of landfills

and turned into sustainable recycled

products.

Additionally, construction and

The University has more than 150 electric vehicles for on-campus duties.

Housing and Residence Life won the Cleaning Industry Management Standard’s Green Building CertificationwithHonorsin2013.


demolition work, another heavy

contributor to waste, has now

increased recycling rates to more than

80 percent because of performance

contracts noted earlier.

Economic and environmental

advantages of sustainability make for a

powerful lens to examine operational

needs on campus — and the benefits

are very real.

SIBS: ‘MAKING BUILDINGS PERFORM BETTER’

Under the wing of the Energy Production and Infrastructure Center (see pg. 6) is “SIBS,” which is short for The Center for Sustainably Integrated Buildings and Sites. While the name is broadly descriptive, it belies the results-oriented nature of SIBS.

“We are helping people solve real problems,” said the center’s director, Robert Cox, Ph.D., an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at UNC Charlotte. “As academics we are often working on ideas that will make things better in the future, which is great — but at the end of the day, it’s great to know you’re helping someone with an immediate need.”

Sponsored by the National Science Foundation, SIBS doesn’t perform early-stage research to foster new products or processes, as many NSF groups do. “We are ‘Making Buildings Perform Better’ — that’s our tagline,” Cox said.

SIBS is what NSF calls an Industry/

University Cooperative Research Center, or I/UCRC. Most of its funding comes from companies, which also have a say in selecting the center’s research projects.

UNC Charlotte’s Cox led the charge to establish SIBS in 2012, and two other universities are involved, Carnegie Mellon and the City College of New York. The NSF contributes $50,000 a year to help with administrative costs, while industry partners each spend the same amount to participate. “The idea is the partners leverage the cost by sharing in the results of multiple projects,” Cox said. Among partners in the Charlotte area are Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Ingersoll Rand and Johnson Controls.

SIBS works like this: Researchers across several

disciplines at UNC Charlotte and at the other universities do research projects directed at improving building performance. “We can look at energy, waste, water, even impacts

on air quality,” Cox said. “Primarily because of the costs associated with it, energy has been the main focus so far.”

An early success focuses on wringing energy costs out of retail banking locations. “We’ve already seen that consumption doesn’t change that much if the branch is open or closed, so now we’re saying, ‘OK, what is going on?’” Cox said. Researchers are analyzing everything from the power used by water fountains and copiers to how much of a building’s electrical bill is for exterior lighting.

Another project is looking at using data analytics to reduce power consumption in small commercial buildings. That research relates to a study of the skills needed by today’s building managers. “Twenty to 30 years ago, being a facilities manager meant having a wrench,” Cox said. “Now it’s understanding data and a little bit about IT.”

Recycling materials is a priority.

12THRIVE | CLAIM: ECOLOGICAL

IN THE BEGINNING: THE ENVIRONMENT

INTRODUCTIONHistorical roots of sustainability

stem from concern for the

environment — the preservation of

nature, stewardship of resources and

protection of health.

Taking the plant metaphor further,

the rootstock allows people to graft

branches of modern life that include

prosperity, knowledge, wonder — and,

in essence, what it means to be human

and vital in today’s world.

Sometimes the focus on human life

can be so sharp that the environment

is overlooked. But the environment

— air, soil, water and more — is the

foundation upon which people build

their livelihoods and ways of life.

Sustainability is significant because

it encompasses not only environmental

concerns but social and economic

ones as well. Decisions that result in a

healthy and inspiring world are based

on balancing, optimizing and finding

solutions that respect all three tenets of

sustainability.

Universities are particularly well

suited to explore such complex

equations and search for solutions.

They are places where society

experiments with new ideas, and where

it is acceptable, even expected, that

the institution be put under the lens of

inquiry as well.

Stories in this section show

how UNC Charlotte addresses

environmental stewardship. They

highlight efforts to preserve nature

for education, conserve resources

stressed by regional growth and change

operations to lighten and eliminate

negative ecological impacts. The efforts

showcase the ability of a university to

educate, inform and innovate in full

public view.

CLAIM 2: ECOLOGICAL

13 CLAIM: ECOLOGICAL | THRIVE

WHERE RECYCLING MEETS MOTHER NATURE

ZERO WASTE AT FOOTBALL STADIUM IS ONGOING COMMITMENTHow does a university manage the

environmental footprint of a 15,314-

seat facility that covers 25 acres? If

it’s UNC Charlotte, the answer is —

enthusiastically. During the school’s

much celebrated 2013 football kickoff,

an innovative zero-waste program

launched with it.

While reaching 100 percent zero

waste may not be attainable at Jerry

Richardson Stadium — or anywhere

— the pursuit of perfection is highly

worthwhile. “Zero waste is a goal …

to guide people in changing their

lifestyles and practices to emulate

sustainable natural cycles, where all

discarded materials are designed to

become resources for others to use,”

the Zero Waste International Alliance

noted in 2004.

It’s where recycling meets Mother

Nature — aiming to eliminate waste,

period, similar to the natural, recurring

cycle of rainfall or decomposing

leaves. As Devin Hatley, environmental

educator for the Department of

Facilities Management’s Office of

The zero-waste initiative with UNC Charlotte football came about after a student government resolution on stadium vendor contracts.

http://zwia.org/


Waste Reduction and Recycling put

it, “Everything has a place beyond the

landfill.”

STUDENT-LED EFFORT

In 2011, the Student Government

Association (SGA) passed a resolution

entitled, “Encouraging Dining Services

to incorporate zero waste initiatives

into the football stadium vendor

contracts.” From this, plans and action

began.

Logistics and execution were —

and still are — paramount, depending

heavily on the combined efforts of

several groups. Among them are: SGA

representatives, the Charlotte Green

Initiative (CGI), the EARTH Club,

Auxiliary Services, Chartwells, the

Department of Athletics and the Office

of Waste Reduction and Recycling.

Planning includes everything from

coordinating new packaging standards

with vendors to recycling and compost-

bin placement, marketing efforts and

volunteer management, just to name a

few.

Money from an already established

“green fee” has gone toward the zero-

waste effort. This fee, approved by

students in 2007, is $2 added to the

tuition of each student who takes 12

credit hours or more each semester.

Carefully monitored by the student

group CGI, the fee has paid for the

stadium’s compostable trash bags

and the installation of several stations

that use laser-sensitive technology to

automatically fill water bottles without

spilling.

The waste-diversion rate for

the first season was more than 82

percent, translating into almost 20

tons that bypassed the landfill. It was

an impressive number, “especially

considering we were implementing a

totally new program,” said Shannon

Caveny-Cox, waste contract

administrator for the Office of Waste

Reduction and Recycling. With the

82 percent diversion benchmark now

established, the goal is to incrementally

increase that rate each year.

ONGOING IMPROVEMENTS

Confidence in the emerging

program is strong, with new and

revised practices implemented this

fall. Continued training, particularly

with operations’ setup and cleanup,

has improved zero-waste management

“from the back of the house forward,”

said Brad Green, director of catering

and special services for Chartwells, the

University’s food vendor.

Last fall, volunteer groups received

more training as “the trash coming

out of the stands was so great,” Green

said. With that in mind, new take-

home souvenir popcorn tubs made

their debut, serving as another waste-

diversion tactic. “The more we can give

out as souvenirs, the less we put into

our zero-waste program containers,” he

said.

Education has continued to be

paramount. The sorority, Chi Omega,

provided several volunteers before

games at the gates, acquainting fans

with zero-waste practices as they enter.

The waste-diversion rate for the first season was over 82 percent, translating into almost 20 tons that bypassed the landfill.

ZERO WASTE CONTINUED ON 18 >

FOOD WASTE IN DINING HALLS PLUMMETSIn just one year, UNC Charlotte

Recycling and Waste Management has reduced the University’s dining hall food waste by nearly 85 percent.

Every week, roughly 1,000 pounds of leftover food makes its way from Crown Commons Dining Hall and Crossroads Café to the Student Union’s loading dock. It is then collected by Earth Farms to use in making compost at its Mooresville, N.C. facility.

According to the EPA, food disposed of in landfills rots and

becomes a significant source of methane — a potent greenhouse gas with 21 times the global-warming potential of carbon dioxide.

“In implementing a composting program and educating the public about food waste, we aim to reduce methane generation created through landfilling and increase important soil amendments through composting,” said Devin Hatley, environmental educator in the Office of Recycling and Waste Management.

Students volunteer with the zero-waste program.


JEWEL OF NATURE BOTANICAL GARDENS TO ADD NATIVE PLANT DISPLAY

In the heart of UNC Charlotte’s

campus there’s a hidden treasure. Not

the kind made of gold and sparkling

jewels but rather of brightly colored

flowers, the sounds of gentle chirps

and buzzes and a beautiful, inviting

landscape. The UNC Charlotte

Botanical Gardens is not only rich in

nature but in history. It has thrived for

nearly 50 years, since 1966, when the

vision of biology professor Herbert

Hechenbleikner and University

founder Bonnie Cone began.

Today the gardens continue to

grow, serving as a living classroom

for students, an educational resource

for the public and an inspiration for

all. It covers 10 acres and features

a greenhouse and two gardens: the

McMillan Greenhouse, the Susie Harwood

Garden and the Van Landingham Glen.

Soon, a third garden will join the

list: the Mellichamp Native Terrace

Garden. “This garden is named

to honor the legacy of Dr. Larry

Mellichamp, who has shared his

knowledge and passion for plants,

native and beyond, with his students

and the Charlotte community … as

director of the UNC Charlotte Botanical

Gardens for the past 35 years,” said the

garden’s Assistant Director Paula Gross.

While the Botanical Gardens

contain a wide array of exotic plants,

the Mellichamp Native Terrace Garden

will feel a bit more like home with

1.5 acres of native southeastern flora.

“This garden will serve to educate and

inspire those interested in using a

broad palette of native plants in their

landscapes,” said Gross. “Homeowners

will be able to directly see the beauty

and function of a landscape that

contributes to the ecological balance of

its neighborhood.”

Lying within the terraces and low

stone walls will be gravel pathways

leading through the lush greenery,

The new Mellichamp Native Terrace Garden honors the longtime director of the botanical gardens, Larry Mellichamp.

http://gardens.uncc.edu/gardens-and-greenhouse/mcmillan-greenhouse/

http://gardens.uncc.edu/gardens-and-greenhouse/susie-harwood-garden/

http://gardens.uncc.edu/gardens-and-greenhouse/susie-harwood-garden/

http://gardens.uncc.edu/gardens-and-greenhouse/van-landingham-glen/


colorful floras and naturally sustainable

features. A stormwater-fed streambed

and rain garden will help to recycle

water and filter it into the soil, ensuring

polluted water doesn’t run into storm

drains, which often flow into rivers and

lakes.

Native grasses combined with lawn

substitutes — such as ground covers

that spread naturally but don’t grow

tall — will allow for less maintenance.

This in turn reduces negative impacts

such as fuel and other toxic emissions,

fertilizers, pesticides and increased

water consumption.

The garden will also feature a

miniature meadow planting with

self-sustaining wildflowers that reseed

themselves. “Native plants sustain

native wildlife, provide a sense of place

and are adapted to our local range

of climate conditions… They are the

foundation of our natural heritage,”

Gross said.

The Mellichamp Native Terrace

Garden is planned for completion by

April 2015. In the meantime, visitors

can get an idea of what to expect from

Mellichamp’s latest book, “Native

Plants of the Southeast.” In its pages,

he helps gardeners identify, locate and

care for over 460 native plant varieties.

Visitors craving the quietness and

serenity of the gardens can satisfy their

green thumb or simple curiosity

year-round. To see the hours of

operation, please click here. Admission

is free, and guests are welcome.

A SNAPSHOT OF TODAY’S GREENHOUSE AND GARDENS

The two gardens and greenhouse that currently make up UNC Charlotte’s Botanical Gardens offer visitors year-round plant pleasure.

The McMillan Greenhouse, with its eight glass-house rooms, surrounding beds, terraces and courtyard bog gardens, takes guests around the world in just minutes.

Known for diverse and exotic plants, the greenhouse showcases orchids as well as rare carnivorous plants such as pitcher plants and Venus flytraps. Especially noteworthy is “Bella,” a rare titan arum and one of the largest flowering structures in the world. She’s famous for her elaborate — and rarely occurring — bloom. But don’t be fooled; it comes with an incredibly pungent smell reserved only for the brave.

The much larger of the two gardens, Van Landingham Glen, features seven acres of Carolina woodlands terrain, more than 3,000

rhododendrons and azaleas and over 1,000 plant species. One of its most unusual features is a reconstructed 120-year-old log cabin.

The glen is also the burial site for University founder Bonnie Cone, who played a key role in starting the botanical garden.

At three acres, the Susie Harwood

Garden is much smaller than the glen. Its meandering paths lead guests through a serene Asian garden with waterfalls and rock installations. In spring, there’s an explosion of color from wildflowers, azaleas and bulbs. In winter, visitors enjoy soft shrubs, trees and perennials.

The UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens is free and open year-round.

Among its many exhibits, McMillan Greenhouse is home to a tropical conservatory.

http://gardens.uncc.edu/


CLIMATE CHANGE FACING THE GREENHOUSE-GAS CHALLENGE

Universities play a special role

in society as institutions that both

teach and generate knowledge. The

twin mission allows the community

to learn from the past and build a

brighter future. But it also includes

an obligation to address emerging

challenges.

One of the most challenging ideas

to emerge over the past century is how

human activity is changing the planet.

For example, centuries of air pollution

have been affecting the atmosphere

and oceans that regulate the Earth’s

climate.

Humans created these pollutants,

known as greenhouse gases, while

meeting the needs and desires of a

growing population. While people are

learning how to adapt to planetary

changes, the new challenge is how to

reduce pollution to a level that Earth’s

natural systems can handle.

In October 2009, Philip Dubois,

chancellor of UNC Charlotte, signed

the American College and University

Presidents’ Climate Commitment

(ACUPCC). Over 680 leaders have

committed their institutions to the

effort to show society it is possible to

become “greenhouse gas neutral” — a

point where the institution is no longer

emitting this form of pollution.

“Anyone who is familiar with this

University’s legacy understands we

have had a strong commitment to

environmental protection, and signing

the Presidents’ Climate Commitment

shows we are demonstrating how a

large public institution can be a good

environmental steward,” Dubois said.

The first step for UNC Charlotte

was to complete an inventory of

greenhouse gas sources for the campus.

The largest source is purchased

electricity. Next is the fuel burned to

heat buildings. Third is the fuel burned

to transport students and staff.

The “Big Three” sources dominate

Exhaust from road vehicles contributes to greenhouse gases. Pictured here is a portion of I-77 running through Charlotte.

http://www.presidentsclimatecommitment.org/about/commitment


the air pollution of most universities

and industrialized societies. Every

member of the campus is responsible

for this pollution, and everyone can

help reduce it. The institution controls

some sources, such as buildings, and

individuals are responsible for others,

most notably, commuting.

In 2012, UNC Charlotte assembled

its first Climate Action Plan. The plan

sets ambitious goals to work toward

greenhouse gas neutrality by 2050. It

also warns that if no action is taken,

the trend is that pollution levels will

more than double by that year. The

Climate Action Plan represents a fork

in the road — to embark on a path to

eliminate pollution or to continue on a

route that doubles it.

It also provides detailed analysis

of methods available to reduce

greenhouse gas pollution, including

their economic feasibility. Most of

the recommendations to invest in

technology or change policy are

estimated to have financial advantages,

especially if prices rise for electricity,

heating fuel and gasoline.

The leading recommendations are

to invest in refurbishing older buildings

to make them more energy efficient.

The buildings would produce less

pollution, cost less to operate and be

more comfortable for students and

staff.

Reducing greenhouse gases has

broad implications. The ACUPCC text

signed by the chancellor spells it out:

“We further believe that colleges and

universities that exert leadership in

addressing climate change will stabilize

and reduce their long-term energy

costs, attract excellent students and

faculty, attract new sources of funding

and increase the support of alumni and

local communities.”

Also, the “installation of permanent,

visible signage for the compost and

recycling bins,” are being strongly

considered for the future, noted Hatley

— which will make stations even more

visible to patrons.

Fans aren’t the only ones

being educated; the initiative has

attracted several other universities.

UNC Charlotte has welcomed the

opportunity to share planning,

implementation and operational

strategies with Louisiana State,

Florida Atlantic, UNC Greensboro and

other institutions. Back on campus,

zero-waste practices are in discussion

for basketball games in Halton Arena.

In April, the football program’s

zero-waste program received the

2014 Outstanding Collaboration/

Partnership Award from the National

Association of College Auxiliary

Services, South Region. “The award is

presented to a unique, innovative, or

distinctive partnership that benefits

the university/college, its respective

community and business partners,”

Green explained.

Acknowledging the award, Hatley

adds, “Student organizations, fans,

staff, vendors and, of course, many

volunteers have demonstrated the

true spirit of zero waste through

environmental stewardship.”

ZERO WASTE CONTINUED FROM 14 <

“We further believe that colleges and universities that exert leadership in addressing climate change will stabilize and reduce their long-term energy costs.” Climate change affects the quality of air and water. Seen here is the Pee Dee River in Anson County,

east of Charlotte.


WATER CONSERVATIONAPPLYING THE THREE R’S

To minimize trash, there is an easy-

to-remember phrase: “Reduce, Re-Use,

Recycle.” It can also be applied to other

materials, mitigating supply problems,

costs and waste. Across a range of

issues with water, UNC Charlotte is

having success with the three-R’s

approach.

The state of North Carolina has been

aggressive in reducing water use at its

facilities for more than a decade. To

decrease water use and expenses, the

University has employed a variety of

tactics. Technology is one. Rain sensors

control irrigation so fields only receive

water when the need is high. Several

indoor plumbing fixtures are now low-

flow, or in the case of waterless urinals,

no-flow.

Following nature’s lead has also

helped. Native, drought-tolerant plants

are replacing thirsty landscaped lawns

and vegetation. The result is a campus

that uses 42 percent less water per

square foot of buildings than it did in

2003. Annual savings on water bills

exceed $1.5 million dollars.

Another way to conserve water is

to use water collected from nature in

place of costly drinking water from

utilities. Rainwater-harvesting systems

move water from rooftops to special

landscaped areas to water plants and

allow the water to soak into the ground.

Some buildings have a cistern to store

rainwater for later irrigation needs or

The University harvests rainwater for landscape irrigation and other uses. This view from Atkins Library looks northwest.


for such indoor uses as flushing toilets.

Some buildings even collect water

condensing on air-conditioning units,

essentially removing moisture directly

from the air.

Using water in a building more

than once is also possible. An example

is UNC Charlotte Center City, where

water draining from sinks is re-used as

toilet-flushing water.

The University is also partnering

with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Utilities

on a much larger recycling project.

Currently, the campus exports water to

flush sewage to a wastewater treatment

plant only a few miles away. In the

next few years, the University expects

to have finished a pipeline to carry

cleaned water from the plant, called

reclaimed water, back to campus.

John Fessler, the University’s

director of capital projects, puts the

pipeline in perspective. “Reclaimed

water has been used since the

beginning of modern time. Cities and

towns send wastewater to rivers, and

the water is then extracted downstream

by other cities and towns. (In the

interim,) nature has started the process

of cleaning the water using biological

and physical reactions. Today we are

short-circuiting the process” with the

pipeline.

The reclaimed water will be used

for irrigation, air conditioning and

toilet flushing at a fraction of the cost of

utility-provided clean drinking water.

While this large recycling project

means lower water costs for the

campus, it also will impact the bigger

picture of water stewardship. It means

less fresh water drawn from local

waterways and fewer water-carrying

nutrients and other pollution entering

local streams, rivers and lakes. That

leaves more and better water for

outdoor recreation, wildlife and fish,

plants and other creatures who make

the waterways their home.

“Reclaimed water has been used since the beginning of modern time. Cities and towns send wastewater to rivers, and the water is then extracted downstream by other cities and towns.”

Native, drought-tolerant plants and dry creek beds — seen here at the University’s Susie Harwood Garden — help with managing water resources.

21 CLAIM: REGIONAL | THRIVE

ACHIEVING SUSTAINABILITY AMID CONSTANT CHANGE

INTRODUCTIONUNC Charlotte has declared a

mission as North Carolina’s urban

research university. That commitment

is evident in the many ways the

University supports sustainability

efforts in the Charlotte region. You can

see highlights of such efforts on these

pages.

In a region as dynamic as Charlotte,

change is constant. A sustainable future

harnesses Charlotte’s flair for change.

Communities find better ways to meet

their needs, correct wrongs and adapt

to a changing world.

A sustainable future also preserves

the natural and human-made features

that help our communities flourish.

It maintains our best works and

relationships.

Many see sustainability and the

balancing of economic, social and

environmental concerns as a useful

way to think about preservation and

change. In its Sustainability Plan,

UNC Charlotte states a vision “to

be a regional model of sustainable

stewardship.”

That vision becomes reality by

providing student energy and faculty

expertise through established institutes

and programs, building facilities to

serve as innovative spaces for new

enterprises and ideas and playing a key

role in community development and

regional transportation.

The University sets an example

for how to balance preservation

and change in the Charlotte region,

accepting responsibility for both as it

promotes a sustainable future.

CLAIM 3: REGIONAL

22THRIVE | CLAIM: REGIONAL

‘BUILDING BETTER COMMUNITIES’

URBAN INSTITUTE SEEKS SOLUTIONS TO REGIONAL CHALLENGESApplying for a multimillion-dollar

sustainability grant from the U.S.

Department of Housing and Urban

Development (HUD) is no small

order. So when two Charlotte-area

organizations took it on several years

ago, they wanted the UNC Charlotte

Urban Institute at their side.

“There’s so much talent at the

University — from data tracking to

community planning to regional

trends — you can’t get better than that,”

said Michelle Nance, the planning

director at the Centralina Council of

Governments, which, along with the

Catawba Council of Governments,

successfully applied for the $4.9 million

HUD grant.

An applied research center that

focuses on regional growth and quality-

of-life issues, the Urban Institute has

an inherent interest in sustainability.

Its mission is to seek solutions to

social, economic and environmental

challenges in the region. “At the heart

of sustainability is building better

communities, and that’s what the

Urban Institute has been there to do

for this region,” said its director, Jeff

Michael.

Created in 1969, only four years

after UNC Charlotte gained university

status, the Urban Institute has always

focused on the vitality of the Charlotte

region, and not just from an urban

perspective. As the organization

prepared to celebrate its 45th birthday

in 2014, its leadership underscored

the point. “Our strategic planning

process reaffirmed the institute’s focus

on the metropolitan region more

broadly defined, including urban

The Urban Institute and other University organizations collaborated on the “Sustain Me Baby” exhibit at the Projective Eye Gallery.


and suburban, small town and rural,”

Michael wrote in an article on the

institute’s website.

Taking a major role in the HUD

grant and the resulting “CONNECT Our

Future” project was a natural for the

institute. The project encompasses

14 area counties — the same ones

the institute often focuses on — and

CONNECT’s goal is to develop a

shared regional growth vision and

framework, which are based on input

from individuals, community groups,

businesses and government staffers

and officeholders.

32 INDICATORS

Michael and other institute

personnel have been active in

CONNECT’s work groups and rolled

out 32 “well-being” and growth

indicators in connection with

the project (see pg. 24). “We are

establishing benchmarks,” Michael

said.

Among other institute activities

with a strong sustainability focus are

the institute’s own Charlotte Regional

Indicators Project, its PlanCharlotte

website and the KEEPING WATCH

initiative.

When the Charlotte Regional

Indicators Project debuted in 2007,

it was the first comprehensive,

data-driven look at the region in 11

areas: arts, recreation and cultural

life; demographics, the economy;

education; the environment;

government and citizen participation;

health; housing; public safety; social

well-being and transportation.

Updated regularly on the institute’s

website, the data give “people a

specific set of facts they can use as

they make their decisions about all

kinds of things,” says Urban Institute

Associate Director Mary Newsom. The

institute also partners with United Way,

Goodwill Industries, the Council for

Children’s Rights and others to collect

and analyze data for the organizations.

A newer project is

PlanCharlotte.org, an important

part of the Urban Institute’s growing

community outreach and information

role. The institute “has a history of

focusing, among other subjects, on

land use and community planning,

but in recent years, has done less in

actual planning in favor of focusing on

more citizen information and public

engagement and on research to inform

decision-makers,” said Newsom, who

led PlanCharlotte.org’s launch in

March 2012 and serves as its editor.

PlanCharlotte.org features news,

information and analysis on growth,

quality of life and the future of the

region. Topics often address planning

and design, transportation, land

preservation and development,

agriculture, economic development

and the environment.

“KEEPING WATCH”

The institute’s newest sustainability-

related program is KEEPING WATCH, a

joint initiative with the College of Arts

+ Architecture. The three-year project

began in spring 2014 and is designed

to raise the profile and knowledge of

local environmental issues, as well as to

foster collaboration across disciplines

and community groups. Most events

will take place around Earth Day in

April each year, and PlanCharlotte will

feature related articles on its website.

Working with historians, writers,

“We’re using art, community engagement, reporting and other types of academic analysis to draw attention to sustainability with a variety of audiences, ones for art, public policy, scientific evidence, community concerns and history.”

Encouraging recycling is a vital message of KEEPING WATCH, a joint initiative of the Urban Institute and the College of Arts + Architecture.

http://ui.uncc.edu/story/charlotte-region-metropolitian-2013

http://www.connectourfuture.org/

http://www.connectourfuture.org/

www.keepingwatch.org

http://plancharlotte.org


artists, scientists and environmental

experts, KEEPING WATCH is exploring

three local environmental issues:

plastic waste and recycling in 2014,

water quality and urban streams in

2015 and air quality and the value of

trees in 2016.

This year’s topic, KEEPING WATCH

on PLASTICS, kicked off March 28 with

the “Sustain Me Baby” exhibit at the

Projective Eye Gallery at UNC Charlotte

Center City and the “Is This Yours?”

collection of public art installations

in Charlotte. Related programming

during the spring includes a “Recycled

Runway” fashion show, film screenings

and panel discussions, plus an

installation at the McColl Center for

Visual Art by resident artist Aurora

Robson.

Newsom heads KEEPING WATCH

for the Urban Institute and is excited

about its scope. “We’re using art,

URBAN INSTITUTE, COLLEGE OF A+A PLAY KEY ROLES IN CONNECT

CONNECT Our Future is a three-year, 14-county project that rolled out a growth vision and framework for the Charlotte region in 2014. While the vision and framework aren’t binding on local government officials, the recommendations are designed to be a guiding influence in making decisions about land use, transportation, housing and other infrastructure and quality-of-life issues.

Both the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute and the UNC Charlotte College of Arts + Architecture have played key roles in CONNECT — which began in 2012 and ends this year. A $4.9 grant from HUD and $3 million from regional sources, mostly through in-kind contributions, are funding the project.

In addition to supporting the application to HUD and serving on CONNECT work groups, the Urban Institute is measuring 32 general regional data indicators. They are based on input from the project’s public engagement initiative, its nine CONNECT work groups, the CONNECT consortium of government staff and elected officials and HUD.

CREATING A SNAPSHOT

“When I think of the Urban Institute, the two words that come to

mind are ‘expertise’ and ‘discipline’ in developing the indicators and the platform that will assist this region chart its progress,” said Michelle Nance, planning director with one of CONNECT’s lead sponsors, Centralina Council of Governments. “The Urban Institute is developing a snapshot of the region.”

The indicators are housed on the institute’s website. They fall into the six categories based on the core values of CONNECT. Here are a few examples:

Under “Sustainable, Well-Managed Growth,” the indicators identify percentages of people who work at home or travel to work by commuting alone, sharing rides, biking, transit, walking, etc. Another indicator looks at whether commute times are 30 minutes or fewer, 30-59 minutes or 60 minutes or more.

For “Strong, Diverse Economy,” indicators include the percentage of unemployment by geography, median household income, per capita income, annual employment growth/change (all industries), payroll growth and percentage of employment by industry. “Safety and Healthy Environment” indicators show percentage of days with unhealthy air quality, ground-level ozone, particular matter emissions, farmland acreage,

farmers markets by 1,000 population and prevalence of key diseases.

Future funding is needed to keep the indicators going. “Everybody wants that to happen,” Nance said. “The beauty and usefulness of the information is the ability to track it over time.”

PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT

The College of Arts + Architecture has been a driving force in the public engagement associated with CONNECT — which has involved over 100 communities in the region, nearly 60 community growth workshops and whose outstanding work has been cited by HUD.

For the workshops, professor David Walters, associate professor Jose Gamez and graduate students in Arts + Architecture put together a participant workbook for community meetings as well as a regional land-use and design workbook that pictured and described “place types” in the region, giving participants common reference points for the project.

“I can’t speak highly enough about the work they have completed,” Nance said of the A+A contingent. Plus, “the visual quality of the documents have made us all look good.”

URBAN INSTITUTE CONTINUED ON 36 >


FROM PLAYGROUNDS TO FARMS, STUDENTS MAKE IMPACT

When Dylan McKnight was

considering the final project for his

master’s in community planning, UNC

Charlotte professor Janni Sorensen

introduced a perfect opportunity.

Sorensen is founder of the University’s

Charlotte Action Research Plan

(CHARP), a program that helps

marginalized communities establish

stronger neighborhood coalitions and

advocacy.

One such community is Reid Park,

an economically distressed community

in Charlotte. Today McKnight leads

the University’s CHARP partnership

with Reid Park and is one of many

students obtaining hands-on regional

sustainability experience through

internships and similar activities.

McKnight is working with the Reid

Park Neighborhood Association to

transform the community into a more

socially and economically sustainable

area. Improvements include a new

playground, safer greenways and

the knowledge to advocate for the

community.

He is gaining important know-

how. “I had the need to practice

the community planning skills that

I had learned while studying at

UNC Charlotte, and the Reid Park

neighborhood offered a real-world

setting,” he said.

The real-world setting for civil

engineering student Adain Alar

is the Charlotte-Mecklenburg

Utilities Department. As part of

the Sustainability, Energy and

Environmental (SEE) intern program,

he conducts hands-on water quality

research for the department.

Since 2012, the University’s Energy

and Environmental Assistance Office

has overseen and employed SEE

interns from a variety of disciplines to

assist with key community research

projects.

“I have the unique opportunity to

work with the water quality division

at the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Utilities

Department, (and) my experience

has far exceeded my expectations,”

Alar said. He attributes valuable skills

he’s gained to landing his summer

internship with a large construction

company.

Meanwhile, Jacob Huffman is also

busy working in the field — the crop

field, that is. The geography major has

partnered with Friendship Gardens and

several other Charlotte organizations to

create the Urban Farm Learning Center

at Garinger High School. The farm

supplies produce to Friendship Trays,

a Charlotte “meals on wheels” program

that provides healthy, organic foods.

The farm also serves to educate

the community about sustainable

agriculture methods, one of Huffman’s

main goals. “This is the sort of work

I am going to dedicate myself to …

and I’d like to open the field of urban

agriculture up to as many people as I

can so they may too experience the joy

of growing and knowing about the food

they eat,” Huffman said.

From playgrounds to farms, UNC

Charlotte students can be found

throughout the region, and the

impact seems to be a fair trade: as the

community enables students to shape

their own futures, growing numbers of

students are defining Charlotte’s.

as the community enables students to shape their own futures, growing numbers of students are defining Charlotte’s.

As part of his master’s program, Dylan McKnight began working with Reid Park to improve the community’s playground and more.


EEAO OFFERS CUSTOM TEAMS, SOLUTIONS

The Energy and Environmental

Assistance Office’s (EEAO) recently

celebrated its 20th year providing

leadership and collaborative

partnerships to address challenges in

the region.

Based at the University’s Energy

Production and Infrastructure

Center, the EEAO tackles many

sustainability-related issues while

also providing students real-world

learning opportunities. “The EEAO has

grown from a small outreach office to

one that offers a broad base of faculty

and student expertise, providing

environmental, sustainable and energy

solutions for the region,” said its

executive director, Regina Guyer.

With grant funding having steadily

grown from $20,000 to $500,000

per year, Guyer develops custom

teams of staff, faculty, graduate and

undergraduate students to meet client

needs.

Services are tailored and extensive,

reflecting a multidisciplinary

approach. Projects include engineering

evaluations, field testing and sampling,

energy solutions, grant collaborations,

project management, educational

outreach, environmental analysis,

focus groups and surveys, according to

the EEAO’s website.

One example is the group’s work

with the Regional Stormwater Partnership

(RSWP), an organization comprised of

more than 25 municipal agencies and

communities that deal with issues such

as stormwater runoff and water quality.

Charged with engaging members

and strengthening collaborations,

the EEAO began bimonthly “Tech

Talk” sessions. They consist of

workshops, training and networking

opportunities. The inaugural talk

featured Harrisburg’s town engineer

Derek Slocum presenting the town’s

development of a stormwater master

plan.

The EEAO enhances what RSWP

can offer its members, said the

organization’s Jennifer Frost. It has

“brought a level and variety of expertise

to the RSWP that allows our group to

try new strategies,” she said. “We look

at the EEAO as our partner in regional

collaboration.”

Another project is with N.C. State’s

Urban Water Consortium, made up of

North Carolina’s 12 largest utilities.

The EEAO helped the consortium

implement a Fats, Oil and Grease

(FOG) communications program

targeted to multi-family housing and

Latino communities.

Drawing from the University’s

Department of Communication

Studies, faculty and students

researched and produced a

communications strategies report

entitled “Improving Grease Disposal

in Multifamily Housing & Latino

Populations.” Customized to the needs

of each utility in the consortium, the

report resulted in strategy trials and

evaluations that encouraged behavior

changes among utility customers.

At the University, an entire public

relations practicum class was designed

around the project. “These students

gained a greater understanding of

the issues of FOG within our water

infrastructure and used their creativity

for creating public relations materials

to communicate the importance of

proper strategies of FOG disposal,”

Guyer said.

Another EEAO client is the

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Utility

Department. Describing the value

of the relationship, the department’s

Jacqueline Jarrell said it has “provided

a wonderful opportunity to partner

with UNC Charlotte to explore new

technologies, research and sustainable

practices at our facilities. The student

internships have been a win-win in

providing the resources we needed and

providing the students exposure to the

water industry.”

Rainwater from roofs, lawns, streets and other sourcesflowintodrinkingwatersourcessuch

as rivers and lakes.

http://eao.uncc.edu/

http://eao.uncc.edu/

http://charmeck.org/stormwater/stormwateragencies/pages/regionalstormwaterpartnership.aspx

http://www.ncsu.edu/wrri/code/partnerships/uwc.htm


BLUE LINE EXTENSION ‘IMPORTANT INVESTMENT’

Creating a sustainable region

means building the infrastructure for

healthy and thriving communities.

Transportation networks draw

attention because they can improve

or degrade the prospects for

sustainability.

Transportation networks are

also a key to expanding economic

opportunity. They impact people

and businesses by driving expenses,

pollution, land use and how we use

our time. It makes us more, or less,

wasteful with energy and land, as well

as more, or less, likely to spend our

time productively or happily.

Regional transportation and

development is following a more

sustainable path with the expansion

of Charlotte’s Lynx light-rail system.

The first leg made a major positive

impact on south Charlotte and uptown,

including UNC Charlotte’s Center City

campus. And soon the main campus in

University City will join the system.

The University has been

instrumental in plans to double the

length of the Blue Line by 2017. The

extension will link UNC Charlotte’s

main campus, students and faculty

with UNC Charlotte Center City and the

businesses, organizations and cultural

groups located uptown.

Chancellor Philip Dubois and

University trustees championed the

Blue Line extension. They granted

easements and improvements totaling

more than $5 million that will allow the

Charlotte Area Transit System to build

two stations and connecting rail on

state-owned property.

As the chancellor noted at

groundbreaking ceremonies: “The

reason we all have worked together

so hard, so well and for so long is that

we have understood that the benefits

to the city were too large and too

significant … It will be one of our most

important investments.”

Federal Transit Administrator Peter

Rogoff summed up the significance this

way: “This project will create thousands

of jobs during construction, create

economic opportunity by connecting

the city’s financial, high-tech and

cultural centers with the thriving UNC

Charlotte campus and give commuters

an alternative to sitting in traffic on I-85

and U.S. 29.” A 2011 study estimated

new rail commuters will save 75 million

miles of driving each year.

The main campus is well suited

for rail transit. The University and its

neighbors have high-density housing,

thousands of jobs and retail businesses.

The area also has networks of public

and private buses, lanes and trails for

bicycles and paths and sidewalks for

pedestrians.

The timing is also critical for

UNC Charlotte. Accommodating more

cars requires expensive garage, road

and bridge projects, and expanding

public transit is a way to help peoople

control their transportation costs. It

also helps reduce air pollution and

preserve an attractive campus for area

residents as well as for the daily influx

of students, faculty, staff and visitors.

Regional transportation and development is following a more sustainable path with the expansion of Charlotte’s Lynx light-rail system.

Local leaders hope the Blue Line Extension projected to come to the University in 2017 is as successful as the light-rail line that runs through South End, pictured here.

28THRIVE | CLAIM: SOCIAL

WEAVING THE FABRIC TO MEET HUMAN NEED

INTRODUCTIONA popular business slogan for

sustainability is “People, Planet and

Profit.” It is an easy-to-remember list of

what sustainability is meant to protect.

Businesses also describe these efforts as

corporate social responsibility.

Regardless, for organizations, groups

and individuals, a high tensile social

fabric is central to sustainability.

One view of social sustainability

is to understand and meet people’s

needs — which tend to come from

the environment and be delivered via

the economy. That includes not only

physical needs (food, water, shelter),

but also modern needs (transportation,

communication, energy, health care,

security, education, employment) and

ancient needs (family, community,

spirituality).

A different angle is to address

poverty, disease, war, migration

and other social issues that create

environmental and economic problems.

Universities exist to meet

human needs but also have social

responsibilities as employers and

neighbors. They meet the human need

for education, skills and the betterment

of the community, while also addressing

the diverse requirements of students,

employees and guests.

The stories that follow demonstrate

ways UNC Charlotte manifests its

social sustainability role — from how

students built an award-winning

entry for the 2013 Solar Decathlon

competition to how faculty and students

are constructing bridges in a Peruvian

village. The stories reflect the University’s

commitment to excellence in social

sustainability and, in keeping with its

mission as a research institution, the

search for understanding and solutions

that go far beyond campus.

CLAIM 4: SOCIAL

29 CLAIM: SOCIAL | THRIVE

SOLAR DECATHLON HOUSEA ONE-OF-A-KIND LEARNING OPPORTUNITY

Two years ago, a talented cadre of

UNC Charlotte students earned an

extraordinary learning opportunity.

The U.S. Department of Energy selected

them as one of 20 university groups to

compete in the prestigious 2013 Solar

Decathlon.

The challenge: to design and build

an affordable, innovative and fully

functional energy-efficient home

within the context of each team’s local

geographic setting. Hence,

UNC Charlotte’s idea — UrbanEden —

was born.

The name represents two key

environmental influences: “Urban,”

suggesting Charlotte’s densely

populated geographical makeup and

“Eden,” symbolizing a quiet, lush

garden. “The whole concept is to build

a house that brings the garden into

the city,” said Meg Whalen, director of

communications and external relations

for the College of Arts + Architecture.

Students and faculty, primarily from

the School of Architecture, the William

States Lee College of Engineering and

the Belk College of Business, moved

forward with the design submission.

The three designated student team

leaders were Cortney Albert, design;

Clarke Snell, overall project; and

Preston Finnie, engineering. Myriad

sponsors, including the University itself,

Ingersoll Rand and others were also

integral to the team’s success, providing

necessary funding and valuable

professional experience.

MANY DISCIPLINES

A multi-disciplinary approach

provided students the opportunity

to work with different departments,

translating into varying perspectives

and layers of learning. It also offered

“a one-of-a-kind learning experience

while they are still at school, giving

them the tools they need to pursue

careers in the sustainable energy

industry,” said Mona Azarbayjani,

UNC Charlotte students reassembled their Solar Decathlon house in only seven days at the national competition in Irvine, Calif.

http://www.solardecathlon.gov/

http://www.solardecathlon.gov/

http://urbaneden.uncc.edu/

http://urbaneden.uncc.edu/interested-becoming-sponsor


assistant architecture professor and

lead principle investigator for the team.

Engaging with many academic

areas made an impression on Robert

Miller, a team member who recently

earned his bachelor’s in architecture.

He remembers attending “meetings

not only with the heads of the School of

Architecture but also with the various

engineering disciplines, marketing

and business,” he said. “At that point,

I realized what this project meant to

everyone.”

Interweaving disciplines also

proved pivotal to the overall project. “It

would not have been feasible without

a cross-disciplinary approach, and I

now look at design this way, in that all

design should be cross-disciplinary in

order to achieve the best result,” said

Michelle Todd, another team member

who recently earned her master’s in

architecture.

The design process took over a year

of planning meetings, refinements

and consultations; the subsequent

construction took four months. On

Aug. 23, 2013, the team hosted an open

house and media preview, followed

by a commissioning ceremony and

send-off with Chancellor Philip

Dubois, generous donors and friends.

One hundred and twenty-five tons of

packed materials later, the long haul to

Irvine, Calif. began.

BATTLING THE CLOCK

Upon arrival, contestants had only

10 days to reconstruct their houses.

Due to unavoidable transportation

issues — UrbanEden’s trucks arrived

a few days late — the UNC Charlotte

team had only seven full days to

reassemble the house. Thanks to the

team’s unwavering commitment,

UrbanEden was completed on time.

“We had been working 17-hour days,

and it seemed like we were not going

to meet our deadline. Fortunately, we

were able to pull together … and get the

job done,” Albert said. “It was stressful

and rewarding at the same time.”

For eight days, thousands of

visitors toured the competing houses.

One guest commented that “the

attention to detail and thoughtfulness

of UrbanEden was the only one he

would proudly call his house,” Miller

recalled. As the days passed, visitors

‘GREEN’ HOUSE UrbanEden boasts a plentiful supply of green features. For complete information, visit urbaneden.uncc.edu.

1. Recycled steel beams2. Adjustable solar panels3. Wall capillaries4. Urban vertical garden5. Interactive energy management

control system6. Triple-pane glass7. Geopolymer concrete walls and foundation

SOLAR DECATHLON HOUSE CONTINUED ON 36 >

12

3

4

56

7

The Solar Decathlon house involved students and faculty primarily from the School of Architecture, the William States Lee College of Engineering and the Belk College of Business.

http://urbaneden.uncc.edu/


CENTER STAGE UPTOWN BUILDING MAKES POWERFUL CONNECTIONS

“The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” — Aristotle

With its kinetic design, educational

offerings and strategic locale,

UNC Charlotte Center City is the,

embodiment of the philosopher’s

words. Located near the heart of

downtown Charlotte, the 11-story,

143,000-square-foot building

encourages an interconnected sense of

place, housing collaborative meeting

spaces, smart-technology classrooms, a

cafe and community events.

It earned the nationally acclaimed

Leadership in Energy and Environmental

Design’s (LEED) gold rating in 2013.

Developed by the nonprofit U.S. Green

Building Council, LEED certification

recognizes the advanced use of “green”

architectural and building practices in

six categories: sustainable sites, water

efficiency, energy and atmosphere,

materials and resources, indoor and

environmental quality and innovation

and design process.

Apart from structure, UNC Charlotte

Center City houses graduate-level

programs focused on urban design,

business and urban education. “Many

students live or work in proximity to

uptown,” said Jerry Coughter, executive

director of UNC Charlotte Center City.

But perhaps more importantly, it

is a real-life example of how social

sustainability works. The site’s very

presence connects the surrounding

urban community and enhances

current and future generations through

learning, discovery, culture and quality

of life.

‘REFERENCE POINT’

Fully Internet accessible, “the

building is wirelessly connected to

the Envision Charlotte network,” noted

Coughter. This collaborative network

of corporate, governmental and

university leadership is committed to

engaging Charlotte’s urban community

on sustainable practices, specifically

evaluating building-usage data related

to energy, water, air and waste. “As

a new, energy-efficient building, we

provide a reference point for them (the

network) as compared to many of the

UNC Charlotte Center City houses graduate programs in urban design, business and urban education.



http://www.envisioncharlotte.com/


older participating buildings,” Coughter

said.

The building’s tranquil landscape

offers urban amenities such as the

growing Charlotte B-cycle bicycle

sharing program, an electric vehicle

charging station and open public

grounds for outdoor events. Coughter

also expects community use to increase

when the adjacent First Ward Park —

which will be more than four acres — is

completed. The projected completion

date is 2015.

On the inside, lower floors provide

visitors and students open, inviting

gathering spots. The Projective Eye

Gallery, on the ground floor, presents an

eclectic rotation of engaging exhibits

throughout each year. “School groups

visit many of the exhibitions, with some

drawing thousands of people into the

building,” Coughter said. “Sustain Me

Baby,” an exhibit in spring 2014, (see

pg. 22) explored two artists’ powerful

interpretations of the negative — and

dangerous — effects of plastic waste.

AUDITORIUM, OTHER SPACES

A 300-seat auditorium hosts

speaker series, lectures, films and

performances, offering an array of

topic flavors ranging from local to

international tastes. The public also

enjoys a cafe and comfortable lobby

areas facilitating anything from

formal receptions to quiet, casual

conversation.

Upper floors contain a mix of shared

instructional and administrative spaces

to “encourage interdepartmental

interaction” and “capture the intimacy

of a UNC Charlotte campus academic

building within a dynamic new urban

context,” said Richard Maimon,

principal with KieranTimberlake, the

architectural firm that designed the

building.

With an expanded annual literary

festival, the new First Ward Park

coming and the much-anticipated

light-rail Lynx Blue Line extension to

open in 2017, UNC Charlotte Center

City continues to multiply social

connections for the community.

The site’s very presence connects the surrounding urban community and enhances future generations.

University and community leaders turned out for the groundbreaking of First Ward Park, expected to be completed in 2015.

A Charlotte B-cycle sharing location at UNC Charlotte Center City allows people to rent bicycles.

http://centercity.uncc.edu/projective-eye-art-gallery

http://centercity.uncc.edu/projective-eye-art-gallery


STUDENTS BUILD BRIDGES IN PERU, FORM EWB CHAPTER

Following the 2004 tsunami, Brett

Tempest, a former construction

manager for Habitat for Humanity,

saw firsthand the importance of

engineering and social impact. For 11

months, he supervised a seven-person

engineering field team and a host of

contractors on reconstruction projects

along India’s southeastern coast.

Later, as a faculty member at UNC

Charlotte, he wanted to share this

social impact with his students. “I was

really committed to having a platform

and a club that students could join

and use their engineering skills for

some community good,” said Tempest,

assistant professor of civil and

environmental engineering.

He found that by initiating a student

chapter of Engineers Without Borders

(EWB), an international organization

that designs and implements

sustainable engineering projects in

impoverished communities around the

world.

VILLAGE OF PARA PARA

In 2010, Tempest began the

lengthy legal process to establish the

chapter. In the meantime, he set up an

engineering service club that took on

its first project in 2011. The club began

working with the Peruvian village of

Para Para after a nonprofit partner of

UNC Charlotte’s, the Michael Scott

Mater Foundation, requested help.

The first trip there was in the

summer of 2011. A team of professors,

students and community members

decided that a series of bridges

would be the best project to help

the community. “The closest major

township was an hour away, separated

by massive mountains and tremendous

gorges,” recalled senior engineering

student Sean Lanier. Better access to

the next town meant quicker and safer

travel to necessities and medical care.

“Transportation … is interesting

because it’s access,” said Tempest.

“It’s a safer route to school for kids

or the ability to get up and down the

mountain. This community is in a fairly

remote area and if the river (was) up,

the existing bridges became impassable

or dangerous to cross.”

In 2012, the club officially became

the EWB-UNCC chapter and has

continued the project in Para Para,

even though it is not an official EWB

endeavor. “It’s a summer abroad

program with a service project,”

Tempest said. “The students get course

credit, learn about development and

engineering issues, as well as social

and economic issues.”

ANOTHER BRIDGE PLANNED

The chapter has made two

additional trips, building a total of

three bridges. EWB-UNCC members

plan to return to Paru Paru in the near

future to build at least one more bridge

and to continue their relationship with

the community.

“It’s really essential that you follow

through, so we’ll need to go and make

sure that the things we’ve built are

performing the way we want them to,”

said Tempest, who believes that a key

to international service lies in finishing

what you started.

He and chapter members now have

their eyes out for their first official EWB

project, which will be a complex, multi-

year commitment, either domestic or

overseas. They also would also like to

take on smaller local projects.

Tempest would love to return to

his Habitat for Humanity roots and

collaborate with the local professional

chapter of EWB on a project. “That

would be great,” he said.

UNC Charlotte students have built bridges to help connect the Peruvian village of Para Para to nearby towns.


FULL CYCLE INSS EMERGES TO STUDY SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITY

In June 2011, Craig Farkos traveled

his usual bicycle route to work. As lanes

overflowed during rush hour, a driver

accidently struck the Charlotte-based

engineer, turning his typical morning

commute into an unexpected trip to

the hospital.

Facing a long recovery, Farkos,

chair of the American Society of

Civil Engineers’ Committee on

Sustainability, contemplated his

experience. Why did the act of biking

seem to lack such respect? Biking is a

growing mode of urban transportation,

generally recognized as a “green”

practice. And, despite tensions

between “riders” and “drivers,” it

is, in essence, a good thing. His

thinking then morphed into a larger

question: the act of biking is a socially

sustainable practice, specifically

contributing to an area’s health and

environmental well-being — so what

can be done to raise awareness of

socially sustainable activities?

IDEAS Center founder Helene Hilger

WhentheIntegratedNetworkforSocialSustainabilityhelditsfirstconference,oneofthefieldtripswasdinneratalocalfarm.


INSS IS BORNDuring this time, Farkos

recalled having met Helene Hilger,

founder of UNC Charlotte’s IDEAS

(Infrastructure, Design, Environment

and Sustainability) Center, several

months earlier. He remembered her

strong desire to incorporate social

sustainability issues into the center and

the classroom. He contacted Hilger,

and ultimately it resulted in a decision

to more formally research social

sustainability in general.

Hilger wasted no time recruiting

UNC Charlotte professors from

various departments, knowing that

multiple disciplines were necessary to

understand the contexts, definitions

and interconnectedness of social

sustainability

The effort grew quickly and soon

the Integrated Network for Social

Sustainability (INSS) emerged —

dedicated to developing a better

understanding of social sustainability

and its close relationship with other

aspects of sustainability. “Everyone

knows about the environmental and

economic aspects of sustainability,”

said Nicole Peterson, professor of

anthropology and the INSS principal

investigator. “We’re interested in how

these kinds of projects also affect

people, which can be everything from

quality of life to labor issues to the

effects of policies on pollution.”

CONFERENCE LAUNCHED

One of the group’s early initiatives

was launching the first annual

INSS Conference in May 2013. The

conference was possible thanks to

a Research Coordination Network

Program grant through the National

Science Foundation, a sum that

exceeded $700,000.

Social complexities of urban

development was the meeting’s

focus. Presentations, discussions and

local tours explored a wide-range of

“We’re interested in how these kinds of projects also affect people, which can be everything from quality of life to labor issues to the effects of policies on pollution.”

THE FOUNDERS OF INSS

UNC Charlotte’s Helene Hilger recruited professors across disciplines when she wanted to study social sustainability. They became founders (along with Hilger, a former co-principal investigator) of the Integrated Network for Social Sustainability, best known as INSS.

Principal Investigator• Nicole Peterson, assistant professor of anthropology, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Co-Principlal Investigators • Jennifer Munroe, associate professor of English, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

• Thomas Gentry, assistant professor of architecture, College of Arts and Architecture • Brett Tempest, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering, William States Lee College of Engineering

Most meetings at the initial INSS conference were at UNC Charlotte Center City.


issues, including the impact of new

architecture on its environment and

more sensitive issues such as child

prostitution that can result from urban

growth.

By day three of the conference,

several research topics had developed,

and UNC Charlotte took on two

of them. The first, headed by INSS

founding member and associate

professor of applied linguistics

Liz Miller, is the Linguistics Project.

Its lofty goal is to define social

sustainability through research and

examination of INSS member articles,

blogs, conference presentations

and discussions, with the goal of

establishing a universal definition.

Jennifer Munroe, INSS co-principal

investigator and an English professor,

is developing the second initiative: an

educational and curriculum component.

Students from an array of majors will

soon begin traveling abroad to study

social sustainability issues. The first

trips, scheduled for summer 2015,

include accessing university archives

from an international sustainability

conference in Germany, researching

urban sustainability in London’s center

city and learning about sustainable

development initiatives in Peru.

Farkos’ bicycle accident was an

unfortunate event, but he and Helene

Hilger realize it served an important

purpose — planting seeds for an

organization, INSS, to further the

knowledge on the important topic of

social sustainability.

* Editor’s Note: Farkos now lives

in Ethiopia, building hospitals in

rural areas and, of course, exploring

bicycling policies.

kept repeating the sentiment. “That

was when (I) knew that we had won the

hearts of the people,” he said.

Ultimately, UrbanEden returned

with two well-earned recognitions: the

popular-vote “People’s Choice Award”

and a third place tie in the engineering

contest.

A NEW HOME

UrbanEden will reside permanently

near UNC Charlotte’s Energy

Production and Infrastructure Center

(EPIC) building. “The vision is to make

UrbanEden a platform for testing new

home-scale technologies, so it will

see upgrades as new materials and

equipment are developed,” said Mike

Lizotte, university sustainability officer.

Classwork and interdisciplinary

research projects will also occur in this

“living” laboratory. Azarbayjani, for

example, plans to work with a team

“to collaborate on measurements,

verification and monitoring of the

house when it’s reassembled.”

Student team members have been

deeply influenced as well, offering a far

deeper understanding and increased

resolve of how their academic interests

contribute in major ways to a socially

sustainable future. A few of their

parting thoughts:

“UrbanEden was not only an

experiment of how to generate

renewable energy but also how

to responsibly use this valuable

commodity.” — Robert Miller

“Architecture is not just about an

object in the landscape … it’s about

how it functions in the landscape and

what it does for our environment, both

natural and built.” — Michelle Todd

“As architects and designers, this is a

major reason we do our job, to create a

positive impact on others’ lives and the

natural environment through the built

environment.” — Cortney Albert

* Editor’s Note: Take a virtual tour of

UrbanEden.

community engagement, reporting

and other types of academic analysis

to draw attention to sustainability

with a variety of audiences, ones for

art, public policy, scientific evidence,

community concerns and history,” she

said. “The message of sustainability

needs all those audiences.”

URBAN INSTITUTE CONTINUED FROM 24 <

“That was when (I) knew that we had won the hearts of the people”

SOLAR DECATHLON CONTINUED FROM 30 <

“KEEPING WATCH display”

http://clas-pages.uncc.edu/inss/linguistic-project/

http://clas-pages.uncc.edu/inss/educational-component/

http://clas-pages.uncc.edu/inss/educational-component/

http://urbaneden.uncc.edu

37 GEMS | THRIVE

UNIVERSITY DEBUTS PROJECT MOSAICUNC Charlotte has launched Project

Mosaic to enhance social and behavioral

science research. The divisions of

Academic Affairs and Research and

Economic Development are funding

the campuswide effort, which will

include social sustainability issues.

“Our faculty, our students and

our communities will benefit from

the knowledge and collaborations

this effort will produce,” said Joan

Lorden, provost and vice chancellor

for academic affairs. “Almost all of the

issues confronting the world today

have a societal element. Dealing with

these complex challenges requires a

concentrated, cohesive approach that

draws upon the combined research and

scholarship of the social and behavioral

science disciplines.”

Project Mosaic was inspired by

the National Science Foundation

report “Rebuilding the Mosaic,” which

identified the need for research in the

social and behavioral sciences to be

increasingly interdisciplinary, data

intensive and collaborative.

Initially, Project Mosaic will

center on two themes that fit this new

research paradigm. The first theme is

human and social capital, innovation

and quality of life. The second theme

is metropolitan centers, world trade,

transportation and communication.

SCHOLARS SPEARHEAD NEW CLUB AND GARDENSeveral Levine Scholars recently

pooled their talents and resources

to help establish a new community

garden on campus. Levine Scholars are

required to lead a civic engagement

project that enriches the community,

for which they are provided funds,

support and guidance. Kevin

Rodengen, Jacob Emerson and Chloe

Rodengen, all members of the Class of

2015, spent the past year planting many

seeds for success.

They established a new student

organization, The Garden Club, to

recruit student gardeners and gained

working experience in Charlotte-area

community gardens such as Friendship

Gardens and Sow Much Good.

UNC Charlotte dining contractor

Chartwells and a grant from the

student-funded Charlotte Green

Initiative helped launch the effort.

The students sought input from the

University community to help refine

their mission and chose a site. They

also recruited fellow students and staff

to help with landscape designs and

artistic renderings of their vision.

In September 2014, these efforts

culminated into UNC Charlotte Garden

Build Day. Students and volunteers

installed six raised produce beds, a

hammock lounge and handicapped-

accessible pathways, fulfilling the first

step of its mission:

“To establish a community space

at UNC Charlotte that grows fresh,

local food, provides a serene space

for students to hang out outdoors

and educates the community on

sustainable agricultural and living

practices.”

Produce from the garden, located

near Storrs and Robinson Hall,

will be shared with campus dining

(Chartwells), Friendship Trays and

club members. The Garden Club plans

for spring include doubling the number

of garden beds and installing a pergola.

New members are always welcome.

GEMS MORE SHINING EXAMPLES OF SUSTAINABILITY

Students and other volunteers built the garden near Storrs and Robinson Hall.

https://projectmosaic.uncc.edu/

https://projectmosaic.uncc.edu/

38THRIVE | GEMS

BELK HALL EARNS TWO GREEN GLOBES RATING

Belk Hall, a 426-bed residential

building opened in 2013, achieved

a certification level rating of Two

Green Globes from the Green Building

Initiative’s (GBI) Green Globes for

New Construction program. This level

“demonstrates excellent progress in the

reduction of environmental impacts

and use of environmental efficiency

practices,” per GBI’s website. It is the

first state-owned building and sixth

overall to earn a Green Globes rating

for new construction in North Carolina.

“With this latest award, UNC

Charlotte is demonstrating leadership

in constructing green buildings that

make state operations more efficient,

protect the environment and improve

living conditions for our students,” said

University sustainability officer, Mike

Lizotte.

The University demonstrated that

the facility exceeded many aspects

of national construction industry

standards. According to GBI, the

building had an 86 percent energy

performance reduction relative to other

buildings of the same type nationwide.

Other environmentally friendly

features include: a white roof to

promote indoor cooling; energy-

efficient windows that maximize

natural light while maintaining high

insulation values; energy-efficient

equipment such as sensors that power

down when an area is not in use;

recycled materials in furniture, carpets,

metal studs and tile; and outdoor

landscaping design that doesn’t require

extra watering.

FILL ’ER UP WITH ELECTRONSUNC Charlotte has been awarded

a grant of $52,000 from the N.C. Solar

Center (recently renamed the N.C.

Clean Energy Technology Center) to

support electric vehicle charging on

campus. For commuters and visitors

driving plug-in vehicles, Parking and

Transportation Services (PATS) will

install 20 charging stations.

Two of the newest parking garages

on campus, South Village and CRI,

were built to accommodate such

charging stations. “This is a great

example of taking the future seriously

— the planning by PATS made the

project attractive to funders and will

save time and money,” said Mike

Lizotte, University sustainability officer

and project coordinator for the grant.

There will be no additional cost for

electricity use from people charging

their cars during the grant period,

in line with the grant’s purpose to

encourage alternate fuel vehicles that

can reduce air pollution. The money

will also support expansion of charging

stations for the growing number of

electric vehicles used by campus

departments. Vehicle charging is also

available at UNC Charlotte’s Center

City.

Environmentally friendly features won Belk Hall a rating of Two Green Globes from the Green Building Initiative.

http://www.thegbi.org/

http://www.thegbi.org/

39 GEMS | THRIVE

A TON OF TRASH COLLECTED — LITERALLYLast April, more than 300 students,

faculty and staff members fanned out

over UNC Charlotte’s 900 acres for the

campus’s bi-annual Campus Clean Up.

The volunteers collected approximately

one ton of litter and recyclable items

and planted approximately 150 trees.

The event draws people passionate

about their environment. “Campus

Cleanup was designed for one purpose

— to allow everyone in the campus

community an opportunity to give back

and show commitment to the land, the

University and its mission,” said Devin

Hatley, environmental educator for

Facilities Management’s Office of Waste

Reduction and Recycling.

The Office and Facilities

Management’s grounds unit manage

the project, which began in 2006 and is

held every April and October.

Hatley and the student-led

organizations of Charlotte Green

Initiative and the EARTH Club help

coordinate the volunteers, who

received bags, gloves and other

supplies to gather trash at assigned

locations.

For more information on

Campus Cleanup and other campus

beautification programs, go to http://

bit.ly/1oe5nVc.

SYMPOSIUM: TURNING TRASH TO TREASURE“One person’s trash is another

person’s treasure” cleverly illustrates

the theme of the University’s BioEnergy

Symposium in 2013. Attendees

explored anaerobic digestion — or

creating renewable energy from organic

waste — for its emerging advantages of

sustainable options versus traditional

methods. The approach continues

to gain global attention for its many

environmental advantages.

Hosted by the Infrastructure,

Design, Environment and

Sustainability (IDEAS) Center, the

symposium convened hundreds of

participants from academia, state and

local government, municipal utilities,

businesses and the public. “Our overall

goal was to provide information and

trigger discussions that could truly lead

to implementation in North Carolina,”

said Regina Guyer, IDEAS Center

associate director. “It brought together

individuals with expertise and interest

and provided a catalyst for education

toward new or improved sustainable

activities in the state.”

Two popular presentations were

“BioEnergy from Waste — The Low-

Hanging Fruit” by Perry L. McCarty,

Silas H. Palmer Professor Emeritus

at Stanford University, and “On the

Horizon — We’re on to something. Will

Everyone Else Agree?” by Steven Burke,

president and CEO of the Biofuels

Center of North Carolina.

Past symposiums have explored

transportation biofuels (2012) and

waste-to-energy (2011), with the next

symposium reconvening in 2015. Click

here to watch a brief interview with

Guyer about the 2013 symposium.

The symposium drew a wide range of participants to discuss anaerobic digestion.

The bi-annual Campus Cleanup involves students, faculty and staff.

The cleanup on April 6, 2014 included planting about 150 trees.

http://www.uncc.edu/spotlight/2014/spotlight-campus-wide-cleanup-set-april-9

http://bit.ly/1oe5nVc

http://bit.ly/1oe5nVc

http://youtu.be/ngPFUyJSrko

http://youtu.be/ngPFUyJSrko

40THRIVE | SHAPING THE FUTURE

SHAPING THE FUTUREGRADUATES TAKE SUSTAINABILITY KNOWLEDGE INTO THE COMMUNITY

UNC Charlotte and the region

are seeing benefits of a sustainable

approach in operations, business,

research, and communities. The list

of professions where sustainability is

applied is growing, and universities are

updating curriculum and offering new

degrees to meet future demand.

In 2013, the first task force

appointed by the University’s new

Executive Sustainability Committee

focused on curriculum and research.

This faculty committee reviewed ways

to assess the school’s curriculum and

recommended ways to encourage

faculty to develop new curriculum,

courses and degrees.

UNC Charlotte has over 30 degree

programs that require courses

addressing sustainability. The offerings

span five colleges and include

bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral

degrees. Some departments have been

teaching core sustainability concepts

for decades.

Recently UNC Charlotte created

interdisciplinary options that include

a bachelor’s degree in environmental

studies and a master’s degree in

business administration with a

concentration in energy. Here is a list of

the fields taught at the University with

sustainability courses:

Africana Studies

Architecture

Biology

Business Administration

Civil Engineering

Construction & Facilities Management

Construction Management

Earth and Environmental Sciences

Engineering Management

Engineering Technology

Environmental Studies

Geography

Infrastructure & Environmental Systems

Public Health

Public Policy

Real Estate

Systems Engineering

Urban Design

FOSTERING THE FUTURE: 2014 LEVINE SCHOLARS

Recipients of the prestigious Levine

Scholars Program embody one of the

fundamental aspects of sustainability:

to grow and nurture people and

resources that will, in turn, improve the

lives of future generations.

Due to the generosity of Charlotte’s

Sandra and Leon Levine, each

scholarship includes full tuition, room

and board, four summer experiences

and a grant providing each student the

opportunity to develop and launch

his/her own service project. One

such project is the UNC Charlotte

Community Garden featured on page

37.

These exceptional men and women

are chosen based on three key factors:

scholarship, ethical leadership and

civic engagement. Per the Levine

Scholars Program website, these

students “graduate fully prepared for a

life of learning, service and leadership

in their chosen field.”

The 2014 class pictured above marks

the first 13 graduating scholars who are

now cultivating new endeavors which

include law school and a Fulbright

scholarship in Quito, Ecuador. Their

futures are unlimited.

41 MEET OUR UNIVERSITY SUSTAINABILITY OFFICER | THRIVE

STANDING ON SHOULDERS, PEERING INTO THE FUTURESince joining UNC Charlotte in

October 2013, I have been dedicated to

assessing our sustainability efforts. It’s

a great first assignment — like any new

employee, I am curious about my new

home and how I can contribute.

In my first career as a scientist, I

was rewarded for curiosity and sifting

through evidence. The aim was to test

whether we needed to retain or change

our world view. Sir Isaac Newton

told us how this is possible: “If I have

seen further, it is by standing on the

shoulders of giants.”

In the same way, I see my role as

a sustainability leader is to conserve

the best ideas from our past while

testing our best ideas for the future. I

learn from the big-shouldered giants

of UNC Charlotte and begin my climb

to help the University advance its

understanding and manifestation

of all that is sustainability in higher

education.

A less romantic view of my position

is that I’ve been busy documenting

campus sustainability and helping

the University make plans and follow

through. This view is no less important.

One of our biggest challenges is

communication — how do we go

from documents, tables and charts to

recognizing contributors and inspiring

our community?

This initial sustainability report is a

key step.

Considering all the ways we could

communicate, we have chosen to

tell stories. As a scientist, I would be

comfortable simply producing the

aforementioned documents, tables and

charts, but that’s not enough.

As Chancellor Dubois outlines in his

remarks for this report, UNC Charlotte

is committed to making assessment

data available to external organizations

as well as to other institutions within

our own UNC system. We also

benefit from up-close looks at what

sustainability truly means on our

campus.

Stories also provide human

dimensions that data can overlook.

Stories describe the challenges and

accomplishments of sustainability

leaders and innovators. They encourage

and motivate people to improve their

corner of the community. Stories

demonstrate values and process as

well. They show how people draw from

the best of the past, adopt the best of

today and develop new knowledge

and solutions that propel our world

forward.

I like that. This report is a thin slice

in time, and I look forward to all the

new stories we’ll tell in the future.

Michael P. Lizotte, Ph.D.

University Sustainability Officer

MEET OUR UNIVERSITY SUSTAINABILITY OFFICER

About back cover:UNC Charlotte Center City opened

in uptown Charlotte in 2011 and has

further strengthened the University’s

connection and impact in the Charlotte

region. Learn more on pg. 31 or visit

centercity.uncc.edu.

http://centercity.uncc.edu/

42THRIVE | GEMS

Thrive, Issue 1

Documents

Transcript of Thrive, Issue 1