Faculty & Staff

As we head into the holiday season it is easy to feel overwhelmed by excess. So it may be comforting to know that the Mailman School, along with the rest of the Medical Center and the University at large, is making major headway in reducing waste, conserving energy and building smarter. Here is a snapshot of the efforts being made to reduce our collective carbon footprint.

A Greener School

Environmental efforts at Mailman range from the macro to the micro; from changing the way we build our offices to changing the way we clean them. At the Allan Rosenfield Building, several floors are being modernized and the team responsible is confident that the new construction will achieve LEED certification at the Silver level and possibly Gold. LEED, the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Green Building Rating System, is a third-party certification program and the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high performance green buildings.  To achieve this certification, several measures have been put in place, including:

• New aluminum, double-paned windows to help control heat gain and loss
• Insulation in all perimeter walls
• No- and low- VOC products and recycled products wherever possible
• Low-flow toilets
• Aerators and timers in sinks to restrict flow and use of water
• Thermostats that allow discrete control over the heating and cooling of individual offices  

In addition, the team managed to recycle 85% of all demolition waste.

"This project is groundbreaking at the Medical Center as it is our first LEED certified project," says Frederick Spidalieri, the CUMC architect who served as project manager for the new construction. "It is truly exciting to design and build a project that will make a difference to our environment and to the occupants who will work in the new facility."

Beyond the new floors, the School has begun using 100% non-toxic cleaning supplies in all buildings, which benefit the environment and the cleaning staff.  All paper products available at the School—toilet paper, paper towels, printer paper, etc.—are made of 100% recycled materials and are locally sourced, saving both gas and trees. The School is also in the process of installing occupancy sensors on lighting fixtures in several spaces; within the next 6-8 months the sensors will be rolled out in meeting areas, small offices and many classrooms.  

And in an effort to make individuals more energy efficient, not to mention healthier, the School has partnered with the NYC Department of Health to urge faculty, staff, and students to move more—encouraging everyone to take the stairs and walk or take shuttles over driving.  There will also be a campaign to educate lab workers about how much energy fume hoods consume and how much can be saved simply by shutting the sash.

A Greener Medical Center

The greening of the Mailman School is part of a larger effort across the CUMC campus to build greener, clean safer, reduce waste, and recycle more. New recycling bins have been added across the medical campus, and CUMC is in the process of contracting with a new vendor that will allow the recycling of plastics numbered 1 through 7, as opposed to only 1 and 2 now. For specifics on what is recycled currently, and where the bins are located, please go to www.cumc.columbia.edu/dept/facilities/services/r_02a.html.  

Getting students involved in the reducing the carbon footprint is a major goal of the Medical Campus.  Currently, in cooperation with the Environmental Health Sciences faculty and the facilities staff, there is a program where students serve as “eco-reps”- developing and promoting new ideas for environmental management and devising new ways to raise the eco-consciousness of fellow students and faculty. The program has held eco-fairs to teach best practices and to raise awareness, created green gardens on the building roofs and organized bike-to-work days. For more information on the eco-rep program, or to get involved, email cumc.facilities@columbia.edu. The next eco-rep meeting will be held at the end of January.

A Greener University

The Morningside campus has pledged to reduce carbon emissions by 30% by 2017, as part of the PLANYC initiative. PlanNYC has a blueprint for hospitals and for schools, but the Medical Center doesn’t fit well into either category, so it cannot officially be a part of the plan. Still, CUMC administrators have been hewing to many aspects of the plan. “The Medical Center has been shadowing the hospital plan, sending representatives to attend all of the planning meetings and following the plan guidelines,” says Rachel Futrell, Campus Energy Manager.

“Currently, the Medical Campus is a few years behind the Morningside Campus, but it is evident that it is catching up fast,” says Nilda Mesa, Assistant Vice President of Environmental Stewardship for Columbia University.  “I expect the Medical Center to leapfrog Morningside by 2012.” 

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Want to reduce your personal carbon footprint at work and at home? Consider the options listed on the university’s environmental stewardship site.