A new fund is being instituted at Carleton to encourage sustainability initiatives by students and faculty alike.
The Green Revolving Fund is an annual $1-million investment created to fund sustainable projects across campus, according to the Facilities Management and Planning website.
“The fund was set up to implement community-based ideas we believe will provide a business case that can reduce our operating costs that would actually help the campus to improve its sustainability objectives,” Darryl Boyce, assistant vice-president (facilities management and planning) said.
Proposed projects must create some kind of savings to replenish the annual fund, manager of sustainability programs Philip Mansfield said.
“There is an implication for any project that is funded that there will be a pay back on the investment made, meaning that proposed projects must have a sound financial element to them,” Mansfield said.
“You’re not going to be getting a payback for say, putting in a garden, unfortunately. Although this isn’t to say that the return on the investment is the only element that is considered in the selection process,” he said.
Other factors that are considered include the life of the project, annual operating costs, and the value that can be derived from students and faculty members, according to the website.
The deadline for submissions was Sept. 30.
Mansfield said the new fund was one of the recommendations that came forward during an earlier review on sustainability at Carleton.
He said the fund fits into the existing plan for sustainability at Carleton, and helps to meet existing prerequisites for programs that Carleton is a part of, such as the Green Globes building certification program.
“The Green Globes assessment has a two-year reassessment process in addition to the initial assessment, so any supplementary projects that could be building specific or campus wide do help existing assessments for various programs,” Mansfield said.
