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Sustainability

Get Involved!

Whether you’re a URI student, faculty member, staff, or one of our neighbors, it takes the entire campus community to build a green university. If you have ideas, stories, or questions about sustainability at URI, contact us via email

Or, share them with everyone on our Facebook page. Join the discussion and let others know how you're contributing to campus sustainability at URI.


 
Students
  • Check out the calendar of events for sustainability in action on campus
  • Declare a minor in Sustainability
  • Join a URI student group. There are lots of them on campus that have sustainability in mind, including  Student Action for Sustainability (SAS), Slow Food URI, and the Wildlife Society to name a few!
  • Help us conserve energy by alerting us to heating or cooling issues in the dorms. Contact URI Facilities Services if something’s not quite right
  • URI is a member of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) and they have a lot of resources and tools for students who are looking for ways to make a difference on campus. Just create a login account with your uri.edu email address to access member-only pages.
  • Don't waste water! Try to keep your time in the shower to less than 5 minutes. The average 10-minute shower can use as much as 50 gallons of water. Also, dripping faucets and toilets that are constantly running water are a facilities problem. You should report these incidents so that we can take care of it. Contact URI Facilities Services to put in a work order.
  • Inquire about internship opportunities with sustainability at URI
  • Apply to the Energy Fellows program
  • Leave your car at home and take the bus. URI students save 50% on Rhode Island Public Transportation Authority (RIPTA) fare products purchased at the Memorial Union Information Desk. An unlimited ride monthly pass is just $31.00 and a 15-ride eTicket is $13.00. RIPTA services both main campus and the Providence campus via the #66 bus. Riding RIPTA’s #66 is so easy! Take a look at the student-friendly bus timetable, courtesy of URI’s Student Action for Sustainability. Once on campus, the RIPTA shuttles will take you to other parts of campus for FREE. RIPTA can also get you to the Narragansett Bay campus via the #64 bus. If you don't live directly on a bus route, you can always drive to the nearest Park & Ride and still save gas. Planning a fun trip to Beantown? Both the #66 and #64  stop at the Kingston train (Amtrak) station.
  • Another reason to ditch your car? URI's Kingston campus has a car share program. Connect by Hertz offers free membership for students, and a low hourly (as little as $5/hr) or daily rate (as little as $25 for overnight). Your hourly or daily rate includes driver's insurance AND gas!! There are 4 cars on campus, so just get online, find out when each car is available, reserve the time you need it, and it'll be waiting for you in its own private parking spot. When you're done, bring it back to its parking spot (no more circling campus looking for parking!!).  Learn more about the program here.
  • Be in the know! Read the URI Climate Action Plan and the URI Strategic Plan for Sustainability
  • Equity and diversity are priority initiatives that URI takes very seriously. If you think you or someone you know is being treated unfairly on campus, report the situation to the URI Bias Response Team. Help us maintain a healthy university climate; it is essential to our efforts toward campus sustainability.
  • Make sure you have the proper recycling receptacles in your dorm and use them properly. If you don’t have them, or if you see problems with the ones you do have, contact the URI Recycling Office. 

 
Faculty
  • Start a Green Team in your school, unit, or department. Contact us to learn how.
  • Integrate topics of sustainability into your curriculum. Contact the URI Sustainability Minor Committee for strategies.  Also, the Association for the Advancement for Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) has great resources for formal education planning.
  • Be in the know! Read the URI Climate Action Plan and the URI Strategic Plan for Sustainability.
  • Become a member of one of the President's Council on Sustainability working groups. There are five groups that are making sure the URI Strategic Plan for Sustainability makes progress, and we can't do it without the work of our students, staff, and faculty.
  • Think twice before printing. Does it really need to be printed or can it be emailed or posted on Sakai? If you must print, set your printer to print double-sided. Even better, make the double-sided print feature the default print setting so that everything you do print automatically prints on both sides. Not sure how to do this? URI's Information Technology Help Desk will walk you through it. 
  • Bring your own reusable water bottle instead of using disposable cups or buying from vending machines. Have some mugs handy for visitors to your office.
  • Climate Control!! Avoid using costly space heaters. Bring a sweater to work and lower your heat setting  during winter. Raise the temperature setting during the summer. Don’t make your office an ice box. Never have windows open when a/c is on. Contact URI Facilities Services if something’s not quite right
  • Only use a necessary amount of light for desk work. Keep blinds open to use as ambient lighting
  • Turn your lights off and power down your computer  when you leave your office. On average, a desktop computer uses 100 watts per hour and its monitor uses 4 watts per hour-- even when set on "stand by" mode. 
  • Leave your car at home and take the bus. The Rhode Island Public Transportation Authority (RIPTA) services main campus and the Providence campus via the #66 bus, and Narragansett Bay campus via the #64 bus. Both buses also stop at the Kingston train (Amtrak) station.  If you don't live directly on a bus route, you can always drive to the nearest Park & Ride and still save gas. URI faculty save 50% on RIPTA fare products purchased at the Memorial Union Information Desk. An unlimited ride monthly pass is just $31.00 and a 15-ride eTicket is $13.00. Once on main campus, the RIPTA shuttles will take you to other parts of campus for FREE.
  • Another reason to ditch your car? URI's Kingston campus has a car share program. Connect by Hertz offers free membership for faculty, and a low hourly (as little as $5/hr) or daily rate (as little as $25 for overnight). Your hourly or daily rate includes driver's insurance AND gas!! There are 4 cars on campus, so just get online, find out when each car is available, reserve the time you need it, and it'll be waiting for you in its own private parking spot. When you're done, bring it back to its parking spot (no more circling campus looking for parking!!).  Learn more about the program here.
  • A good work-life balance is essential to being productive and staying healthy physically as well as mentally. The success of any university's efforts toward campus sustainability is only as great as the strength of its community, of which you are an integral part. So take advantage of the work-life resources at URI available to our staff and faculty. 
  • Make sure you have the proper recycling receptacles in your offices and use them properly. If you don’t have them, or if you see problems with the ones you do have, contact the URI Recycling office. 
  • Carpool with other staff and faculty.  The less cars we bring onto campus, the less greenhouse gas emissions.
  • Equity and diversity are priority initiatives that URI takes very seriously. If you think you or someone you know is being treated unfairly in the workplace, report the situation to Human Resources or the Office of Affirmative Action, Equal Opportunity and Diversity. Help us maintain a healthy work climate; it is essential to our efforts toward campus sustainability.
  • Check out the calendar of events for sustainability in action on campus
 
 
Staff
  • Start a Green Team in your school, unit, or department. Contact us to learn how 
  • Become a member of one of the President's Council on Sustainability working groups. There are five groups that are making sure the URI Strategic Plan for Sustainability makes progress, and we can't do it without the work of our students, staff, and faculty.
  • Only use a necessary amount of light for deskwork/ keep blinds open to use ambient light
  • Turn your lights off and power down your computer  when you leave your office. On average, a desktop computer uses 100 watts per hour and its monitor uses 4 watts per hour-- even when set on "stand by" mode. 
  • Think twice before printing. Does it really need to be printed or can it be emailed or posted on Sakai? If you must print, set your printer to print double-sided. Even better, make the double-sided print feature the default print setting so that everything you do print automatically prints on both sides. Not sure how to do this? URI's Information Technology Help Desk will walk you through it.
  • Be in the know! Read the URI Climate Action Plan and the URI Strategic Plan for Sustainability
  • Leave your car at home and take the bus. The Rhode Island Public Transportation Authority (RIPTA) services main campus and the Providence campus via the #66 bus, and Narragansett Bay campus via the #64 bus. Both buses also stop at the Kingston train (Amtrak) station. URI staff save 50% on RIPTA fare products purchased at the Memorial Union Information Desk. An unlimited ride monthly pass is just $31.00 and a 15-ride eTicket is $13.00.  If you don't live directly on a bus route, you can always drive to the nearest Park & Ride and still save gas. Once on campus, the RIPTA shuttles will take you to other parts of campus for FREE.
  • Another reason to ditch your car? URI's Kingston campus has a car share program. Connect by Hertz offers free membership for staff, and a low hourly (as little as $5/hr) or daily rate (as little as $25 for overnight). Your hourly or daily rate includes driver's insurance AND gas!! There are 4 cars on campus, so just get online, find out when each car is available, reserve the time you need it, and it'll be waiting for you in its own private parking spot. When you're done, bring it back to its parking spot (no more circling campus looking for parking!!).  Learn more about the program here.
  • Bring your own reusable water bottle instead of using disposable cups or buying from vending machines. Have some mugs handy for visitors to your office
  • Carpool with other staff and faculty. The less cars we bring onto campus, the less greenhouse gas emissions.
  • Climate Control!! Avoid using space costly heaters. Bring a sweatshirt to work and lower your heat setting  during winter. Raise the temperature setting during the summer. Don’t make your office an ice box. Never have windows open when a/c is on. Contact URI Facilities Services if something’s not quite right
  • A good work-life balance is essential to being productive and staying healthy physically as well as mentally. The success of any university's efforts toward campus sustainability is only as great as the strength of its community, of which you are an integral part. So take advantage of the work-life resources at URI available to our staff and faculty. 
  • Make sure you have the proper recycling receptacles in your offices and use them properly. If you don’t have them, or if you see problems with the ones you do have, contact the URI Recycling office. 
  • Equity and diversity are priority initiatives that URI takes very seriously. If you think you or someone you know is being treated unfairly in the workplace, report the situation to Human Resources or the Office of Affirmative Action, Equal Opportunity and Diversity. Help us maintain a healthy work climate; it is essential to our efforts toward campus sustainability
  • Check out the calendar of events for sustainability in action on campus
 
 
Neighbors

 

Sustainability Search


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URI senior Lindsey Barnard has discovered how managing landscapes for a specific species of bird is beneficial to a variety of other wildlife.

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