UNH wins sustainability leadership award

The University of New Hampshire has received an award for campus sustainability programs, adding yet another honor for the institution and its environmental efforts.

UNH received the Campus Sustainability Leadership Award among four-year universities with between 5,000 and 15,000 students from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, an annual award honoring schools for their efforts in creating a healthier environment through innovative programs and practices.

“While UNH has received a number of awards and distinctions for our sustainability leadership, it is particularly gratifying to receive this recognition from our peer group,” said Tom Kelly, chief sustainability officer at UNH. “This AASHE award reflects more than a decade of dedication to sustainability from students, faculty and staff throughout the university.”

UNH was singled out for its EcoLine program, the first university in the nation to use landfill gas as its primary fuel source. UNH also claims the oldest endowed sustainability program in higher education.

Other UNH achievements cited were:

• UNH launched the nation’s first dual major in EcoGastronomy in 2008, integrating sustainable agriculture, hospitality management, and nutrition.
• More than 60 faculty and staff across campus contributed to “The Sustainable Learning Community: One University’s Journey to the Future,” published by the University Press of New England in 2009.
• Of the $99 million in external research dollars received by UNH in fiscal year 2008, more than 60 percent went to environmental research. — — CINDY KIBBE/NEW HAMPSHIRE BUSINESS REVIEW