This past Wednesday, the annual Green Awards were held to honor and celebrate the myriad sustainable achievements happening on and off campus. It was wonderful to hear what different groups are doing to make Colgate more sustainable and to promote and educate others on campus about the importance of implementing green initiatives in their daily lives. Colgate has made vast strides in the past few years in terms of its commitment to Sustainability. For example, according to the last Greenhouse Gas Inventory, Colgate has reduced its emission by 20% since 2009. The commitment to advocacy has also greatly increased, with the creation of the Eco-Reps, who have worked hard to promote sustainability across campus, especially in the freshman dorms.
The following awards were given to students and faculty: the Green Group award went to Green Thumbs, the Research award went to Professor Loranthy, the Advocacy award went to the Eco-Reps (and the Recyclemaniac), the Green Office award went to Outdoor Education, the Lifestyle award went to Evan Chartier, the 1st Year award went to Brett Christensen, and the Evergreen award (the most prestigious) went to Jenna Taylor. Honorary mentions were awarded to John Pumilio, Brian Lemanski, EcoCampus LLC, David Hale and Kimmie Garner.
It was a wonderful and exciting event and is amazing to see how many groups and individuals are contributing to a more sustainable future. Congratulations to all the award winners!