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Students and Staff Making a Sustainable Difference

AwardsEach quarter, the Sustainability Excellence Awards recognize students, faculty, and staff members who have gone above and beyond to promote environmentally sustainable practices at Northwestern. This spring, the student award went to senior Renee Wellman, and the award for faculty and staff went to the office of Student Organizations and Activities.

Renee received the award for her leadership in reducing the environmental impact of Northwestern Athletics. She led the process of establishing the Athletics Sustainability Committee (ASC) as an officially recognized student group. She has been a key ASC leader, working with the Athletics staff, athletes, and fans to reduce waste and energy use. In addition, Renee has been active in other campus environmental groups, including Wild Roots and Real Food at Northwestern, all while maintaining a busy schedule as a student athlete. Her impact will be felt on campus long after she graduates and moves on to new challenges.

The faculty and staff award for the quarter went to a team from Student Organizations and Activities, including staff members Brent Turner, Tracey Gibson-Jackson, Hope Wallace, Joseph Lattal, Lindsay Marrero, and Stephaine Villanova. This team worked together to reduce resource consumption and waste associated with the registered student organization fairs that take place each fall and winter. They encouraged participating student groups to go green by going paperless or reducing the amount of paper distributed at the events. They also distributed information about the fairs digitally, saving more than 3,000 sheets of paper as a result. For the January, 2016 fair, 85 percent of participating student groups chose to go green.

If you know of members of the Northwestern community who have gone the extra mile to promote sustainability on campus, help them get the recognition they deserve. Nominate them for the Sustainability Excellence Awards.