Administrative Services, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law

The staff in Administrative Services at the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law became aware of the Green Office Certification program through sustainNU’s email campaigns when the program was getting started. Defining their team and their office was the first step. They have a lot of shared spaces across departments at the Law School, so they decided to combine groups and pursued certification for all Administrative Services spaces, focusing on two main sections of the school.

Two of the biggest areas where they were able to make improvements were in recycling and catered events. They found there was a small shortage of recycling bins in offices and got additional bins where needed. Their Green Team also started a list to help staff recycled products such as paper. When planning meetings and events with catering, they have been able to cut down on the amount of trash generated by requesting less packaging and using pitchers of water instead of bottles.

Going forward, they are continuing to work on their energy consumption. They are working with IT to implement better practices with computers. The group is also working with Facilities Management to assess the possibility of making some larger changes regarding energy use and kitchen access.

Green Team leader Katrina Peters says that the hardest part of the process was getting the ball rolling. “Once we held the presentation and got our Green Team together, the whole process was straightforward,” she said. “The task list was easy to follow and divvy up among us. We are looking forward to continuing to help the university improve its sustainability practices and overall energy efficiency.”