Sustainable Practices

RIT Housing Operations is committed to maintaining sustainable practices and researching new ways to improve its environmental efforts. Our programs and initiatives focus on reducing our carbon footprint and educating our community about the importance of sustainability and conservation.

To view the Student Auxiliary Services Sustainability Mission Statement, click here.

What we are doing:

Energy Efficiency:

We recently upgraded the heating and cooling system supply to the residence halls. The new system features high efficiency boilers, controls, and pumps that significantly reduce our boiler emissions and natural gas consumption.

All appliances in RIT housing are Energy Star compliant. Energy Star appliances generally use 20%–30% less electricity than federal regulations mandate.

We only use high-efficiency washing machines in our laundry rooms. High-efficiency washing machines have several sustainable benefits, including more efficient water usage and decreased electricity costs.

All of Global Village‘s residential suites use tankless water heaters, which conserve energy by heating water on-demand and eliminating the need to maintain the temperature of large water tanks. Global Village also makes use of solar light pipes in lobbies. Solar light pipes utilize the sun with series of mirrors to channel sunlight into rooms, providing more natural light and reducing lighting expenses.

We replaced the majority of incandescent light bulbs in the apartments and suites with compact fluorescent bulbs. Compact fluorescent lighting (CFL) uses about 75% less energy and lasts seven to ten times longer than regular incandescent bulbs.

For new housing construction and renovation projects (including Global Village), we incorporate sustainable building materials and eco-friendly heating and cooling systems.

We install air hand dryers in all newly constructed public restrooms, eliminating paper towel waste.

In areas that require 24/7 lighting (common hallways, elevators, etc.), we have begun the process of replacing incandescent lighting with light-emitting diode (LED) light fixtures. LED lamps are the latest technological advancement in lighting—they consume less energy than compact fluorescent lights and have a lifespan of 20,000 to 50,000 hours.

We are in the process of installing occupancy sensors in utility and mechanical rooms to turn off lights automatically. We have installed occupancy sensors in all laundry rooms.

A phased schedule is in place to replace inefficient boilers, baseboard heating units, and inefficient air conditioning units. This will take place over the next few years and will result in a significant reduction in energy usage.

Technology:

We have replaced our fleet of gasoline-powered utility vehicles with electric vehicles. We are researching the possibility of using solar panels to recharge our vehicles.

LEED certification for the Global Village housing complex is pending.

Housing Operations has gone paperless! A majority of our forms and notices have been recreated online and Housing Facilities Operations staff now receive all work requests though iTouch devices. These initiatives reduce thousands of pages of paper waste annually, as well as improve departmental efficiencies.

Education:

We are developing educational literature for our residence hall and apartment students on how to properly use the thermostats to prevent windows from being open during winter months.

We are developing literature and videos to help educate students about the importance of recycling and sustainable living practices.

We have created a sustainable thematic-learning community in Fish Hall that offers students the opportunity to live together while exploring the topic of sustainability. Guided by RIT faculty and staff, students work on topic-related projects and participate in events and activities that make exploring sustainability fun and educational.

Conservation:

We only purchase furniture from eco-responsible manufacturers.

We donate furniture from our renovated units to Flower City Habitat for Humanity to sell in their retail store. Proceeds go toward the construction of new Flower City Habitat for Humanity homes.

We install dual-flush toilets, low flow showerheads, and ultra low flow aerators in all newly constructed and renovated apartments. This saves hundreds of thousands of gallons of water on an annual basis.

We constructed vegetative swales (also called bioswales) along Charles Perkins Road adjacent to the Perkins Apartment complex and along all three buildings that comprise the Global Village complex. The vegetation in bioswales filters contaminants in runoff water in order to prevent contamination of the watershed.

Living Spaces:

We use low VOC (volatile organic compound) paints in all of our remodeling and renovation projects. This results in cleaner air and a healthier environment in student living spaces.

Carpet tile, in place of broadloom, is used in most housing areas. The tiles have a high recycled content, are recyclable, and allow for single tile replacement (rather than an entire room) if staining occurs.

We are in the process of installing higher density vertical bike racks near residence hall high rise buildings to provide covered bike storage and encourage eco-friendly modes of transportation.

Eco-friendly cleaning chemicals are used throughout common student living areas. This green housekeeping concept creates a safer living space for our customers and employees and is much better for our environment. 

How You Can Help:

Turn off lights and other electrically powered equipment when not in use.

When purchasing a mini refrigerator for you residence hall room, make sure that it is Energy Star compliant.

Use energy efficient lighting, such as LED and compact fluorescent bulbs.

Limit duration of showering to five minutes.

Keep windows and exterior doors closed during times that air conditioning and heating systems are operating.

Turn your thermostat down in the winter heating season and up in the summer cooling season.

Set your computer to hibernate when not in use.

Recycle all paper, cardboard, metal, glass, and all plastics (numbers 1–7) in designated single stream recycling bins located throughout all housing complexes and campus. Visit RIT Recycling for more information.

Individually and collectively, we can all have a significant impact on making RIT a greener University.

Get informed and get involved! RIT is home to several groups interested in raising environmental awareness and making the campus more sustainable.

Visit http://www.rit.edu/fa/ritgreen/get_involved.html to see how you can make RIT a more eco-friendly university.