Carleton College: Sustainability: Accomplishments

Accomplishments

Purchasing

Student Life

Linoleum flooring used in the townhouse and the Language and Dining Center (LDC), rather than vinyl flooring.
Hardi Board, a durable exterior siding, was used on the townhouses.
Significant portions of the materials used in the LDC and the townhouses was recycled off-site.
All carpeting in the LDC is 100% recycled.
The interior stone used in the LDC was all quarried in Minnesota.
A student group installed a green roof on part of Olin Science Hall's roof. The roof incorportated 78 native prairie plants, and will save energy and reduce water run-off.

Conversions to T-8 bulbs, electronic ballasts, variable frequency drives (VFD), replacing small horse power motors, and installing a Building Automation System on most HAVC equipment.A 1.65 Megawatt wind turbine was constructed in 2004.
All appliances in the townhouses are Energy Star rated.
A program called Energy Assets was used to optimize the building thermal performance of the Language and Dining Center (LDC). Weidt Group of Minneapolis, a pre-eminent energy consultant, assisted the College with this DOE-2 analysis and evaluation of energy saving options.
Clerestory windows and light shelves were integrated into the LDC to project natural light far into the building and reduce the need for artificial light.
Light sensors in the LDC dim artificial light in response to the intensity of natural light.
Compact fluorescent light bulbs are distributed to students each year through a joint project between Green House and Facilities, Management and Planning.
Facilities lowered the temperature of college buildings from 70 degrees Fahrenheit to 68 degrees Fahrenheit in 2005-2006 in an effort to save energy and cut heating costs.

Bread served in the dining halls is made daily with 100% organic flour from Swany Floor Mill of Freeport, Minnesota.
Carleton Dining Services has used seven vendors from Food Alliance Midwest - Axdahl Farms, Stillwater, MN; Cedar Summit Farm, New Prague, MN; Gilbertson Farms, Scandia, MN; Nuto Farms, Rice Lake, WI; Pepin Heights Orchards, Lake City, MN; Vine Valley Farm, Stewart, MN; and Wescott Orchards & AgriProducts, Elgin, MN.

All plants used in landscaping around the townhouses is native to the area within a 20 mile radius of campus.
Three vegetated swales filter run-off water from parking lots before the water enters our watershed. Swales are planted with native prairie plants and grasses which provide a connection to our native prairie landscape.

Through the efforts of a Students Organizing for the Protection of the Environment (SOPE) students living in college-owned off-campus houses are able to compost their food waste in on-site composting barrels. The compost is used in campus flower beds and the student-run organic vegetable garden.
Recycled latex paint is used in college housing units.

Low-flow shower-heads were used in the townhouses.
A student group installed a green roof on part of Olin Science Hall's roof. The roof incorportated 78 native prairie plants, and will save energy and reduce water run-off.