Sustainability & Office Practices . . .

Strategies for Making Your Office Sustainable . . .

Reduce . . .

• When sending correspondents, use email whenever possible to reduce paper use.
• Create personal online folders instead of printing and filing all correspondences. 
• Share magazine and journal subscriptions within department.
• Notify vendors who send each of us the same catalog to  send only one publication to one designated staff member.
• Request only one or two FYI copies to be shared by office staff.
• Whenever possible, avoid using paper, plastic and Styrofoam plates as well as plastic utensils for office celebrations.
• Use reusable water bottles our cups in place of disposable. 
• Reduce office lamp usage. Replace light bulbs with CFL bulbs.
• Check HVAC units to make sure they aren't running when they don't need to be.
• Because screen savers are as important with todays monitors, they can be turned off because they can use as much energy as the monitor.
• Unplug all electrical equipment off when it is not in use including phone chargers.
• Avoid using personal heaters and fans; heaters can cost as much as $25 a day to operate. Turn off monitors, copiers and printers at night and on weekends; turn off computers over the weekend.

• Copy document front and back.
• Reuse one-sided paper on personal printers.
• Whenever possible, use re-usable plates, utensils and mugs for office celebrations.
• Use reusable water bottles our cups in place of disposable. 
• Use rechargeable batteries instead of disposable ones.  Recycle all used batteries.

• Recycle all materials that can be recycled.  Click on Recycling on Campus for a list of materials that can be recycled on campus.
• Purchase office supplies with high recycled content when available and products are meet quality standards.  Click on finance and Business for information about the Sustainable Purchasing Policy for more details.

Sustainability Policy . . .

Sustainability is generally defined as meeting the needs of the present without compromising the needs of future generations.  As a signatory of the Talloires Declaration and an institutional member of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, Winthrop University is committed to sustainability and to serving as a positive example through sustainable practices.  

This policy will guide the University in incorporating sustainability into decision making, simultaneously advancing economic vitality, ecological integrity, and social welfare.   To reach this end, Winthrop University will:

• Create mechanisms for input and advice on implementation of this sustainability policy;
• Establish measurable sustainability goals within the university community;
• Communicate and promote awareness of sustainability goals;
• Foster an understanding of the University’s impact on sustainability at local, regional, and global scales;
• Establish and maintain strategic partnerships with community organizations to develop and promote sustainable practices;
• Where practical, exceed all applicable sustainability standards and regulations;
• Report results of this policy on an ongoing basis and celebrate accomplishments.

Sustainable Procurement Policy . . .

The purpose of the Winthrop University Sustainable Procurement Policy is to support the statewide Green Purchasing Initiative per the SC Senate Bill 1497 by purchasing products that minimize the harmful effects of their use and final disposition upon the environment. Winthrop University recognizes that the purchasing decisions of our employees can make a difference in favor of environmental quality. We prefer the purchase of environmentally preferable products whenever they perform satisfactorily and are available at a reasonable price.

Procurement Services also recommends the use of sustainable remanufactured printing supplies where possible and economical. Winthrop's Staples contract site has a special shopping list for “Staples Sustainable Earth” inkjet cartridges and toner cartridges.