In addition to our community outreach programs, PEI, along with Princeton undergraduates, graduate students, faculty and administrators, studies and monitors the University’s environmental performance on campus and in the surrounding community. Students in PEI’s undergraduate Program in Environmental Studies (ENV) carried out an audit of the University’s environmental practices in 2000 (Princeton 2000 Environmental Audit). This audit was an update of an evaluation done by a student environmental group in 1995 (PERC 1995 Environmental Audit). As a part of the ENV curriculum, students are asked to monitor various aspects of campus environmental performance on a regular basis. In 2004-05, students in ENV 201 (http://web.princeton.edu/sites/pei/env3/termprojects.html) assessed the ecological footprint of the Frick Laboratory, benchmarking energy use and establishing design guidelines for a sustainable, high-performance chemistry lab that will be built in the next few years.

One significant recommendation from the 2000 audit was a call for the University to establish a campus environmental committee that would monitor Princeton’s environmental performance and offer alternative “best practices” where possible. In spring 2002, President Tilghman encouraged the establishment of the Princeton Sustainability Committee. Made up of students, faculty and staff and chaired by Michael McKay, Princeton’s Vice President of Facilities, PEOC meets on a regular basis and reviews and makes suggestions to improve the University’s performance in areas such as recycling and paper use.

Further information on campus sustainability projects can be found at the following links:

Dining Services

Greening Princeton

New Jersey Higher Education Partnership for Sustainability