The political causes embraced by Guilford students generally change with the coming and going of classes, but there are a few mainstays that never really fade away. Environmentalism is one of these perennial favorites and the Sustainability Council, instituted in 2006, aims to keep it that way. “Students can accomplish a lot but there are problems because they are constantly moving through the school,” said senior Lizza Vachon, work study intern for Environmental Sustainability Coordinator Jim Dees. “It’s very awesome when faculty and staff get involved because if you have a dedicated staffer then the work is much more consistent and can continue as long as the staffer works for the school. It is really good to have them on board.”

Comprised of faculty, students and staff, the Sustainability Council is dedicated to researching and instituting projects that will convert Guilford into a “greener” place. The Council focuses on specific projects every year, working with an annual budget of about $30,000.

Environmentalism is undoubtedly a hot button issue these days, both on campus and outside the Guilford bubble. Regionally, environmental concerns manifested in response to the worst drought ever recorded in the Southeast.

Accordingly, the focus of the Sustainability Council this year is on water conservation. Anyone using one of the men’s bathrooms on campus recently has surely noticed the first fruits of the Council’s labors – new waterless urinals.

The waterless urinals save an average of 40,000 gallons a year, but the Council does not plan to stop there. Dual position handled toilet valves (with literal green flush handles) are in the works. These valves will allow the user varying options depending on what needs to be flushed. The college is not dependent upon any outside contactors for installment.

“All these projects are being done in house and so we will get more bang for our buck,” said Rex Harrell, project sustainability manager. “It will save a significant amount of water on campus for a total cost of $16,000. We’re also switching to 1.5 gallon-per-minute showerheads (in contrast to the old ones that were 2.8 to 3 gallons per minute). These are great projects that are going to make us much more sustainable.”

But the crowning jewel in the Council’s water conservation efforts is the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) – a green building rating system developed by the U.S Green Building Council – certified installation of a rain water harvesting system in Archdale Hall, home of the humanities.

“Archdale is another piece of the puzzle,” Harrell said. “The project will cost about $15,000. The system will collect all the runoff in the gutters, take them down the drainpipes, channel it to a filtration tank, filter the water, and pump it into Archdale. It will provide about 80 percent of the water for those toilets a year.”

Other potential projects include phasing out paper towel dispensers in favor of paper-saving electronic hand dryers and talking to the bookstore about reducing plastic bags use.

“The members of the Sustainability Council are really committed and I’m excited about that,” said Gabriela Spang, sustainability intern for the dining services and member of Forevergreen. “My first year I felt that there was a resistance to institutionalizing sustainability. But now the administration has gotten really into it – they are leading the way!