Meeting? Check. Conference call? Check. Overseeing vegetable oil biodiesel efforts? Check. Denise Scribner, the University’s sustainability coordinator, has dealt with a hefty work load since arriving on campus Oct. 27. The newly created position in the department of Facility Development has Scribner focusing on the several University efforts toward environmental sustainability.”[Sustainability is] meeting the present needs without compromising the needs of future generations,” Scribner said. Working closely with the Campus Committee for Sustainability, Scribner will help develop long-term plans, policies and other more immediate measures toward better conservation practices on campus.After graduating from the University in civil engineering in 1993, Scribner spent 10 years in California, eventually working as a facility services project manager for the city of Long Beach, Calif. Scribner managed the construction of the city’s first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design — LEED — certified building, a library. LEED rates the “greenness” of a building with a system developed by the U.S. Green Building Council, a non-profit organization dedicated to sustainable building design and construction. “That was a big learning experience for me,” said Scriber, who now has LEED accreditation.The University has no LEED-certified buildings.During her first three weeks on the job, Scribner said she has discovered the large amount of sustainability efforts already in place on campus, like efforts to increase recycling and convert left-over vegetable oil from the cafeterias into biodiesel for landscape equipment. Scribner said she views these measures as “pilot projects” that have the potential to grow. “[The sustainability coordinator] is a position I think many institutions are going to — someone who can devote their time and their expertise to continually thinking about ways for us to be more energy efficient and in general manage our facilities better,” said Chancellor Michael Martin.He said as energy costs have increased, so has the awareness for more efficiency and sustainable forms of energy. He said the new position isn’t there to be politically correct but to seriously examine how the University runs on a daily basis. “The campus has taken a lot of wear and tear over the years — appropriately so,” Martin said. “And I’m not sure at the time … the buildings were built we thought very much about what they would be in 40 years. We got to start thinking about that.” Scribner said the University’s 2009 Campus Sustainability Report Card grade, conducted by the Sustainable Endowments Institute, improved from a C- to a C+. She will continue working with the Campus Committee for Sustainability — made up of University faculty, staff and students — to report findings and present ideas to the chancellor and improve the University’s rankings.”We have to establish where we are today and find a way to track it and show the gains,” Scribner said.Scribner said she and the Campus Committee for Sustainability will provide information to the chancellor to help him make decisions about future sustainability efforts. Martin has not signed-on to the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment, a nation-wide effort to increase global warming awareness and the implementation of institutional structures on campuses to combat global warming.”I want to make sure I fully understand the implications,” Martin said. “I don’t want to do it just to be ceremonial. I want to make sure we can actually keep a commitment we make.”Martin said Scribner’s contributions to the University will help him form a better understanding of the sustainability of the University and where it needs to improve.”Once we get fully engaged in this, we’ll have a serious conversation and we’ll decide whether we’ll jump on officially,” Martin said. “Whatever happens, we’re committed to the spirit of [the President’s Climate Commitment].” —-Contact Kyle Bove at [email protected]