As an award-winning leader in sustainability, Cal Poly is dedicated to lowering its environmental footprint on its Journey to Zero.
Over the past three decades, Cal Poly has implemented several initiatives that have brought campus closer to its carbon neutrality goals by 2045, zero waste and water resiliency.
Reaching these goals will require an ongoing commitment from students, faculty and staff.
So, to make joining the Journey to Zero easier, we’ve compiled some helpful tips to include in your daily routine:
- Dispose of trash, recycling and compostable in the right bin. This helps to keep down recycling contamination. Contamination is when something that cannot be recycled is put in the recycling bin. This includes food and liquids which can cause mold that eats at the fibers in paper and cardboard so it can't be turned into new paper. Mold can spread to other accepted items like bottles or cans, lowering their value.
- Conserve water by turning off your shower or sink when not actively using it. According to the EPA, just by turning off the tap while brushing teeth in the morning and before bedtime, you can save up to eight gallons of water! That adds up to more than 200 gallons a month, enough to fill a huge fish tank that holds six small sharks!
- Reduce energy use by turning off unnecessary lights and shutting down computing equipment, such as printers or scanners. Will shutting off lights in empty rooms save you a ton of money? No, but if every household in SLO county shut off lights in empty rooms, that would be more than 100,000 lights. That’s electricity that doesn’t need to be generated. That’s savings.
- Carpool, take the bus or ride a bike. Cal Poly offers many sustainable commute options including free rides on SLO Transit buses for anyone with a Cal Poly ID, free parking for vanpools and great Rideshare networks for students faculty and staff.
- Participate in campus sustainability clubs and events to engage in environmental sustainability activities throughout the year. From the Real Food Collaborative to Surfrider, Cal Poly is home to over a dozen sustainability-based clubs. Who wouldn’t want to be part of the Garden Club.
- Lastly, share Cal Poly's Journey to Zero by downloading these communication assets and displaying them in your dorm, classroom and social media.
To learn more about Cal Poly’s efforts and what you can do to help visit the campus action web page.