Sustainability at Lakeland

Sustainability can prevail with a global culture that: preserves the environment, develops strong and peaceful relationships, while maintaining flourishing and  just economies and societies.

 Lakeland Community College Sustainability Logo~ Understanding the inextricable relationship between diverse human cultures and natural systems.

~ Understanding the interconnections between economy, society, environment and culture.

~ Seeking equitable opportunities for livelihood and equitable distribution of resources.

~ Conserving resources, preserving and renewing natural systems.

Energy

The cornerstone of Lakeland's energy vision is based on the guiding principles of the European Union's "Trias Energetica" along with the State of California's "Energy Loading Order." Simply, Lakeland's vision embraces these guiding principles:

  • Energy Efficiency - if you don't need it, don't use it
  • Heating and Cooling Recovery – if it's already produced, maximize its use
  • Co-generation and Renewable Energy - if it's realistic, why waste fossil fuels at an outside power plant in our efforts to go carbon free Team with Utilities – invest and partner where it makes sense

Built in the 1970s, Lakeland's buildings were added and built separately as the college grew to fulfill community needs. Building codes were different back then, and the "green" movement was unfamiliar to most people. As a result, there was no easy way to manage the energy used among Lakeland's buildings on the Kirtland campus.

From a "leading edge" standpoint, in 2006 Lakeland compared its energy performance against comparable institutions in Europe with similar climates to evaluate and understand those best practice energy performance benchmarks. Using that benchmark data, the College developed a comprehensive energy master plan, and in 2008, the College sought the help of global experts in energy management, SIEMENS, to implement a number of facility improvements. That performance contract reduced the College's energy consumption by 44 percent to date. Moreover, Lakeland expects to continue this progress through team efforts and innovations.

Lakeland is a member of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) and the college also now boasts one of the few "green" roofs in Lake County, which contains short grasses, alpine type plants and a water filter system that helps to regulate building temperature, which reduces building cooling demands in the hot summer months.

Demonstrating good stewardship to the environment is just one more way in which Lakeland educates its students and community about the difference conserving energy can make.

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