Le Moyne Goes Green

Le Moyne College is one of 37 colleges and universities in New York State listed in the latest edition of the Princeton Review's Guide to Green Colleges as among the most eco-friendly in the country. We remain proud of our significant commitment to sustainability through our campus construction projects, business practices, and program offerings. 

Le Moyne’s commitment to the environment is not new and is not restricted to just one or two facets of environmental responsibility.   A holistic approach to sustainability is an integral component of all of the College’s facilities maintenance, planning, and construction operations. 

Our overarching goals include:
Education & Research

  • Inspire students, faculty, and staff to engage in sustainability-oriented activities that develop leadership, foster social and moral responsibility, and contribute to the further enhancement of our society and its institutions.
  • Broaden integration of sustainability into the academic experience.
  • Generate and disseminate knowledge that informs policy for a sustainable future through inter-disciplinary research activities of faculty and students.

Operations

  • Provide sustainable places to study, work and live through sustainable planning, design, construction, retrofits, and operations.
  • Continue to reduce the Le Moyne College’s greenhouse gas emissions through continued strong action on energy efficiency and conservation and through implementation of renewable and alternative energy on campus.
  • Further develop sustainable grounds management practices through the incorporation of ecological principles, while fulfilling the recreational needs and aesthetic standards of the College community.
  • Strengthen our leadership and practices in sustainable purchasing.
  • Expand waste reduction initiatives across all of campus.
  • Reduce the College's annual water consumption intensity through action on water efficiency and conservation
  •  Strengthen our leadership and practices in sustainable information technology.  

Planning, Administration & Engagement

  • Demonstrate leadership by ensuring sustainability is recognized and considered in strategic planning and decision-making.
  • Become recognized as an employer of choice employing people who understand enough about sustainability and the system in which they are operating to contribute to sustainability goals.
  • Grow opportunities for students, faculty and staff to engage with each other on sustainability issues both on and off-campus. 

Campus Operations

For decades, and even before words like “sustainable” or “green” were part of everyday language, the College was working towards a more sustainable campus. Early initiatives included:

  • An extremely successful energy management program, first implemented in the 1980s
  • A paper recycling program, which began in the late 1980s
  • A green cleaning program developed in the 1990s
  • Construction of a efficient and low NOx steam generation and distribution system
  • Enhancing performance of HVAC systems to reduce energy consumption and resultant greenhouse gasses
  • Procurement of efficient laundry equipment to reduce water and energy usage
  • Installation of “water saving” plumbing fixtures, including, but not limited to shower heads, faucets, and toilets.
  • Constructing and maintaining storm water management systems to reduce runoff, surface water pollution, and increase infiltration of storm water to groundwater.
  • Ten percent of purchased electricity comes from renewable resources.  From September of 2011 through August 2013, the College has committed to purchase 1951 Megawatt hours of renewable energy through green purchases.
  • Development and implementation of a landscape master plan incorporating the use of native species and prohibiting the use of invasive species of plants on campus plantings.
  • Upgrading campus lighting systems to utilize efficient technologies such as daylight harvesting, occupancy sensors, HE T5 and T8 fluorescent tubes and ballasts, LED lighting.