From filling your reusable water bottle at a refill station, to storing your bike at one of the many bike hubs on campus, to taking lunch back to the office from the dining hall in a reusable to-go container, members of the university community play an active role daily in advancing sustainability at Virginia Tech.

What the campus community may not realize is that many of these campus sustainability touchpoints are the product of student-requested projects through the Green RFP Program.

Each fall, the Virginia Tech Office of Sustainability seeks proposals from student groups for campus sustainability projects that support Virginia Tech’s Climate Action Commitment, with a strong focus on energy conservation and efficiency. Since the Green RFP Program’s launch in 2010, more than $650,000 in funding has been allocated to student sustainability projects on the Blacksburg campus.

Some of the projects attributed to the Green RFP Program currently utilized on campus today are:

Exterior LED lighting:

  • Lighting along Washington Street, Beamer Way, and West Campus Drive.
  • Sidewalk lighting inside the President’s Quad and between West End and Cheatham Hall.
     

Interior LED lighting:

  • Ceiling lighting for the Burruss Hall pedestrian tunnel.
  • Lighting for the President’s Quad and Pritchard Hall lounges.
  • Ceiling lighting for the Scene Shop in Squires Student Center.


Energy conservation:

  • Solar charging stations outside New Classroom Building and Peddrew-Yates Hall.


Water conservation:

  • 266 low-flow shower heads in residence halls.


Recycling:

  • Over 50 water bottle refill stations throughout campus.
  • Dining Services reusable to-go containers and four recycling collection containers.
  • 10 metal waste disposal stations in McBryde Hall.


Alternative transportation:

  • 90 bike racks and three bike fix-it stations.


2018-19 Green RFP Program:

The Office of Sustainability is now seeking Green RFP Program for the 2018-19 academic year. Program details and application requirements were announced in a Sept. 7 Facilities Department memorandum.

Details for applying:

Click here to learn more about the Green RFP Program and click here to download the proposal application. All proposals must be submitted via email to Sustainability Program Manager Denny Cochrane by Nov. 16, 2018, at 4 p.m.

Proposals that support the Virginia Tech Climate Action Commitment, produce realizable savings, and require one-time (as opposed to ongoing) funding are given preference. The goal of the program is to have approved proposals funded and implemented within the same academic year. Approved proposals will be announced during spring semester 2019.

For more information or for any questions, contact the Office of Sustainability at 540-231-5184.

Related links:

New Squires bike corral expands campus bike parking options

Virginia Tech funds 12 sustainability projects through the student Green RFP Program

Solar table created by student is first of its kind

Student input and activism directly impacts sustainable dining

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