Our building interiors are designed with products and materials that reduce our carbon footprint and promote healthy interior environments for our students. The paint, fabrics and carpet we select have minimal to no chemical off-gassing, high post-consumer recycled content, and some can be 100% recycled by the manufacturers. Many of our vendors and furniture manufacturers are local, which helps reduce the transportation distance. The longevity and durability of our finishes and furniture extend the lifecycle of our buildings, simultaneously reducing the consumption of new materials and landfill waste.
Educational events are held throughout the academic year for students to learn more about waste sorting best practices and how they can reduce water and energy usage through small behavior changes. Students can get financial incentives for "green" acts through Stanford's My Cardinal Green program.
Graduate students who chose to purchase a meal plan have access to an array of organic, local and seasonal fresh produce, meats and dairy from Stanford Dining. For example, you will only find organic apples, cage free eggs and antibiotic free chicken at all daily meals. Stanford Dining has many innovative food menus that aim to provide great alternatives to meat (a high contributor to green house gas emissions world wide) and make "imperfect vegetables and fruits" a must have. Students can volunteer in one of 13 educational gardens, take free cooking classes and hear from respected food industry experts.
For students interested in directly applying their academic research or personal sustainability interest where they live, R&DE offers between 20-40 internships annually.
Munger, EVGR, Kennedy, Blackwelder, Quillen, Studio 2, McFarland, and Hoskins
This residence is connected to the campus' Central Energy Facility that supplies hot and chilled water for heating and cooling. The energy plant reduces green house gas emissions for the campus by 68% per year, and water consumption by 33% compared to the previous steam plant. The plant reduces energy used to heat and cool residential buildings by 40%.
Munger
All Munger apartments are outfitted with a smart Ecobee Thermostat. The thermostats cater to space that is occupied, meaning they keep residents who are home most comfortable. They also have a "smart away" feature that allows the thermostat to automatically go in to an energy conserving mode when no one is home.
EVGR
To support organics collection and composting, all residents have access to free compost bags at their floor waste rooms. All residents can also dispense a green cleaning solution from their laundry rooms to clean their apartments and do laundry. The engineered water is infused with ozone to create a solution as powerful as traditional cleaners without the harmful environmental or health consequences.
At EVGR's pavililion you can find a "Know Your Food Lending Library" (free books and cookbooks that students can check out) and a Seed Library station (where residents can pick up seeds to grow their own seasonal produce). The pavilion also features an edible garden that supports the brewery operation.