SPRINGFIELD, Mo., Dec. 2, 2010 — At today’s Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce “Good Morning, Springfield!” breakfast at Drury University, Dr. Wendy Anderson announced that Drury has achieved a silver rating from Ozarks GreenScore. Ozarks GreenScore is designed to educate, encourage and assist local organizations in developing environmentally sustainable practices.
Drury's Stone Chapel employs geothermal heating and cooling.
“The most useful thing about GreenScore is not the marketing value of achieving a rating,” said Anderson, director of campus sustainability at Drury. “Really, GreenScore is about evaluating how well you are doing and areas where your organization can improve. GreenScore gives you a tool where you can prioritize sustainability projects for the future.”
Businesses and organizations that participate in GreenScore earn ratings ranging from bronze, silver, and gold with green being the highest. The organizations conduct a self-assessment on key criteria such as waste management, energy management, water usage, landscaping, etc. Throughout the multi-step assessment and improvement process, technical assistance is available from the Ozarks GreenScore Technical Team of experts from local agencies and not-for-profits, facilitated by the City of Springfield’s Solid Waste Management Market Development staff.
Choose Environmental Excellence (CEE), a sponsoring GreenScore partner, encourages recognition for businesses that make improvements as they progress in achieving the increasingly more challenging program levels.
“The goal of Ozarks GreenScore mirrors that of the sponsoring organizations and Technical Team–to bring awareness of the negative impact we all make on our natural environment, to educate and assist in the adoption of better practices and to celebrate the successes,” says Barbara Lucks, City of Springfield Materials Recovery/Education Coordinator and CEE Project Manager.
GreenScore determined that Drury could improve communication of sustainability efforts to the campus, and do more to encourage suggestions on how to improve sustainability. Drury scored well for having an environmental mission statement, its community involvement and outreach, and for energy management efforts such as: solar panels on Smith Hall, geothermal heating and cooling in Stone Chapel and the elimination of trays from the dining hall.
Ozarks GreenScore was developed collaboratively by Choose Environmental Excellence, the Partnership for Sustainability, Drury SIFE and the Ozarks Center for Sustainable Solutions. The Ozarks GreenScore program is voluntary and non-regulatory. The only cost is a $75 assessment fee for each certification.
To find out more go to: http://www.ozarksGreenScore.com/
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