The Unpower Hour
In 2011 we had over 1,000 employees participate in Earth Hour and the Unpower Hour. On Thursday March 31st from 2-3PM college employees and staff once again created an Unpower Hour and cut as much power as possible for the hour. WCMC Facilities rounded to reduce energy use across campus. This event was designed as a workday version of the Earth Hour 2011. Earth Hour was the largest mass participation event in history. To participate employees, faculty and students unpluged appliances at home during the world wide Earth Hour event Saturday March 26 , at 8:30PM. Employees signed up with one of the area Green Leaders, and entered to win earth-friendly prizes. People who signed up with a local Green Leader also received one of nearly 500 reusable shopping bags with our “Working toward a greener Campus” slogan (while supplies lasted). Let’s change our everyday habits to reduce the use of energy. Click here Unpower Hour 2011 to learn more.
New Employees Hear it First
For over a year New Employee Orientation has included two sessions on sustainability. During the last year over 250 employees participated in sustainability training as part of their orientation.
New employees learn from Andrew Ryan, Senior Director of Maintenance and Engineering about the ongoing initiatives at Weill Cornell Medical College. Cardboard and paper recycling increases, LED light installations, and night setbacks in the Weill Greenberg Center are just a few examples. Many of the Medical College's initiatives will be featured on this site, and progress will be reported via new postings.
They also hear from Kristen Adams, Administrator, Department of Anesthesiology. During the "Seven Minutes to Save the Planet" presentation, new hires learn from a fellow employee how green teams across the campus are saving energy and reducing waste. Employee driven change starts one employee at a time.
Ordering recycled supplies, turning off computer monitors when not used, limiting copies and print-outs, and always using double sided copying are a few examples of what every employee can do to reduce the carbon footprint of our work. Some changes like using a reusable coffee mug save an employee's own money, as well as creating less garbage.
Upcoming events and new ideas are also reported here on the Sustainability Web Site. So what are you waiting for? Check out this site, start making some small changes, and contact us to get more involved.
Campus Coffee Cups
Reusable mugs slash the cost of your coffee on campus
Griffis Faculty Cafe (GFC-Cafe) opened last year taking over the concession from Pyramid Coffee. And they have the winning deal for reusable coffee mugs on campus. On the second floor of the C building, this small eatery is located in the Archibald Commons. It is open from 6am - 8pm serving breakfast, lunch and dinner.
The GFC Cafe offers a $5 reusable mug including your first fill up. Subsequent refills are only $1, compared to the $2.25 cost of a large coffee in one of their paper cups. So the $1.25 savings means full payback by the end of the first week. Clarence Heard, Supervisor of the cafe stated, "Starting last year, we give a free mug to all first year medical students." He notes that so far they have sold about 50 additional mugs. If you don't have the $5, but you already have a reusable coffee mug, bring it on down. According to the Griffis Faculty Club, the cafe will honor $1 refills with any other type of reusable coffee mug.
If your work area is not convenient to the C building, then the NYP Green mug might be for you. The NYP mug costs $10 and subsequent refills are only $0.85-$1.05. It takes a bit longer for the return on investment, but the mug is good for the $.85 refill at the Garden Cafe Cafeteria in the basement and the Garden Express concession at the STARR entrance. Refills are $1.05 in the Starbucks featured Patio Cafe in the main NYP lobby. To purchase the mug, inquire at the cashiers in the basement level Garden Cafe Cafeteria. And if you have already laid out the $10, remember you can also use the NYP mug at the GFC Cafe.
So either way, why is anyone still walking around campus with a paper or worse yet, a styrofoam cup?
Healthy Housekeeping
Cleaning product changes reduce chemical waste.
When the Weill Cornell Medical College assumed responsibility for housekeeping services in the Weill Greenberg Center and the research buildings in 2008, the college took that opportunity to transition to green cleaning processes throughout the campus. All of the routine cleaning products used on campus are approved by Green Seal, which is an independent, nonprofit organization that sets environmental standards and awards a Green Seal of Approval to products that are friendlier to the environment. The impact of converting is enormous considering the quantities of cleaning products used annually by the Medical College. Flore Berger, Director Housekeeping Services, has led the initiative to greener cleaning not only for the planet, but for a better working environment for employees and staff. Ms. Berger noted that, “The Green Seal cleaning products give off fewer fumes and our vacuum cleaners use HEPA filters to reduce dust. These changes make our work areas safer.”
Housekeeping has installed special dispensing stations for our cleaning products so the correct concentration of cleaning solution is used for the type of task being performed. The cleaning cloths and mops that we use are now made of microfiber, which perform better and last longer. The special flat mops hold cleaning solution within the handle for direct application, so that compared to traditional mops, the system produces 80% less chemical waste. Together, these changes reduce the amount of chemicals released into the atmosphere and into the wastewater stream. The green cleaning approach has been expanded in July 2009 to the Medical College’s rented spaces on East 61st street, and also includes the 1300 York, Oxford, the S-Building, Olin Hall and Lasdon House.
Did You Know 
Over 1,000 Weill Cornell Medical College employees participated in Earth hour in March 2009. And they also joined the Unpower Hour at work.
Upcoming Events 
On-Line Raffle Winner
Participation numbers and raffle winners are coming in from all over the campus. While we are tallying up the total number of participants, see who won the on-line drawing.
