A Not So Common College Commons: Sustainable Dining at Bates College

The growing emphasis in the United States on a building's sustainability as it is constructed is clearly indicated by the exponential growth of the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED rating system. In addition, society is beginning to pay attention to the existing building stock's environmental footprint, focusing on energy and water efficiency. There is less discussion, however, on how the design of the building can actually facilitate sustainable living within and even affect behavior beyond the building's envelope. In some cases, what we do in the building may outweigh the environmental impact of the building itself. A dining facility on an average college or university campus, for instance, has potentially the single highest environmental footprint compared to all other buildings on campus, outside of laboratory or medical facilities. It is one of the most costly to operate and employs a high percentage of campus staff. The dining facility is one of the campus's largest consumers in terms of ...