Universities worldwide offer student housing and while the size, layout and number of tenants varies greatly from institution to institution, there is one thing that remains the same – each and every project aims to be cost-effective, time-efficient and, now more than ever, sustainable.
To complement this demand for greener practices, each year, The Princeton Review compiles a list of the most sustainable colleges within the US and Canada, entitled ‘The Green Honor Roll’. With growing teams and offices in both North American countries, we are always eager to see who has made the list, and who has not.
This year, Wittenberg University, located in Springfield, Ohio, had a bold sustainable plan that caught the attention of many environmentalists, along with The Princeton Review. The university created a goal to cut electricity consumption by 20 percent, subsequently generating an estimated annual savings of $400,000.
The university’s management team is currently in the process of renovating a popular on-campus dormitory, as part of the school’s continued journey towards LEED certification. Currently, Wittenberg’s renovation plans include environmentally-friendly building design, construction and operational efforts.
The Refinishing Touch has spent the past 35 years working diligently to bring LEED certifications and decrease carbon emissions during renovations in the higher education sector. We’ve witnessed firsthand the rising demand for greener practices, and have been meeting such requests with our award-winning furniture asset management services – leaving the option of buying brand new pieces to be a thing of the past.
Buying new furniture, and tossing away existing well-built assets, is inefficient in many ways. For one, universities looking to lower budget costs for large-scale renovation projects will save up to 80 percent of total expenditure by repurposing furniture. Along with cost-efficiency, an institution saves time by investing in furniture asset management. Our expert production teams work in a fast, seamless manner and work on-site, with little disruption to those nearby.
Perhaps most important to colleges like Wittenberg is the sustainability factor – through refinishing, re-upholstery and remanufacturing, furniture avoids making its way into the nation’s landfills, thus preventing deforestation and lessening carbon emissions by up to 90 percent. For these benefits and more, nearly every higher education facility should consider greener, more cost-effective alternatives, starting with furniture asset management.
For the full list of universities on the Green Honor Roll, please find the document here. If you are interested in learning more about The Refinishing Touch and our services, please visit our website and request a free quote today.