Environmental justice initiatives

There are many initiatives occurring presently on campus to reduce Bennington College’s negative environmental impact, and to prepare for a dynamic future of possibilities influenced by climate change and ecological winnowing. Srichchha Pradhan, Junior and Continuous Energy Improvement Intern with Efficiency Vermont, and Ethan Koss-Smith, Senior and Bennington College’s Coordinator for Sustainable Initiatives, have established the framework for a club called L.E.S.S (Leaders for Environmental Stewardship and Sustainability) which is a conduit for pairing students with departments who would like help prioritizing sustainability efforts with student support. If you care to learn about projects and to partner with a department please fill out this form.
In December 2019 an inter-departmental panel overseen by Meredith McCoy, Associate Vice President for Institutional Initiatives, and instigated by Ethan Koss-Smith, was created to assess Bennington College’s ecological sustainability ranking through a tool called AASHE. AASHE is helpful insofar that it allows the college’s reviewers to collect data on performance, so shortcomings and strengths can be assessed. So far, the college is four points away from a gold certification, which is just below the highest ranking of platinum. The group is beginning the incipient stages of developing a campus wide ecological sustainability and resilience plan through the lens of environmental justice. Environmental Justice requires democracy and equality in human rights, and so the work of students, staff and faculty to create an anti-racist atmosphere at the college is also linked to this ecological justice. If you would like to hear more about AASHE, or to become involved with developing a campus-wide sustainability plan inspired by AASHE reporting please fill out this form. If you have any questions please review the forms above or contact ethankosssmith@bennington.edu / srichchhapradhan@bennington.edu if questions persist.