Sustainability at The Putney School is a way of life. Because of that, many of the amazing things that regularly transpire here are not applauded as initiatives because they are simply part of the fabric of our daily experience. In other words, “It’s just what we do.”
From our Net-Zero LEED Platinum Field House that consumes less energy than it produces, to growing a portion of our own food, to a Sustainability Squad made up of students with an advisor, sustainability and stewardship are integral parts of the Putney experience.
What else would you expect from a school located on a 500-acre working dairy farm in southeastern Vermont?
Every student here is required to spend a semester working in the barn before graduation, although many come back for much, much more. Farming, even in this day and age is still satisfying and confidence-boosting work.
As far as the physical plant is concerned, our current strategic plan states that “A sustainable campus is both an educational and a financial goal.” This commitment is what led to the creation our Field House, the first net-zero and LEED Platinum school building in the United States.
Besides winning us accolades, which we appreciated but weren’t pursuing, the Field House has been in many publications and has hosted visits from other educational institutions, businesses, and organizations who want to see how a building of this size can be constructed today, affordably, with current technology. We hope it will serve as an example to everyone planning a new building in the near future.
On a smaller scale, students have designed our latest two-student cabin. It is superinsulated, oriented for maximum solar gain, solar powered, and heated with a yacht stove that burns twigs. Students built the cabin from donated insulating panels and many found parts.
Sustainability and ingenuity are just part of who we are.
And, they’re the bedrock of our future. Our latest Master Plan describes the steps we’re taking to become a net-zero campus. Our next step is to upgrade the efficiency of our current buildings while keeping their bucolic appeal.
Here is more detailed list of the major sustainability work done on campus over the past five years.
Community Culture
The Sustainability Squad conducted a campus assessment of the school’s recycling program and wrote a proposal to replace all of the old recycling and waste bins with new, more easy-to-use ones. The metal bins with liners that are currently used across campus are the result of their work. This year, the squad is planning to revitalize the GreenGuard program, which will work to make daily habits around energy use, solid waste management, and other green initiatives more visible and effective, especially at the dorm level.
Master Plan
Two students serve on the Master Plan committee. A few years ago a student made a “Student Guide to the Master Plan” pamphlet that highlights the most important features students would be interested in knowing about the school’s campus and energy goals. Last year students worked on an electric school bus proposal, which resulted in transportation being included in the agenda for the new Master Plan, which is supposed to be completed by the end of this calendar year.
ESG investment
Students on the squad were at the heart of the move toward more environmentally and socially sound investment practices. This started with a call to divest from fossil fuels in 2013 and progressed through many conversations with the board and as a community. The school now invests its portfolio using ESG (Environment, Social, Governance) lenses with Glenmede. Students have captured this journey in a pamphlet that explains the different forms of investment and how The Putney School ended up where we are with our endowment portfolio.
Climate Justice Conference
Students planned and hosted a professional level conference on climate justice last spring for New England residents. Attendees were mostly high school and college students. The conference included three workshop blocks, with 20 different workshops facilitated by professionals working in climate change, racial justice, and food justice careers. There was also a Justice Fair with educational and community booths and a catered lunch. Majora Carter, an urban revitalization specialist, was the keynote speaker.
Net-zero Education
Students have designed and led tours at our net-zero field house to highlight the many sustainable features of that unique building. Students have also created videos highlighting some of the features of the field house like: PV solar power, composting toilets, and its air-to-air heat exchanger and energy recovery system, as well as videos about new and evolving net-zero features on other parts of campus, like the new solar array.