Greener Student Living

At The Collegian we make every attempt to limit our carbon footprint.  We believe that all people have the right to live in an environment with clean water to drink and clean air to breath.  We are committed to constant innovation and improvement to continually minimize our carbon footprint and help reduce climate change.  

EWEB GreenPOWER

The Collegian is a voluntary contributor to the Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB) Greenpower Program. As a Greenpower contributor we:

1) Protect the environment. Renewable energy helps reduce regional air pollution from fossil fuels.

2) Support local solar energy projects. Greenpower funds incentives for our customers who install solar panels on their homes and businesses.

3) Invest in the local economy. Greenpower supports local jobs by promoting the installation of new sources of clean energy. 

4) Support research, education and projects that advance renewable energy. Greenpower funds grants to local nonprofit organizations for these purposes.

LandScaping Nature's Way

Since 1999 The Collegian's landscaping has been managed by Whitey Lueck, an instructor at University of Oregon's Department of Landscape Architecture.

Whitey's concept of "landscaping nature's way," means that only native plants are used and are chosen in a way to work with nature and not against it. No pesticides or fertilizers are used. The plants' fallen leaves simply recycle their nutrients on-site.  The onsite plants also rely primarily on rain for irrigation.

“In an effort to provide as healthy an indoor environment as possible for residents of The Collegian, a substantial “garden” of living plants is maintained in the two multi-story stairways filled with natural light as well as in the dining area where only artificial light is available……” Read More…

Recycling & composting

At The Collegian, we emphasize recycling.  Every floor has a recycling closet which contains bins for glass, plastic, paper and metals. Residents can easily sort and dump their recycling prior to putting any non-recyclable materials down the trash chute. 

We also participate in Love Food Not Waste, a commercial food waste collection program in the City of Eugene. Our kitchen composts food scraps through this program and we welcome our residents to do the same by providing them with green compostable bags to make it as easy as possible to take part.

Energy Efficiency 

In recent years we have 1) replaced lighting with LEDs and compact fluorescent bulbs to save electricity, 2) updated building shower heads and toilets with low flow, high efficiency models, 3) replaced windows and sliding glass doors with better insulated models, 4) utilized window tinting, natural air flow, and venting to cool common spaces during the warmer summer months, 5) provided additional insulation to exterior attic walls and to hot water tank, 6) installed ceiling fans to better distribute warm and cool air, and 7) replaced an inefficient dining room heating system with an Energy Star rated heat pump.  

Knowing that new energy efficient innovations are always on the way, our work to reduce our energy consumption is always ongoing.