The Finance and Operations Division is exploring ways to encourage environmental sustainability on campus.

Corey Ruff and Mary Caton met with the Students’ Association on Wednesday evening to review Campus Sustainability Day. During the event, the Facilities and Campus Management Team, University Purchasing Department and SA promote recycling, tree planting and a zero-waste lunch at the Bean. Caton, executive assistant of finance and operations, said many initiatives that make ACU more environmentally conscious have gone largely unnoticed in the past.

“The vision that I really have for campus sustainability is a little bit bigger than recycling,” said Caton. “It has to do with a mindset, a culture change. It just becomes part of what we do and part of how we think.”

ACU does not provide financial resources for sustainability projects. The necessary funding may come from selling recyclables like cardboard and aluminum, something Caton said she is sometimes cautious about.

“If we’re going to collect cans, I want to know where they’re going to go,” said Caton. “If we’re going to give them to somebody, or sell them to somebody, and they’re going to go put them in a landfill, why bother?”

ACU partners with RWL Recycling and knows the products sold to them are indeed being recycled.

However, Caton and Ruff both expressed interest in increasing ACU’s recycling output. Ruff, executive director of facilities and campus management, said he would like to make recycling more accessible to students by increasing bins on and around campus in the near future and promoting campus recycling awareness.

Ruff also addressed students’ concerns about energy management and said the majority of the air conditioning control system is out-of-date.

A group of boilers, which costs about $1,500 a day to operate, determine if the air will be heated. The boilers are typically not turned on until temperatures are consistently cold. During transitional climate periods, the boilers struggle to provide the appropriate temperature in classrooms. Ruff said he would like to replace the current boilers with modular boilers, which would provide increased control and better temperature circulation. The major issue preventing energy updates is high expense, but Ruff would like to introduce a new department to Facilities and Campus Management that would oversee green-oriented operations, awareness and funding.

“Heating and cooling is always a big issue on campus,” said Ruff. “If we can truly get our sustainability department funded, it should pay for itself.”

Congress also approved a resolution to support Christmas Slam 2012, an event aimed at promoting increased attendance at ACU basketball games. J.P. Ralston and Dylan Benac introduced the resolution.

Absent members:

Spenser Lynn, senior class president

Gabe Elorreaga, senior class vice president

Bo Braddock, junior class treasurer

Rodney Johnson, sophomore class president

Brad Hall, Mabee Hall representative

Emily Posa, Gardner Hall representative

JP Festa, Barret Hall representative

Emily O’Rear, Sherrod representative

Colin McClintock, Chambers representative

Stevon Carr, COBA representative