Bowdoin College Environmental Mission Statement
The environment within and beyond Bowdoin College is one of the fundamental aspects of our community and one that we, as members of the College, have in common. In keeping with Bowdoin's bicentennial motto, "The College and the Common Good," the opportunity exists to reaffirm our committement to the history and future of Bowdoin's relationship with the environment.
Both the institution as a whole and individuals in the Bowdoin community have an an impact on the environment and therefore should commit themselves to understanding their personal responsibility for the local and natural environment. In consideration of the common good, Bowdoin recognizes its responsibility to take a leadership role in environmental stewardship by promoting environmental awareness, local action, and global thinking. Because sustainability reaches beyond the Bowdoin campus, choices made by the College in its operations shall consider economic, environmental, and social impacts. Members of the Bowdoin community shall orient new faculty, staff, and students to the campus-wide environmental ethic and conduct research and teaching in a sustainable and responsible fashion. As a way to capture this ethic, the following Environmental Mission Statement has been developed:
"Being mindful of our use of the Earth's natural resources, we are committed to leading by example to integrate environmental awareness and responsibility throughout the college community. The College shall seek to encourage conservation, recycling, and other sustainable practices in its daily decision making processes, and shall take into account, in the operations of the College, all appropriate economic, environmental, and social concerns."
To implement the mission statement within and beyond the Bowdoin Community, the College commits itself to the following actions:
Sustainable Awareness
Leading by example, Bowdoin shall integrate environmental awareness and responsibility throughout the College community.
Resources for learning and acting shall be available to the Bowdoin community, including recycling bins, awareness lectures, information centers, and opportunities to advise and monitor activities of the College.
Sustainable awareness shall encompass the social causes and consequences of environmental practices in compliance with the common good.
Sustainable Education
Students, faculty and staff shall be offered the opportunity to participate in an orientation program that provides information on the College's commitment to environmental sustainability. Members of the College community shall be encouraged to act in a manner that reflects the objectives of the environmental mission statement.
The College will strive to inform students about environmental management, sustainable economic development, and the social impacts of choices in order to provide co-curricular programming to ensure that graduates are environmentally literate and responsible citizens, and to acknowledge environmental leadership as a continuous, participatory process of learning.
Sustainable Policy
To promote a sustainable economy in Maine and New England, Bowdoin shall use all reasonable efforts to make new purchases that favor affordably priced local and renewable products that reflect the College's commitment to sustainability.
To reduce waste in public landfills, Bowdoin shall use all reasonable efforts to purchase reusable and recyclable products when available.
To complete the loop of recycling products, Bowdoin shall use all reasonable efforts to purchase products with recycled content when available and conduct vigorous recycling programs.