Are you a student who is living in on-campus housing and interested in living more sustainably? Want to compete against your floormates for bragging rights and against other floors for prizes? Help advance the University of Pittsburgh’s culture of sustainability by becoming a Pitt Green Resident and a member of Pitt Green Floor!
How do I become a Pitt Green Resident?
You can become a Pitt Green Resident by completing the Pitt Green Resident Self-Assessment. The assessment rates your daily activities on impact. If you score at least 50% or higher on the assessment, you will earn the title of Pitt Green Resident!
Didn’t earn Green Resident on your first try? No worries – just make a few changes to your habits and behaviors, then retake the Self-Assessment at any time.
Improve Your Green Resident Score:
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Go Green with our Guide: Developed by the Student Office of Sustainability, the Office of Sustainability, and Pitt EcoReps the Student Green Guide is a one-stop-shop for all your sustainability questions and needs. Want to know how to compost food waste on campus, or what sustainable transportation options are available to you? Check out the Student Green Guide.
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Ready, Set, Recycle: All University residence halls offer single-stream recycling for common items. Learn about what’s recyclable and compostable at Pitt, including hard-to-recycle items, like batteries, textiles, and electronic devices on Pitt Sustainability’s website.
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Choose to Reuse: Become a sustainable shopper by participating in the BYO[Bag] program, a student-run initiative aimed at reducing the Pitt community’s reliance on single-use bags, which cost $0.25 at campus retailers. Bring a reusable bag when shopping at the Forbes Street Market, the University Stores, or anywhere else on and off campus.
Cut down on your use of single-use containers by bringing a reusable mug to campus coffee carts or by using Pitt Eats’ Choose to Reuse take-out and to-go containers at participating dining locations across campus.
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Get to Know Your EcoRep: EcoReps are student sustainability ambassadors living in residence halls who can answer all your questions about living sustainably on campus.
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Donating or Repurposing Your Clothing Never Falls out of Fashion: Did you know that 73% of textiles are sent to landfill or incinerated? 100% of that is avoidable on campus! Keep valuable textiles out of the landfill and in circulation by donating, repurposing, or recycling your unwanted clothing. Donate quality apparel to the University of Thriftsburgh, our on-campus, student-run thrift shop. Learn how to maintain, care for, and mend clothing. Choose to recycle anything that can’t be donated or fixed through Pitt’s Textile Recycling Program.
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Become a People Person: Sustainability isn’t just about the environment. It’s about ensuring that current and future generations can thrive in the world. To do so, we all must combat and dismantle racism and bigotry in all forms. Learn more about race in America, allyship, how to protest safely, and how to have productive conversations about race in the Student Affairs Antiracism Resource Toolkit.
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Stay Cool and Wash Your Clothes on Cold: Washing your clothes with cold water reduces energy use by washing machines by up to 90%. Washing clothes in cold water works just as well as washing with warm or hot water, and using a cold setting helps to increase the longevity of your clothing!
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Give Your Car the Boot and Choose to Commute: Single-occupancy vehicles parked on campus take up valuable parking space and are often inefficient compared to active and shared transportation options, like walking, riding a bike, or taking public transit. All Pitt students, faculty, and staff have free, unlimited access to University shuttles, Pittsburgh's bike-sharing program, and Port Authority transportation with their Panther Card. Visit the Pitt Mobility website for more information on essential transportation programs.
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Eat Clean, Eat Green: 70% of the average person’s daily emissions come from eating meat. Red meat can have up to 100 times more adverse environmental impacts than plant-based food. To reduce your daily emissions, try to ensure that at least one or more of your meals are vegetarian or vegan. It’s better for the planet and your health! Visit the Pitt Eats’ website to find healthy and delicious plant-based alternatives on campus.
How can my residence hall floor become a Pitt Green Floor?
Your floor can become a Pitt Green Floor if 50% or more of your floor’s residents achieve Green Resident status. Not only do all designated Pitt Green Floors get a plaque in their hall's lobby to recognize their achievement, but the highest scoring floor from the fall semester also wins a fun prize like a zero-waste ice cream party from Millie’s Homemade Ice Cream!
Which on-campus residence halls participate in the Green Resident Program?
- Amos Hall
- Brackenridge Hall
- Bruce Hall
- Forbes Hall
- Holland Hall
- Irvis Hall
- Litchfield Towers (A, B, C)
- Lothrop Hall
- McCormick Hall
- Nordenberg Hall
- Panther Hall
- Residence Inn Bigelow
- Ruskin Hall
- Sutherland Hall
Congratulations to our past Green Floors!
Fall 2021: Sutherland West, Floors 7 & 8
Fall 2020: Sutherland East, Floor 6
Fall 2019: Sutherland East, Floor 3 & Tower C, Floor 8