鈥淕rowth of the MBL must be done in a way that is consistent with the local environment and sensitive to the Woods Hole community while being committed to the overall environment and sustainable business practices.鈥 鈥 MBL Shared Beliefs
Initiatives
- Electric Vehicles听-听The MBL offers a dual pedestal Blink Charging Station located in the Swope Parking Lot on Millfield Street for its employees and affiliates who have electric vehicles.
- Recycling听-听Carbon footprints, sustainability, a green way of thinking鈥攖hese are all 21st century ideas that have now become household catchphrases. We all know that recyclables can cut your overall carbon footprint and increase efficiency. But for some companies, knowing what is and isn鈥檛 recyclable is still murky territory, even today.
- Nitrogen and Carbon Footprint Tracking听-听The MBL has been calculating and tracking its carbon and nitrogen footprints since 2013. The institution is also an original member of the Nitrogen Footprint Project, a group committed to reducing the environmental impact of higher education by reducing nitrogen emissions.
- Composting听-听Since the Spring of 2018 MBL has partnered with two Massachusetts鈥檚 companies to reduce waste on campus. Since starting this initiative Swope Dining Hall has significantly reduced the amount of kitchen waste sent to the landfill.
- Water Kiosk and Bottle Refill听Stations听-The MBL has partnered with The Town of Falmouth, WHOI, Woods Hole Business Association, and Woods Hole Research Center to install Refill Reuse water kiosk in Marine Park as an effort increase sustainability and environmental responsibility in Woods Hole.
- Glove Recycling听-听The MBL Sustainability Committee recommends recycling gloves 鈥 any material, any brand 鈥 with Terracycle Zero Waste Boxes.听
The sustainability committee is made up of volunteers from research, education, information technologies, and facilities departments and is interested in hearing from all members/departments of the MBL community.
We currently meet quarterly, so if you are interested in joining the committee full time, just want to suggest new ideas and initiatives, or just want to find out why things happen the way they do, feel free to join us at an upcoming meeting.
If you are interested in joining or have any suggestions, please feel free contact the committee via email at听sustainability@mbl.edu.
Current Committee Members - May 2023
Jonathan Butler - Environmental Services Supervisor,听Paul Anderson - Assistant Manager of Conferences,听Kelsey Chenoweth - Research Assistant - Ecosystems Center,听Brian Cortright - IT Systems Administrator,听Bret Grasse - Manager of Cephalopod Operations,听Bette Hecox-Lea - Research Associate - Bay Paul Center,听Robert Kaski - Transportation and Grounds Supervisor,听Javier Lloret - Research Scientist - Ecosystems Center,听Kerri Mills - Assistant Director of Housing, Dining and Conferences,听Marie Russell - Director of Facilities,听Thomas Sensale - Administrative Analyst - Facilities,听Maria Silva - Associate Research Coordinator - Bell Center,听Maia Theophanis - Laboratory Operations Support Manager, and听MBL Dining Services