Center for Sustainable Development at the College of Charleston

Meet the 2024 Center for Sustainable Development Internship Cohort!! 💫💚

Introducing our new Assistant Director of Student Engagement, Kelsey Whiting-Jones! We are so thrilled to have her joining our team, she brings so much incredible experience and energy to her role. Welcome to the College of Charleston family Kelsey!

Join us for BEst Fest on Wednesday, September 18th from 1-8pm in Cistern Yard! Get involved with the campus community during the Involvement Fair, spend time with new friends making crafts and playing games, take a dance class with and join them along with for supper club!

Take this wonderful opportunity to and 💖

Are you ready for BEST FEST?!? Last year was such a blast with the involvement fair partners, lots of crafts, food trucks, and amazing live music! We can’t wait to see you all back in Cistern Yard on September 18th. Keep an eye out for more information about BEst Fest coming soon!

Need a recycling bin? Blue Bin Brigade is coming up next week on September 2nd and 5th from 11:30-1:30!! We will be distributing personal recycling bins at McAlister and McConnell Residence Halls on Monday and at Berry and Warren Residence Halls on Thursday. Stop by to rent a FREE bin for the semester and contribute to the sustainability of our campus 💙 ♻️

The Cougar Free Store is OPEN on Monday - Thursday from 10 - 5! We’ve got lab coats, school supplies, clothes, shoes, detergent sheets, and much more! Come by and check it out at 207 Calhoun St in the Center for Sustainable Development.

Mindful Move In 2024 was a smashing success!! Thanks to our dedicated team of staff, partners in Facilities Management, Budd Group, and Republic Recycling, along with our amazing volunteers we were able to collect cardboard for recycling and diverted it from a fate in the landfill! THANK YOU to everyone who helped make this happen ♻️ 📦 💚

Happy First Day of Classes from the Center for Sustainable Development!! 💫 We’re wishing you all an amazing Fall semester and can’t wait for you to see all the amazing programs and events we have planned! 💚

Bike Share is back! Want to rent a FREE bike for the fall semester? Fill out the request form at the link in our bio to claim your spot. Bikes are very limited and the process is first come, first serve so reserve your bike now! Make sure to complete ALL the steps including responding to your confirmation email, submitting the waiver, and scheduling your pick up time.

Thanks again to for helping us expand our fleet by 15 bicycles! 🚲

Meetings, sorting donations, orientations, and field trips, this summer’s internship program was amazing! Our team was able to complete lots of incredible work while taking time to explore our community. We’re looking forward to welcoming more interns to our team in the fall. Can’t wait to see y’all back on campus!

The Free Store will be CLOSED from August 8-26 while we prepare for Mindful Move In and the start of the fall semester! Make sure to check out our Free Store Pop-Ups from August 16-18 in the Rita Lobby to get free hangers, lamps, trash cans, and more to supply your residence hall. Good luck with move in, we can’t wait to see you all back on campus!

Each academic year, based on votes from the campus community, we determine an annual focus from the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDG). This year’s focus is UNSDG 10: Reduced Inequalities! We look forward to spending this year intentionally identifying ways to expand programming and incorporate events that work towards the goal of equality.

What are some ways you think we could reduce inequality on the CofC campus? Comment below! 👇

Want to make an impact on campus? We’re looking for volunteers to help us collect cardboard to recycle during residence hall move in on August 14, 16, 17, & 18! Visit the Move In Volunteer link HERE -> https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=ONSF4rrbTEqUHFk7pCLerB4fNMsDZgNDo7ppxX00DsZUOTMzUTMyTVhPMUNIWUJWQ0hUWVUzVlhKOS4u to sign up and make a difference! 💚

The City of Charleston and Bed Shred have teamed up with the CSD to offer FREE mattress and box spring pick up and recycling for students in zip codes 29401 and 29403! All you have to do is leave your mattress on the curbside and complete the Mattress Recycling form HERE -> https://bedshred.com/pages/college-mattress-recycling-charleston It’s that easy!

One of our largest waste diversion streams is the specialty recycling program, which collects batteries, small electronics, and printer cartridges from campus buildings to be recycled. Over the past year, our Zero Waste Intern has collected over 1,478 LBS of these hard to recycle materials from our specialty recycling towers!

Want to drop off batteries, ink cartridges, or small electronics (such as phones, tablets, and chargers)? Check out the Sustainability Map linked in our bio to find the specialty recycling tower locations.

Interested in sustainability? Join our team!! We have multiple opportunities open for the Fall semester including the Rotation Internship, Living Labs Program, and the intern position of Cougar Changemaker Chair. These are great low commitment, high impact opportunities to make sustainable change on campus.

Learn more about these programs and apply at the link in our bio. APPLICATIONS ARE DUE JULY 28!!

Congratulations to our newest Green Offices! Facilities Management was re-certified at the Platinum level and the Masters of Business Administration (MBA) Program was certified at the Silver level. Thanks for your efforts in making our campus more sustainable!

Interested in making your office Green? Check out the ‘Green Office Certification’ link in our bio!

Want to be a part of the Center for Sustainable Development team? Apply for our internship program! We are hiring a Cougar Free Store Manager, Zero Waste Programs Lead, and Changemaker Committee Chair for the 2024-25 academic year.

Visit the Internship Application (https://cofc.joinhandshake.com/stu/jobs/9087346) to learn more about the positions and apply! Applications are due JULY 15!

The 2024 Summer internship cohort has been hard at work, but we’ve also enjoyed opportunities to relax and connect with the Charleston community! We had a blast visiting the SC Aquarium while supporting their zero waste efforts, touring the Avery Research Center, and building terrariums at PlantHouse.

Stay tuned for info on how to get involved with our amazing internship program! ✨

If you’ve walked through the College of Charleston campus, you’ve noticed our abundance of awe-inspiring trees. They’re an essential part of keeping our campus livable, healthy, and beautiful. Which is why the College is proud to maintain our Tree Campus Certification for a third year! Thank you to the CofC Grounds team and every one who’s been a part of growing and maintaining our campus green spaces 💚 🌳

Last week our staff got together at Stono Preserve to reground as a team, recap our accomplishments from the past academic year, and strategize for what academic year 2024-25 will bring. Follow us to stay up to date on our exciting plans for this year! 💚

Congratulations to Panhellenic for winning the Greek Life Donation Drive with 94.4 lbs of clothing donated to the Cougar Free Store!! Especially congrats to Theta for donating the most: 54.2 lbs! Thank you to everyone who donated 💚

Want to donate or shop at the Free Store? Come by 207 Calhoun Monday - Thursday, 10 AM - 5 PM

***The Free Store will be CLOSED April 28th - May 2nd so we can focus on Mindful Moveout!***

Happy Earth Day from the Center for Sustainable Development! Get outside into some of the beautiful green spaces on our campus to celebrate the Earth today 💚

Congratulations to the two most recently certified Green Offices: The Center for Sustainable Development (Platinum-Certified, that’s us!) and the REACH Program (Gold-Certified).

We also have several more offices in the process of re-certifying or getting it for the first time including: Facilities Management, the Masters of Business Administration Office, and Department of Hispanic Studies.

If you’re interested in certifying your office as Green, check out the link in our bio to learn more and begin the certification process!

We enjoyed lots of good food and appreciations at our End of the Year Potluck! Sad to see this semester’s internship come to an end, but we’re grateful for all the amazing people who worked hard at the Center this year! 💚

Congratulations to this week’s Sustainability Superhero, Greg Townsley, the Lab Manager Grice Marine Laboratory!

His nominator shared: “Greg is the marine lab manager here at CofC and he works TIRELESSLY to make our lab a more sustainable space. I have watched him dig trash out of trash cans, rescue raccoons who get stuck in the dumpster, and always lend a helping hand to projects like gardening, maintaining rain barrels, etc. He will always look for a way to reuse and fix an item before getting a new one. In fact he keeps a stash of cardboard boxes beside his office so they can get reused at least once more before being retired to recycling. He’s an all star, he never seeks recognition, but he makes the lab a more sustainable place every single day.”

Thanks for all you do!!

Markets, pop-ups, panels, and more… Sustainability Week 2024 was a smashing success! Thank you to all of our partners, panelists, and everyone who joined us!

What was your favorite part of Sustainability Week?

Our last Sustainability Week highlight for Responsible Consumption & Production is Sustainable Disposal! Where your things go once you’re gone with them has a huge impact on the planet, so make sure that you’re disposing mindfully! ♻️

Today’s highlight for Sustainability Week is on Sustainable Consumption. Industries like food, fashion, and more have a massive impact on our planet but also create opportunities for us to be mindful in how we consume!

Practice sustainable consumption by shopping with local vendors at the Sustainability Market TOMORROW April, 4th from 12-3 at Sottile Clock!

Our focus during Sustainability Week this year is the UNSDG 12: Responsible Consumption & Production. Today, we’re highlighting Sustainable Production - how we can source, transport, and transform materials in a way that ensures a sustainable and equitable future for all!