Stanford encourages everyone to ‘Live Cardinal Green, Anywhere’

While the pandemic has required countless adjustments in the way members of the Stanford community live, work and interact with each other, one element of life has remained consistent – their commitment to environmental sustainability.

Among the actions that Cardinal Green Anywhere suggests is home composting. (Image credit: Getty Images)

During fall quarter, Sustainable Stanford wants to uphold this commitment and foster connections among the community with the new “Cardinal Green Anywhere” initiative.

The Cardinal Green Anywhere campaign offers a range of educational and action-oriented opportunities for individuals to come together and support sustainability even when they are not living and working together on campus.

As a key component of the effort, new “Sustainable at Home” actions have been added to the My Cardinal Green platform, joining more than 100 campus-focused actions, where individuals can report sustainability behaviors that they take to earn points toward a reward. The program encourages students, staff and faculty to complete sustainability actions that reduce their individual environmental footprint.

Among the actions that Cardinal Green Anywhere suggests are starting a home composting program, choosing to eat vegan one day a week and switching to LED bulbs.

“We know that our community’s actions have a significant impact on campus conservation efforts,” said Fahmida Bangert, director of the Office of Sustainability at Stanford.

“The actions included in Cardinal Green Anywhere will help members of the community build new habits and maintain them once we’re able to return to campus. We want to support and celebrate our community on and off campus and keep sustainability as a core value anywhere.”

Bangert said the campaign captures a more holistic picture of the conservation efforts of Stanford students, staff and faculty. It includes new training courses that will focus on best practices to reduce energy and water consumption and minimize waste at home.

Sustainable Stanford has also established a #Cardinal-Green Slack channel, where community members can participate in weekly “Ask Me Anything” sessions, or share personal stories of sustainability actions they have taken in the home.

Grace Cheng, a senior majoring in computer science, said she has appreciated the reminders Cardinal Green has provided over the years about the steps she could take in her daily life to help build a more sustainable future – at home, on campus or elsewhere.

“Climate change is such a pressing issue for our generation and future generations,” she said. “I try my best to actively seek out ways to live a more sustainable lifestyle, and Cardinal Green has been a great resource for educating myself on other ways I can make a difference.”

Megan Miller, director of Service Design Improvement, Analytics and Innovation Services in the Office of Business Affairs, said Cardinal Green helps connect members of the Stanford community even while they are working remotely.

“It’s fun to be able to see and share some of our Cardinal Green spirit with one another, and I feel proud that Stanford is offering resources like this to keep us energized and connected to its sustainability mission,” she said.

The recently published 2019-20 Sustainability Year in Review provides detailed insight into the key milestones related to Stanford’s progress in sustainability this year. Visit the Sustainable Stanford website to learn more about other programs and ways to get involved.