Dallas College’s Sustainability Office is always open to creating new partnerships with local, state and national for-profit or nonprofit organizations that have similar goals and support one or more of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
Dallas College’s sustainability goals fall into five primary areas:
- Sustainability Education — We provide low- or no-cost sustainability education programs for our students, employees and community members.
- Outreach and Engagement — We advocate for our students, employees, and community members to practice sustainability in their personal, professional and community lives.
- Operations — We are working to practice sustainability in our own operations because we believe we must model what we teach.
- Administration and Planning — We recognize that sustainability is a journey; it takes time to identify, plan for and achieve our sustainability goals.
- Innovation and Leadership — We strive to be innovative because as Albert Einstein said, “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
Following are some of the partnerships we are currently participating in:
North Texas Renewable Energy Group — Once again, Dallas College is the Terawatt sponsor for the DFW Solar Tour, a free event on Saturday, Oct. 2.
Texas Regional Alliance for Campus Sustainability — This is the regional affiliate for the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). Dallas College is hosting the annual TRACS Summit on Nov. 8-9, 2021. The theme is “Hope for the Future.” This is the first year that the TRACS Summit will be held online; it is also the first year that it is free and open to the public. Register for the TRACS Summit.
GreenSource DFW — We have partnered with GSDFW since its inception and are now proud sponsors of their new, monthly GreenSource DFW on the Air webinar series.
Dallas Arboretum — Beginning in November, Dallas College Sustainability team members will be offering classes at the Arboretum’s “A Tasteful Place” after the weekly Dallas College Cooks classes on Mondays. We’ll share more detailed information soon.
SharedAirDFW — The SharedAirDFW Community Initiative will help ensure that the citizens of North Texas have easy online access to real-time, hyperlocal air quality information.
If your organization is interested in partnering with Dallas College’s Sustainability Office, contact Georgeann Moss at gemoss@dallascollege.edu and copy sustainability@dallascollege.edu. Include the words “Partnership Opportunity” in the subject line.
Upcoming Events
September 2021 Sustainable U Webinars
Tuesday, Sept. 7
Noon to 1 p.m.
Welcome Back to the Garden
As we welcome students into the classroom for a new school year, it’s the perfect time to “welcome back” our favorite fall and winter crops into the garden. Join Dr. Kara Casy as she highlights new garden trends that you can incorporate into your home plantings this fall. During the pandemic, Americans have returned to the garden. We’ll also discuss how these new “victory gardens” compare in sustainable practices to the war gardens of our parents and grandparents. As a new generation of gardeners embrace growing food, their focus on sustainability is strengthening the Dallas community.
Presenter: Dr. Kara Casy
Before moving to Florida this past summer, Dr. Casy was the founding director of the Urban Agriculture and Renewable Resources program at Dallas College.
Register for Welcome Back to the Garden
Tuesday, Sept. 14
Noon to 1 p.m.
Journey From Recycling to Zero Waste
For years, we were taught to reduce, reuse and recycle. The new goal is zero waste. What is zero waste, and what will it take to get there?
Presenter: Terry Shultz, United Electronic Recycling Inc.
Terry has more than 20 years of experience in the environmental industry with 13-plus years in electronics recycling. Before joining UER, Terry founded and owned Verde Tech and E-Waste Collections, electronics recycler and data security companies. Over the years, Terry has been involved in multiple environmental organizations including the Sustainable Dallas Annual Conference, board member for North Texas Corporate Recycling Association (NTCRA), founder and current president of Women in the Environment (WE), city of Irving — Green Advisory Board vice president and the city of Irving Chamber — Green Business Council.
Register for Journey From Recycling to Zero Waste
Tuesday, Sept. 21
Noon to 1 p.m.
The Future of Renewable Energy in Texas
Members of the North Texas Renewable Energy Group will discuss the past, present and future of renewable energy in Texas. What are the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that will help or hinder Texas’ transition to a renewable energy economy?
Register for The Future of Renewable Energy
Tuesday, Sept. 28
Noon to 1 p.m.
Net Zero Energy Buildings (by the author of “The Joy of Efficiency”)
This presentation will review the definitions and boundary conditions for net zero buildings. Net zero energy buildings produce all their own energy needs over the course of the year. Efficiency is the first, and key, step and is coupled with on-site power generation — normally from solar power. The Westbrook House will be used as a case study. It’s a passive/active solar home in North Texas that has been on the tour of solar homes for the past 25 years.
Presenter: Paul Westbrook
Paul designed his own passive/active solar home in north Texas in 1996, which won the Energy Value Housing Award for Innovative Design. His home was the first DFW house on the national solar home tour, and over 2,000 people have toured the house. Paul led the green design of a Texas Instruments factory in Richardson, which was the first LEED Gold semiconductor factory in the world. He then worked to improve the energy and water efficiency of TI’s 20 million square feet of global facilities. They were able to double the company energy and water efficiency in less than 10 years. In 2012, Paul was named a senior fellow for the U.S. State Department’s Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas (ECPA) program. In 2019 he published a book, “The Joy of Efficiency.” Paul’s degree is in mechanical engineering.
Register for Net Zero Energy Buildings (by the author of “The Joy of Efficiency”)
Conferences and Other Activities
Saturday, Oct. 8
DFW Solar Tour
Friday, Nov. 5
Dallas College Sustainability Summit
Monday and Tuesday, Nov. 8-9
Texas Regional Alliance for Campus Sustainability (TRACS) Summit
Featured SDG Video No. 14: Life Below Water
In this three-minute video, John DePhillipo discusses how the John Bunker Sands Wetland Center protects and conserves life below water in North Texas.
Three Questions That Will Transform the World
Answer these three questions to determine if your practices and solutions are sustainable.
Are they:
- Good for people (equity)?
- Good for the planet (environment)?
- Good for our prosperity (the economy)?
If the answer to any of the above is no, then keep working until you can answer yes to all three.
Take the Pledge
Join us in taking the Renew Texas 2025 pledge to use electricity generated from 100% renewable energy by 2025.