Leader of the Australian Greens, Senator Bob Brown, will officially open Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) most ‘green’ campus at Thurgoona on the NSW-Victorian border at 11am on Wednesday 24 March.

 

Hosted by the University’s Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Ian Goulter, Senator Brown will tour the award winning, environmentally friendly campus, which now consolidates most of the University’s teaching and research facilities in Albury-Wodonga on the Thurgoona site.

 

“Having Senator Brown open the site is most appropriate given the ‘green’ nature of the site. Buildings, facilities and systems used on the Thurgoona site have received State-wide, national and international attention for its environmentally sensitive development and focus on sustainable living,” Professor Goulter said.

 

“The site is the flagship for the University’s demonstration of sustainable development. The 15-year, $50 million building program has embraced a new approach to building design, a comprehensive, environmentally sensitive process that spans site planning, materials selection and building methods. It is a major example of minimal energy use and the on-site management of water and waste.”

 

CSU’s 2007-2011 Strategic Plan names financial, social and environmental sustainability as a major goal for the institution.

“Charles Sturt University now has a number of projects addressing this goal, including a $3 million Energy Saving Loan Scheme which helps implement energy and water efficiency projects that are measurable and have an acceptable payback period,” Professor Goulter said.

 

“We have developed an annual environmental scorecard to measure and document how we’re travelling against our targets to minimise carbon emissions, energy and water use and waste production, as listed in our Strategy.

“We also carry out energy efficiency audits, offer Sustainability Grants, actively co-ordinate resource recovery programs, and have appointed ‘Sustainability Champions’ in each division to help drive greener ways of working for our students and staff. These efforts have resulted in us receiving a Certificate of Achievement in Public Sector Sustainability in last year’s Green Globe Awards.”

The Thurgoona site covers 87 hectares and includes artificial and natural waterways and wetlands. It has a focus on restoring native endangered flora and fauna and incorporates a regional herbarium across the site.