The illumination of Schmon Tower at Brock University will switch from Badger red to earth green Saturday, March 30, but from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. the lights will go out entirely.

It’s part of Brock’s annual recognition of Earth Hour, when Canadians turn off the lights as a show of support in the fight against climate change. In addition to the tower lights going dark, other lighting on the main campus and in the downtown Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts will also be dimmed or turned off.

But beyond simply flipping a switch once a year, when it comes to environmental sustainability, Brock University is a post-secondary leader.

Brock’s waste diversion rate was 71.8 per cent in 2017, putting it nearly 12 per cent higher than the Ministry of the Environment’s 60 per cent diversion rate guideline.

When it comes to saving water, the University installed an additional seven bottle-filling stations in 2018, bringing its total to 57. In 2018 alone, 930,343 bottles were filled and that number is expected to cross 1 million bottles for the first time in 2019. Since the bottle station program began five years ago, nearly 4.5 million bottles have been diverted from landfills through the use of reusable containers being filled on campus.

On a wider level, Brock’s Facilities Management established an Environmental Sustainability Policy in 2016 which includes objectives and actions that contribute to the goal of Green House Gas emissions reductions of 37 per cent by 2030 and 80 per cent by 2050.

Other ongoing programs include:

• Numerous projects aimed at improving the efficiency of the heating and cooling systems.
• Working toward converting florescent lighting to LED across the University.
• The ongoing District Energy Efficiency Project (DEEP) Phase 1 and 2, which will provide substantial energy savings through newer and more efficient power-generation engines.