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For the second year in a row, the University of Hawaiʻi is being recognized with the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism’s Hawaiʻi Green Event Award for their work in hosting the Hawaiʻi Sustainability in Higher Education Summit. Representatives from the summit planning team received the award on Friday, July 17 at the state capitol.

Summit participants took part in a service learning project at Ka Papa Loʻi O Kānewai.

The Hawaiʻi Sustainability in Higher Education Summit took place from February 26-28 at UH Mānoa and drew over 200 participants representing faculty, staff, students and administrators from UH’s 10 campuses who are committed to improving sustainability across the UH system. The summit consisted of sessions and activities where participants took part in establishing sustainability goals, developing action plans and sharing sustainability projects—all while adhering to the Hawaiian perspective of caring for the environment and its resources.

As part of the larger summit, student participants took part in the Student Sustainability Summit organized by the Student Sustainability Coalition of Hawaiʻi.

Along with daily sessions and activities, the summit also implemented “green” practices by eliminating paper handouts and plastic bottles and cups, and by composting all food waste. Participants used reusable cups, plates and utensils and were offered healthy vegetarian cuisine made with local ingredients prepared by Chef Jenn Hee from Juicy Brew Cafe.

“Hosting an event for over 200 participants is a huge opportunity to lead by example and make a statement on our commitment to sustainability,” said Doorae Shin, former UH Student Sustainability coordinator. “Receiving one of the highest Green Event scores exemplifies our dedication to sustainable practices—the students, faculty, staff, administrators and community members who joined us experienced a nearly zero-waste event and were fed local, organic, vegan food to minimize our environmental footprint.”

“When it comes to sustainability, it is vitally important for the university to walk its talk so that we can model best practices and behaviors for our current and future leaders to emulate” said UH System Sustainability Coordinator Matthew Lynch. “This applies to operations, curriculum, research, community and cultural connections, and can even extend into the details of how we manage our events.”

—By Kapiʻolani Ching

Representatives from the summit planning team receive the Green Event Award. From left: Pono Chong of the Chamber of Commerce, Luis Salaveria of DBEDT, Keith Kawaoka of the Department of Health, UH Mānoa Campus Center Meeting and Events Services Director Laura Shimabukuro, UH System Sustainability Coordinator Matthew Lynch, former UH Student Sustainability Coordinator Doorae Shin, and Governor David Ige
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