Reduce, reuse, recycle, rot. These are four of the most common words Piedmont students have heard since grade school pertaining to the issue of the changing environment. Intended to educate about waste reduction, conservation of resources, and preservation of the , the four R’s have been constantly ingrained into students’ minds.

Though often ignored, schools around the country including Piedmont are making efforts to go above and beyond these four R’s, by implementing new green policies and tackling issues such as the sustainability of schools and campuses.

Director of the Office of Sustainability for UC Berkeley Lisa McNeill said the issue of sustainability is more than just conserving resources.

“By very definition, [sustainability] is making choices today, in a way that does not limit our choices tomorrow,” McNeill said.

McNeill, who works with environmental scientists in efforts to reduce emissions, consumption, and waste at the University of California Berkeley campus, started to become interested in environmental studies since she was young. Now, it’s about focusing on how local efforts can make large scale differences.

“We’re trying to find some solutions for the future,” McNeill said. “Whether it be by preventing negative impacts of greenhouse gas emission or looking at the positive impacts of making buildings more efficient, etc.”

Although a college campus like UC Berkeley is nearly twenty times the size of Piedmont’s, similarities in sustainability approaches are noticeable.

One of these approaches is the practice of composting.

Green parent representative Debbie Pfeiffer was behind the effort to organize bins and make compostable food service cutlery available to all customers.

“When we bring the issue of waste to attention, people realize and they change,” Pfeiffer said.

Pfeiffer said the main goals of increasing green efforts on campus was to bring it up to par with the middle school, which already had organized bins implemented with the help of the Green Team.

“Goal number one was to get a three bin system,” Pfeiffer said. “Number two was getting it to be easy to reduce, reuse, recycle, and rot.”

Although food service items account for a rather small percentage of the school’s material waste, Rashmi Sahai, a sustainability specialist for the UC system, said small steps like these are necessary in order to make an impact.

“Actions at the local level can add up small pieces to add to the larger movement,” Sahai said. “It is important for education systems to focus on sustainability so students can have the exposure to make the right decisions that can contribute to a larger goal.”

Sahai also said high schools have considerably less funding than large college institutions, therefore the concept of sustainability is often not brought to the forefront.

Pfeiffer said groups such as the Piedmont Parent’s Club have been crucial to small green efforts such as the implementation of organized bins and compostable items at food service.

But not all campus sustainability action has come from composting efforts. The school district is also taking steps to reduce energy emissions and cut down on overall energy usage with utilities.

Maintenance technician Bill Parsons said the district is looking into installing new utilities around campus, especially in the new Alan Harvey Theatre addition. Parsons said the district is examining options with new lighting and heating that will release less emission and reduce consumption of energy.

Along with administrative action, Piedmont Unified School District launched a Green Initiative plan three years ago, set to run through the summer of 2012. Although the Initiative is now over, the district hopes green choices it helped inspire and regulate will be beneficial in the long run, as Piedmont continues to pursue efforts to achieve a more sustainable campus.

Ultimately, Piedmont is another piece of the puzzle that is trying to do its part in contributing to secure a more healthy environment in the future.

“The only way we will make progress to be more sustainable is to take small steps, where everyone has role to play and everyone does their part,” Sahai said. “We are not seeing that much progress nationally, so it is more important for communities, small cities, and normal citizens to take action locally.”