image from URM here: Commencement is going Green!
Oregon State University is committed to reducing our carbon footprint and that includes how we manage our commencement ceremony. On commencement day, we host approximately 25,000 guests and over 4,200 graduates on the OSU campus and throughout the Corvallis community. To reduce the impact on our local landfill, we have modified our event practices to include the following sustainability and low waste initiatives.
- Students are strongly encouraged to bring their own water to commencement eliminating the need to provide bottled water. Several hydration stations strategically placed throughout the processional route and inside of Reser Stadium will be available to accommodate our students. In prior years, OSU provided bottled water for each and every graduate resulting in the consumption of approximately 4,200 bottled waters each year.
- The commencement ceremony program is available online through the OSU Mobile app. Students and guests are encouraged to download the app and access the program before entering Reser Stadium so they no longer need a printed program. For those experiencing difficulty utilizing the app, a half-sheet program printed on 100% conservation-grade recycled paper will be made available upon request. Paper waste from commencement will be gathered, shredded and used for calf bedding at the OSU Dairy barn, then later added to compost to fertilize our grass fields. At the 2019 Commencement, we produced and distributed 23,000 printed tri-fold programs made from approximately 1,955 lbs. of paper. This year, the limited run of programs will require only 541 lbs. of recycled paper. Our ultimate goal is to eliminate the need for any printed programs at commencement by 2021.
- Graduates are encouraged to donate their regalia to the Grads Give Back program in the days and weeks following Commencement. The Grads Give Back program cleans, stores and then redistributes regalia to students who cannot afford regalia to participate in the next year's Commencement ceremony. Over the past two years, this program has redistributed regalia to 231 OSU students so that they could participate in Commencement.