Western continues to go greener with the creation of the sustainability coordinator position.

Christian Ryan-Downing received the newly-created position.

Ryan-Downing works with departments across campus to reduce waste and increase energy efficiency.

Departments include parking and transportation and restaurant and catering.

She also identifies projects for GreenToppers to work on.

She previously worked for Western recycling and the Center for Math, Science and Environmental Education. She was also a co-founder of GreenToppers.

As a graduate student, Ryan-Downing wrote a sustainability assessment of the campus for her master’s thesis.

“Once they saw the possibilities, they hired someone to make these things happen,” she said.

Western has room to reduce its overall use of natural resources, said John Osborne, vice president for campus services and facilities.

Western has been practicing sustainable efforts, but didn’t have a coordinated effort, he said. Ryan-Downing’s position provides that coordination.

“It’s a pretty big deal for us in my mind,” Ryan-Downing said.

It was a long process to create the position because it’s a new thing for college campuses, and writing the job description takes time, she said.

More campuses across the nation are hiring sustainability coordinators, though, she said.

It’s a prestigious position for universities to have, GreenToppers President Sara Ferguson said.

Both Duke and Harvard universities have a sustainability coordinator, she said.

Ferguson works as a sustainability planner for Housing and Residence Life.

Ryan-Downing mentioned Ferguson’s name when HRL Director Brian Kuster created the sustainability position, Kuster said.

“We have 4,900 students living on campus,” he said. “They do generate a lot of waste.”

Ryan-Downing and Ferguson work together on sustainability programs such as “Reduce Your Use.”

“Reduce Your Use” is a competition to see which dorm can use the least energy.

Ferguson has a lot of contact with people in dorms and Ryan-Downing used the competition in her thesis, Ryan-Downing said.

The competition took place last October between Barnes-Campbell and Bemis Lawrence halls.

This October, Ryan-Downing hopes to host the competition campus-wide, she said.

A sustainability Web site is in the works, which will teach students how to live and learn with more sustainability, she said.

Ryan-Downing has also prepared the 2007-2008 sustainability report, which will be available online.

Reach Marianne Hale at news@chherald.com.