ECO Initiatives

King’s has planted over 200 trees and shrubs on campus during two tree planting events. These events were possible thanks to the Green Team, ReForest London’s fund matching and assistance, and the efforts of all the volunteers that came out to plant!

Since 2011, King's has produced some of its own electricity with two sets of solar panels on the roofs of Wemple Hall and Labatt Hall. Check out the King's SolarVu portal to see how much electricity (and cost savings) the solar panels are producing for the campus!

Chimney swifts are a threatened species protected under both provincial and federal legislation. King’s is aiding the survival of this species by allowing them to roost in the Wemple chimney. During September 2013, 1604 swifts were found roosting in the chimney. This is the highest number of swifts tallied in a single building on a single night since monitoring began in 2003. The King’s community takes pride in providing a home for these birds.

The Darryl J. King Student Life Centre is certified LEED Silver. LEED – Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design – is an internationally recognized green building certification system. The building earned a Silver rating because of using many sustainable features and programs from waste management during construction, and features like a green roof and a rainwater cistern, along with an innovative green cleaning program. The building delivers water and energy efficiency, reduced urban heat-island effect, accessibility to sustainable transportation, streamlined recycling, and improved indoor environmental quality.

To learn more about the sustainable features of the building, check out the LEED education kiosk located next to the auditorium.

Aramark, which operates food services at King’s, is committed to environmental stewardship. Aramark's sustainability activities at King’s include sending spent fryer oil to be made into biodiesel, providing discounts for reusable mug use, composting kitchen food waste, sourcing food sustainably, green cleaning, and minimizing waste.

The Physical Plant staff make a positive impact at King’s every day through continual efforts to save energy, conserve resources, prioritize landfill diversion, and improve the campus environment. Staff members routinely turn off lights in unoccupied spaces, look for ways to improve efficiency, and carry out pivotal activities like waste management, maintenance, and groundskeeping. Many of the eco initiatives on campus are made possible by the work of Physical Plant.

King’s is continually working to improve our environmental performance. The college has developed a plan to steer new projects and progress King’s vision of a sustainable campus. Green cleaning – cleaning using products and chemicals that pose less risk to the environment – is done throughout the campus. King's composts paper towels in public buildings on campus, and we have expanded our recycling program to include disposable masks and nitrile gloves. We also participate in the annual Thames River clean-up.