Sustainability Initiatives

Awards and certifications

  • 2015 City of Raleigh Environmental Award in Green Building Design for Southern Wake Campus’ Montague Hall
  • 2014 City of Raleigh Environmental Award in Institutional Innovation for the Scott Northern Wake Campus’ Building E
  • $10,000.00 Wake County Solid Waste grant for recycling program and campaign
  • Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce Large Business Sustainability Award
  • 2009 City of Raleigh Environmental Award in Green Design for Scott Northern Wake Campus
  • LEED Gold Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council for Scott Northern Wake Campus Building E
  • Sir Walter Raleigh Award for Sustainability for Scott Northern Wake Campus
  • Triangle Business Journal Green Award for Scott Northern Wake Campus
  • Innovation of the Year Award from the League of Innovation in Community College

Green assets

  • 392 outdoor lights changed to LED beginning in 2015
  • Scott Northern Wake Campus Building F, on track for LEED Silver Certification, opened in 2015
  • 1,300 solar panels installed on roof of Public Safety Education Campus
  • Scott Northern Wake Campus: First all-LEED college or university campus in the nation
  • Two LEED- and three LEED Gold-certified buildings.
  • All new construction projects will be built to LEED Silver standards.
  • Landscape Services green initiatives include leaf recycling, limbs and branches mulching and tree preservation
  • Extensive green cleaning policies and procedures in place
  • Long-term water efficiency plan
  • Environmental policy signed in 2006
  • Declaration of temperature settings
  • Sustainable energy plan
  • Energy Conservation & Awareness Committee established in 2006

Education

  • Ongoing professional development sessions at Wake Tech conferences, including topics of transportation, integrating sustainability into curriculum, general sustainability at Wake Tech and more
  • Energy Training House, built to provide hands-on training for jobs in sustainable energy, opened at Wake Tech’s Eastern Wake Education Center.
  • Wake Tech became the first community college in North Carolina to offer MOOC (Massive Open Online Course), giving students more online course options rather than needing to drive to campus.
  • Wake Tech Curriculum Education Services served 14,865 online students in 2013-14.
  • Wake Tech and City of Raleigh Green Building Training Program hosted solar panel installation on Scott Northern Wake Campus.

Transportation

  • Zeroing Ozone Output Measures (ZOOM) alternative transportation initiative
  • GoSmart Partners group within the Transportation Demand Management grant
  • GoRaleigh GoPass program added in August 2016
  • Four electric vehicle charging stations – two each on Southern Wake Campus and Scott Northern Wake Campus
  • Express bus route (GoRaleigh 40X) to Southern Wake Campus is free for students and employees with valid Wake Tech ID.
  • GoRaleigh's 25L bus added bus stop on Scott Northern Wake Campus outside of Building E in January 2016.
  • Premiere low-emission vehicle and carpool parking spaces on Southern Wake Campus, Perry Health Sciences Campus, Western Wake Campus, Scott Northern Wake Campus and Public Safety Education Campus
  • Six carpool spots added on Southern Wake Campus, 10 carpool spots added on Scott Northern Wake Campus and two carpool spots added on Western Wake Campus in 2016
  • Designated parking spaces for veterans and their dependents added in 2016
  • Nationally recognized as a Best Workplace for Commuters location in February 2016
  • Membership in ACT

Miscellaneous

  • 500+ ZOOM reusable grocery bags donated to Wake Tech’s Food Bank project
  • Signatory of American College and University President’s Climate Commitment (ACUPCC)
  • Membership in AASHE