VCU students plant trees in Richmond’s Carver neighborhood. (Photo courtesy Pat Kane/University Public Affairs, Virginia Commonwealth University)
Last November, students and volunteers planted dozens of trees in the Carver neighborhood just north of the Monroe Park Campus at Virginia Commonwealth University. With the aim of making the community greener and more walkable, the project was the first endeavor of the Urban Forestry Collaborative, a community-engaged research project out of VCU.
But the more than 70 trees planted in Carver provide more than just visual appeal for the community. They will offset VCU’s carbon footprint — representing one piece of the university’s commitment to environmental stewardship. As part of this commitment, by 2025 VCU aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 17 percent below 2008 levels. The university’s ultimate goal is to offset all of its carbon usage, otherwise known as being carbon neutral, by 2050.
The green approach has manifested in various ways at the downtown university, including the addition of water bottle refilling stations in more than 30 campus buildings and the more than 2,000 pounds of textiles recycled since 2010 by the department of fashion design. In addition, more than 40 students live in the university’s EcoVillage, a community for students who want to learn sustainable personal practices.
VCU isn’t the only university taking on greener approaches; colleges around the country are figuring out ways to be more sustainable. In the summer of 2018, the University of Richmond announced plans to build a 20-megawatt solar energy facility, making it the first college or university in the Southeast to match 100 percent of its electricity needs with solar energy. Like VCU, UR aims to offset all carbon emissions by 2050.
“Higher education institutions strive to be at the forefront of our ever-changing world,” says Erin Stanforth, VCU’s director of sustainability. “We have to be the model for behavior change. It’s the responsible thing to do.”
Hardywood founders Eric McKay and Patrick Murtaugh with the locally harvested ginger that flavors their Gingerbread Stout (Photo by Kyle Laferriere)
When Eric McKay and Patrick Murtaugh, co-founders of Richmond’s Hardywood Park Craft Brewery, decided to go into business in 2011, there was no question that they would seek an environmentally conscious approach. The pair have known each other since childhood and were inspired by spending time together outdoors.
“It was one of our shared personal responsibilities,” Murtaugh says. “Nature’s always been part of our lives and something we’ve really enjoyed, and we feel it’s worthwhile protecting it.”
The green approach is top-down at Hardywood, where locally sourced ingredients from honey to wheat and barley are combined in energy-efficient brew kettles. The company’s electricity sources are renewable, coming from solar, wind and biomass energy.
Photo courtesy Hardywood
In addition, Hardywood has raised more than $50,000 for the James River Association through proceeds from the sale of The Great Return beer, an IPA named for efforts by conservationists to restore the James as an eco-friendly body of water, and for the return of the Atlantic sturgeon, an endangered species of fish that was previously abundant in the river.
Some of the efforts to be environmentally responsible come at a cost, McKay says, but it’s a creed from which he and his partner refuse to back down. To have it any other way would change the business at its core.
“We’d be less proud of what we do,” McKay says, “and we feel like we’d be a different organization.”
The pair also believe this approach makes for a more meaningful experience for beer drinkers.
“Our hope is that it creates a little more value for the consumer.” McKay says. “We hope people recognize that value and are willing to spend a little bit more on a product that is ultimately made in a way that’s kinder to the planet than most.”
The meat counter at Ellwood Thompson’s natural-foods grocery (Photo by Ethan Hickerson)
Ellwood Thompson’s, a natural-foods grocer, has a similar environmental approach and a consumer base that is just as committed. For its nearly 30 years in business, the locally focused market has sourced the most responsibly produced products available within 100 miles of its location at the western end of Carytown. It also emphasizes the fair treatment of farm workers and the protection of animal welfare through the products it sells.
The company views its role as a hub for people who feel a responsibility as stewards of the planet as central to its mission, says Marketing Director Colin Beirne, despite it sometimes having a negative effect on the bottom line.
“We really value the planet, and we want to keep our footprint as low as possible,” Beirne says. “That appeals to our demographic and our customer.”
Ellwood’s uses no plastics and has solar panels on its roof to offset the reliance on electric lights. Customers who use alternative methods to travel to the location — as opposed to a car — get an environmental credit on what they spend.
These kinds of innovations are instrumental as the Richmond community works to battle climate change and its dangerous ramifications. The classrooms of VCU, the breweries of Hardywood and the shelves of Ellwood Thompson’s are among the front lines for the fight.
