Sustainability

people holding recycling containers

“Growth of the MBL must be done in a way that is consistent with the local environment and sensitive to the Woods Hole community while being committed to the overall environment and sustainable business practices.” — MBL Shared Beliefs

Initiatives

  • Electric Vehicles - The MBL offers a dual pedestal SemaConnect Charging Station located in the Swope Parking Lot on Millfield Street for its employees and affiliates who have electric vehicles.
  • Recycling - Carbon footprints, sustainability, a green way of thinking—these are all 21st century ideas that have now become household catchphrases. We all know that recyclables can cut your overall carbon footprint and increase efficiency. But for some companies, knowing what is and isn’t recyclable is still murky territory, even today.
  • Nitrogen and Carbon Footprint Tracking - The MBL has been calculating and tracking its carbon and nitrogen footprints since 2013. The institution is also an original member of the Nitrogen Footprint Project, a group committed to reducing the environmental impact of higher education by reducing nitrogen emissions.
  • Composting - Since the Spring of 2018 MBL has partnered with two Massachusetts’s companies to reduce waste on campus. Since starting this initiative Swope Dining Hall has significantly reduced the amount of kitchen waste sent to the landfill.
  • Water Kiosk and Bottle Refill Stations -The MBL has partnered with The Town of Falmouth, WHOI, Woods Hole Business Association, and Woods Hole Research Center to install Refill Reuse water kiosk in Marine Park as an effort increase sustainability and environmental responsibility in Woods Hole.
  • Glove Recycling - The MBL has partnered with Kimberly-Clark’s Right Cycle program to recycle nitrile and latex gloves. We hope this partnership will help divert laboratory waste from the trash stream and reduce the impact of the MBL’s research activities on the environment.

The sustainability committee is made up of volunteers from research, education, information technologies, and facilities departments and is interested in hearing from all members/departments of the MBL community.

We currently meet quarterly, so if you are interested in joining the committee full time, just want to suggest new ideas and initiatives, or just want to find out why things happen the way they do, feel free to join us at an upcoming meeting.

If you are interested in joining or have any suggestions, please feel free contact the committee via email at sustainability@mbl.edu.

Current Committee Members - May 2023
Jonathan Butler - Environmental Services Supervisor, Paul Anderson - Assistant Manager of Conferences, Kelsey Chenoweth - Research Assistant - Ecosystems Center, Brian Cortright - IT Systems Administrator, Bret Grasse - Manager of Cephalopod Operations, Bette Hecox-Lea - Research Associate - Bay Paul Center, Robert Kaski - Transportation and Grounds Supervisor, Javier Lloret - Research Scientist - Ecosystems Center, Kerri Mills - Assistant Director of Housing, Dining and Conferences, Marie Russell - Director of Facilities, Thomas Sensale - Administrative Analyst - Facilities, Maria Silva - Associate Research Coordinator - Bell Center, Maia Theophanis - Laboratory Operations Support Manager, and MBL Dining Services