The prospect of lawyers eliminating hot air might sound far-fetched, but at Pace Law School it”™s a motion that”™s being sustained.
Pace is the second law school in the nation to participate in the “Law Office Climate Challenge,” an initiative created by the American Bar Association”™s (ABA) section of environment, energy, and resources and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to promote environmentalism.
The initiative was designed to encourage law offices (including law schools, nonprofit entities and law firms) to take specific steps to conserve energy and resources, as well as reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and other pollutants.
“Our center for environmental legal studies has been a leader in the field for over 30 years,” said Pace Law School Dean Michelle S. Simon. “As an educational institution, we are in a unique position to serve as a model of ecological and social responsibility by incorporating sustainability into the present and future ventures by our community.” Â Pace is meeting the challenge by participating in the ABA’s “Best Practices for Office Paper Management” program.
Pace uses 30 percent recycled content paper for copying and printing and blue recycling receptacles can be easily found around campus and in offices.
The goal is to recycle 90 percent of mixed office paper.
The Pace Law School environmental sustainability policy statement was recently developed by students to instill an “eco-ethic” among everyone on campus.
Pace Law students have also launched a volunteer vegetable garden project, another component of a larger plan to increase campus sustainability.                                                               “I am tremendously proud of the initiative shown by our students to green our campus,” said Alexandra Dapolito Dunn, assistant dean for environmental law programs. “Pace Law School”™s location in a highly developed area close to one of the world”™s largest cities gives us a unique ability to demonstrate that sustainability can be advanced in many creative ways ”“ and that it is a meaningful effort at urban and suburban institutions.” Â
Pace Law”™s environmental law program was ranked third nationwide in its “America’s Best Graduate Schools 2009” survey. U.S. News & World Report determines the environmental law program rankings by tallying nominations given by peer law schools.                                                                                                                                           For more than 20 years, Pace”™s energy and climate center has been a source of environmental research and advocacy on issues involving the highly-regulated energy industry, both in New York state and throughout the Northeast, while training law students in these areas.
