Environmental Sustainability (Coe Green)

Coe College is committed to environmentally friendly practices and sustainability. As an educational institution, Coe recognizes its responsibility to provide leadership in this area, appearing in The Princeton Review Guide to Green Colleges and earning top finishes in the Campus Race to Zero Waste recycling challenge.

What are we doing?

Energy

• Coe has reduced the college's carbon footprint in significant ways.
  • Coe switched from heating the campus with coal to natural gas, which resulted in a decrease in the college's carbon output of 19%. The steam plant, which is shared with St. Luke's Hospital, was built to LEED standards.
  • The remodel of Peterson Hall utilized the latest in high-efficiency electrical motors and controls to make the science building’s ventilation system both safe and thrifty with electricity usage.
  • 1,114 384 kW solar panels were installed on the roof of the Clark Racquet Center in 2017. The installation also included a monitoring display system to track the energy production.
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Food

• Coe Dining Services had been composting all food waste since 2005.
• After doing waste studies, Coe dining services has been trayless since 2009. All to-go food is placed in reusable, returnable containers.
• Coe Dining Services is part of "The Better Tomorrow Plan," Sodexo's global promise for sustainability which aims to protect and restore our environment, support local community development, and promote nutrition, health and wellness. 
• Dining services has worked with Coe Green to provide campus-grown microgreens in our salad bar. 
• Campus Catering is dedicated to using eco-friendly disposable serviceware, when appropriate.

Recycling

• Coe offers mixed recycling for all paper and plastic. Bins are located throughout campus.
• Dining Services recycles all cardboard, plastic, cans, glass and paper.
• More than over 6,000 pounds (greater than 3 tons) of computer and network equipment are recycled each year. All of Coe's outdated technology is recycled by a licensed company that disposes of monitors, printers, computers and network equipment in an environmentally safe way.
• Coe joined more than 200 colleges and universities in the Campus Race to Zero Waste challenge with the National Wildlife Federation and won first place for per capita recycling among small colleges in 2022. In 2023-2025 Coe won second place in the challenge, increasing per capita recycling to more than 44 pounds.

Water

• Coe has rain gardens located throughout campus, which filter runoff from the roof back to groundwater rather than sending it to the storm sewer. 
• Renovations and new construction are incorporating low-flow faucets, urinals, and toilets to minimize potable water waste.
• The Senior Class gift of the Coe Class of 2015 was the installation of a patio utilizing permeable pavers. The patio, located near Hickok Hall, demonstrates the use of this technology allowing water to infiltrate rather than running off.
• Eighteen water sensors have been purchased to track rainfall and adjust sprinkler use accordingly. The sensors will automatically turn off the sprinklers during rain and are expected to reduce the amount of irrigation water usage by 30 percent.
• Coe's green roof reduces stormwater runoff while providing a habitat for wildlife and pollinators. 

Landscape

• Coe has a pollinator garden that was created in partnership with Iowa Big. The garden is filled with native plants that are meant to help attract pollinators such as butterflies. This garden also creates cover for birds, helping increase the biodiversity of birds around campus.
• Coe started a tree nursery in 2018, planting  saplings that they will grow for two to three years before being planted around campus. A mix of oak, maple and ornamental trees were chosen for hardiness and aesthetics.

Academics

• Coe offers Sustainability Scholarships to incoming first year students who show passion and concern for our environment.
• Coe Wilderness Field Station
  • Located five miles north of Ely, Minnesota, it is adjacent to the largest and most pristine wilderness area in the eastern half of the United States.
  • Coe assumed operation after the Associated Colleges of the Midwest (ACM) decided to discontinue operation of the field station. By doing so, a portion of the 2.5 million acre Superior National Forest has been preserved.
  • Groups paddle directly by canoe from the field station to the edge of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in about two hours, or to Ontario's Quetico Provincial Park in about eight hours.
• Coe Environmental Science
  • Offers a rigorous education for preparation for careers in natural resource management, environmental monitoring, and graduate work in the field, while also solving environmental problems in the community.
  • Students can work with Trees Forever to inventory the urban forest in Cedar Rapids utilizing GIS and GPS technologies.
  • Students study microbiological processes involved in bioremediation of hazardous metals in the subsurface environment.
  • Students assess eastern Iowa water quality and find ways to address water pollution problems.
• Coe Environmental Studies
  • One of Coe's newest programs offers students in any major the opportunity to add broad study of environmental issues to their program of study as a collateral major.
  • Program features coursework in environmental ethics, environmental economics, environmental literature, and environmental science.
  • The capstone seminar brings together students from a variety of disciplines to focus on a complex environmental problem. The most recent group generated a Stormwater Master Plan for the campus.
• Coe College Tree Archive
  • As part of a student project in an environmental rhetoric course, all trees on the west side of campus were identified and mapped. The project collects valuable environmental data, promotes engagement with Coe's urban forest and shapes how the Coe community views its trees.

Extracurricular

• Coe Environmental Club
  • Student-run organization active in Coe's movement towards environmental sustainability.
  • Developed Coe's permaculture garden.
  • Carries out and sponsors educational events.
• Opportunities for volunteering and internships in the Cedar Rapids Community
  • Coe's location in the second largest city in Iowa offers many opportunities for gaining valuable experience as well as providing service to the community. Coe students have opportunities for involvement at the Indian Creek Nature Center, Friends of Cedar Lake, Trees Forever, League of Conservation Voters, Natural Resource Conservation Service (Marion), Regional Sustainable Business Alliance, and many others.