Can Fraternities Save Their Reputations and the Environment Too?
Nick Blitch
In America today, there is not a day that goes by without some news outlet putting the spotlight on a fraternity for doing something wrong. Whether it’s a story about a fraternity destroying a ski resort, allegations of dealing drugs from within the chapter house, or hazing events gone wrong, these organizations simply cannot seem to keep themselves out of the news. Even though not all fraternities are of the same accord, there is obviously a need for reform in some fraternities across the U.S.
One shortcoming of many fraternities that is rarely highlighted, yet is extremely important to take note of, is their particularly wasteful nature. And no, I’m not talking about getting “wasted”; I’m talking about resource waste. The amount of wasted resources at a majority of these fraternities, including water, energy, aluminum cans, and plastic cups, is astounding. Even at the University of Colorado Boulder, one of the most sustainable and energy efficient campuses in the country, a complete and utter disregard for natural resources exists right outside its doorstep. But, alas, there may be a light at the end of the tunnel; as with every problem, there is a solution. That solution is sustainability. If fraternities can become more sustainable, they not only can help the environment, but also begin the steps necessary to improving their image in the eyes of the public.
Numbers Never Lie
One area that affords massive opportunity for progress in sustainability is in the amount of water that is wasted at many fraternity chapter houses. I recently conducted a study within the University of Colorado Boulder’s Greek life that set out to calculate, among other things, the levels of water usage in a few of its campus’ fraternities. Of the 10 chapters surveyed, the average amount of water used per brother was 3,379 gal/person/day, which is way above the national average of 2,220 gal. In fact, not a single fraternity came in under or even close to average consumption, with the least wasteful fraternity being Kappa Sigma at 2,442 gal/day/person. The findings of this water waste study are made worse in the fact that this data is per person. The average chapter house sleeps over 30 men. The sheer amount of water used per chapter per day at CU-Boulder, then, is over 114,000 gallons.
Another commonly overlooked area of waste that is especially rampant among fraternities at the University of Colorado Boulder is energy waste. Being that this university was established in 1876, with fraternities following soon thereafter, many of the campus’ chapter houses are old and outdated. These houses, if not properly retrofitted for the 21st century, can be energy black holes. Many houses that were built before, or at the turn of the 20th century, were poorly insulated with anything and everything, from corn-cobs, to newspapers, and even bricks. As well as lacking proper insulation, many of these chapter houses have extremely outdated windows. Windows are a commonly overlooked area of energy loss, specifically heat loss, which in reality plays a huge role in a house’s energy efficiency levels. Windows actually are responsible for around 15% of the heat that escapes from a home, so it is important to take measures against to combat that heat loss. Unfortunately, at this time, most Fraternity houses on the CU-Boulder campus have not updated their windows, contributing to chapter houses becoming bottomless pits for energy.
While many resources such as water and energy are wasted by fraternities, there is one that stands out from the crowd; beer cans. Recycling is probably the most widely accepted form of resource and energy conservation today, and therefore, is usually the first place that organizations like fraternities tend to focus their efforts. Unfortunately, there are an extremely limited number of fraternities that have taken up this practice as of today. Even here in Boulder, an especially green and sustainable city, not a single fraternity recycles any of their empty cans. While recycling empty beer cans after a fraternity party may seem like a menial and insignificant task, it has an enormous impact on the environment. Aluminum has many costs associated with it that are rarely thought about, including the energy and water required to mine it, process it, and manufacture the cans. Along with the energy input required to obtain aluminum, there comes an inherent release of CO2 gas as well, which we all know is bad. In a case study done on one fraternity at the university of Colorado Boulder, for instance, it was calculated that over the course of two months and many parties, Sigma Nu purchased 3,900 cans of beer. The energy required to make the raw aluminum alone for those cans was almost 3,700kWh. To put that number in perspective, the average American home uses about 900kWh a month. The same amount of energy required to make those beer cans could have powered an American home for over 4 months! Finally, fraternities can begin to deal properly with all their beer cans.
Sigma Silver Lining
Fortunately for fraternities and their reputations, specific measurements can be taken to combat their prolific wastefulness. The study I conducted, for instance, helped to show not only how much water was wasted, but also where it came from. In knowing where their water waste is coming from, fraternities can be better suited to tackle their wasteful water practices. There are numerous ways to reduce personal water usage, many of which are fairly inexpensive and easy to carry out, even for the notoriously lazy frat boy. One of these simple tricks is to simply put water bottles filled with sand in the fraternity houses’ toilet tanks. This reduces the amount of water required to fill the tank each time, which ultimately reduces the amount of water used for each flush. This simple step can save up to 10 gallons of water a day. Another easy way to save water is by installing low flow showerheads and faucets. This option is one of the more productive ones, as these faucets and showerheads can cut the amount of water used in half. The showerheads alone can save you up to 7 gallons per shower. Most people shower daily, so this option, while requiring an initial investment, is one of the most lucrative in the long run. By implementing these simple water saving tips in combination with a few others, fraternities could see a major decrease in the amount of water they use.
Fraternities can also tackle their resource consumption and waste by retrofitting their outdated chapter houses. While making improvements to an older home can be one of the more expensive options initially to undertake, it is probably the most beneficial in the long run for the environment, not to mention one’s finances. In America, most of the energy used in a home is the energy that is used for heating and cooling. By properly insulating these chapter houses, they will be able to use exponentially less energy and fuel to heat the house. By installing insulation in the attics (which is where most of a houses heat is lost) and exterior walls, in fact, the amount of heat lost to the environment could drop by as much as 18%. As well as insulating the walls, all of the windows should be sealed to eliminate any air leakage as well. This is a much cheaper, yet slightly less effective alternative to replacing older windows with new, energy efficient double or triple-paned windows. Another way these older chapter houses can dramatically reduce their heat loss is by installing weather strips underneath the exterior doors. According to the EPA, a gap of just 1/8 of an inch under a 36-inch door lets in as much air as having a 2.4-inch wide hole in the wall. This simple strip of rubber is another easy and cheap way for older chapter houses to save heat, energy, and money.
In my same case study, an effort was made to collect and recycle as many of the empty beer cans purchased for each party as possible. Of the 3,900 cans purchased, just over 2,200 of them were collected. That’s about 60%, which is infinitely better than the 0% that every other fraternity at CU recycles. The energy savings alone from recycling those cans is over 2,100kWh; enough energy to power a home for 2 months. Not only did this experiment save energy, but it also prevented about 230kg of CO2 from entering the atmosphere. This case study not only showed exactly how many cans were purchased and recycled, but also highlighted the issues involved with implementing a behavioral change into a fraternity. One of the most prevalent difficulties involved with this study came in the form of rallying support and assistance from other brothers in picking up cans after parties. Even still, Sigma Nu was able to help the environment while also successfully implementing a behavioral change within its chapter.
These sustainable behavioral changes may be seem simple and tedious, but they are utterly vital in helping fraternities change the way they operate in regards to the environment. Even the smallest change is a step toward a more sustainably run house. These small changes eventually translate into other areas of the fraternity as well. Just as summer jobs have been proven to help keep kids alive and out of jail, focusing more time and effort on productive initiatives, fraternities will have less time to do unproductive things that make them look bad.
This Might Actually Work
The study I conducted at the University of Colorado Boulder is not alone in its efforts to help curtail the wastefulness of fraternities. There have been a handful of other organizations that have attempted, some successfully, some not, to rally support within their school’s Greek community around recycling and sustainable behaviors in general. Most of these plans core structures are the same: Create some form of incentive for the Greek community in return for their participation in a specific sustainable activity. Whether that incentive was a monetary prize, discounted party materials (solo cups), free energy efficient lights and low-flow showerheads, or simply fulfilling a chapter’s required philanthropy for the semester, every effort’s end goal was to help the environment. These initiatives are also important to take note of because they all understood what it takes to get the Greek community involved: incentive. It’s unfortunate, but most people, fraternity members included, are unlikely to make a behavioral change that takes any form of effort if they do not receive any benefit from it. This system, however, works.
Of the many school organizations that were successful in creating sustainable behavioral changes within the Greek community, was the “Trust For Cups” campaign at the University of Michigan. This initiative required participating fraternities to elect or appoint a sustainability chair for their chapter that would inform the brothers about the program, and how to recycle effectively. The fraternities also had to commit to achieving a 35% reduction in the amount of waste that each of them produced. In return for meeting their set goals, the fraternities were rewarded with a 20% discount on plastic cups for their parties. This tactic managed to become extremely successful in a short amount of time, and it was extremely positive for the local environment and fraternity culture. By following the groundwork laid by others, organizations with the same goals can more easily implement similar initiatives into their Greek communities.
Despite the wasteful habits reported earlier, the University of Colorado Boulder also has an organization whose goal is to lower the levels of water and energy used within the Greek community, the “Green Greeks”. This organization is made up of sustainability chair heads from participating chapters. Funded with a grant from Xcel energy, these chapters receive water saving showerheads and faucets, as well as energy efficient light bulbs when they join. They also offer a competition for $1,000 towards a house’s philanthropy, but it is unfortunately only available to sororities. I believe this is a major design flaw in the Green Greek’s incentivizing program. Truth be known, fraternity brothers can often be rather lazy and hard to motivate, so it is a mistake to not include them in the Excel Energy grant and thus deny them the opportunity to fulfill their philanthropy requirements, by reducing their water and energy use. Without incentives, fraternities are much less likely to become a part of programs like the Green Greeks.
Of the ten fraternities that were surveyed at CU, only two had taken advantage of this groups program that provided them with energy efficient light bulbs and low-flow showerheads. This may be due to a lack of proper advertising and marketing strategies, or the fact that fraternities aren’t able to enter into the grant competition, but it does make you think. With a little tweaking, and maybe a little more grant money, I think the Green Greeks would be able to make much more of a notable reduction in the levels of water and energy waste amongst CU’s fraternities. This program has immense potential, and may be the push that fraternities at the University of Colorado Boulder need to alter some of the negative connotations surrounding them and their wastefulness.
If it is not obvious by now, I personally am in a fraternity, so for obvious reasons, I want them to last on long after I am gone. I have made some of my closest friendships, and had some of the most amazing and unforgettable experiences of my life because of the connections I made in my fraternity. I cannot help to predict though, that if fraternities across the nation continue on the road that they are on, perpetuating the negative and harmful stereotypes that now blanket them all, we will soon become a dying breed. But I do believe there is some hope. While simply becoming environmentally friendly doesn’t negate the countless heinous acts committed by fraternity members over the years, it does offer a starting point from which they can begin the process of rebuilding their reputation. Don’t get me wrong, it’s going to take some time for fraternities to build this rapport back up with society and change certain facets of their organizations that are socially unsustainable. But I believe that with time, by implementing certain practices and behavior changes that curtail water usage, increase the efficiency of old chapter houses, and decrease the amount of wasted materials, fraternities will be able to effect great change within their chapters, environment, and local communities. If effectively implemented on a national scale, fraternities could see themselves rise from the ashes and start to convince American’s that they’re not all bad. Who knows, maybe a media outlet other than a college newspaper will acknowledge a fraternity for doing something positive for once.