Environmental Sustainability

Scenic flowers and bushes on campus

The College of Southern Maryland is committed to reducing our impact on the environment. We continually strive to improve our environmental performance over time and to initiate additional projects and activities that will further reduce our impact on the environment.

Maryland Green Registry logoCSM is committed to:

  • Complying with all applicable environmental regulations;
  • Preventing pollution whenever possible;
  • Educating our staff and students on our environmental program and empowering them to contribute and participate;
  • Communicating our environmental commitment and efforts to our students, staff and our community; and
  • Improving over time by striving to measure our environmental impacts and by setting goals to reduce these impacts each year.

Initiatives

Bee Campus Updates

Bee Campus

The College of Southern Maryland is a certified affiliate of the Bee Campus USA Program. CSM’s Bee Campus USA plan includes the planting of native, pollinator-friendly plants and a least-toxic integrated pest management plan, along with ideas for awareness events and student service-learning projects enhancing pollinator habitats.

Learn More about CSM's Bee Campus

Bird Campus

Bird Campus

 College of Southern Maryland (CSM) is the first Maryland college to have its campuses designated as Bird City Campuses and earn the title “High Flyer” from Bird City Maryland –  a program of the Maryland Bird Conservation Partnership and local arm of the global Bird Friendly Coalition.

Learn More about CSM's Bird Campus

LEED award on building wall

LEED-Certified Buildings


La Plata Campus
Community Education (CE) Building
Silver

Prince Frederick Campus
Building B
Silver

Regional Hughesville Campus
Center for Trades and Energy Training (CT Building)
Gold

Center for Health Sciences (HS Building)
Silver

water filling station

Water-Filling Stations


Filtered water filling stations are available to students, faculty, staff, and visitors on all campuses.

More than 90,000 water bottles have been saved from going into the landfill!

Highlights

students and employees dig in the garden together

Planting Native, Pollinator-Friendly Plants

The College of Southern Maryland is a certified affiliate of the Bee Campus USA Program. CSM’s Bee Campus USA plan includes the planting of native, pollinator-friendly plants and a least-toxic integrated pest management plan, along with ideas for awareness events and student service-learning projects enhancing pollinator habitats.

Learn More about CSM's Bee Campus
CSM employees and students stand with several bags of trash they collected

Trash Clean-Up

CSM faculty, staff, and students joined the college's Environmental Sustainability Committee to clean up trash around CSM's four campuses in recognition of Earth Day.
Artist paints a mural with flowers and bees on a large gas tank

Creating a "Bee-utiful" Mural

CSM Art Professor Bonnie Castlebury and her art students joined to recognize CSM's commitment to pollinators by creating a ‘bee-utiful mural on a SMO gas tank at the La Plata Campus last year.

Learn More About Bee Campus

Environmental Sustainability Committee

CSM has an Environmental Sustainability Committee (ESC), which meets regularly and provides leadership in all issues related to the college’s sustainability. Membership for the ESC include staff, faculty, and students, representing all campuses. The committee reflects the college’s commitment to responsible stewardship of environmental resources and aspires to work toward a sustainable campus life which protects and enhances the environment and health of the faculty, staff and students.

The purpose of the committee is to:

  • Identify sustainability opportunities and issues and make recommendations to the administration for changes (advisory);
  • Increase the campus-wide environmental awareness (education); and
  • Coordinate current and future sustainability efforts (coordination).

CSM’s Environmental Sustainability Committee fulfills its mission and purpose by establishing yearly goals and accomplishing Green focused projects and initiatives.

CSM's Environmental Sustainability Committee has identified the following goals to reduce the college’s environmental impact. 

  • Goal 1:  Increase energy efficiency and reduce energy costs
  • Goal 2: Decrease disposal of plastic bottles by promoting the use of on-campus filtered water filling stations through awareness campaign.
  • Goal 3:  Increase recycling by staff and students on campuses.
  • Goal 4:  Increase awareness of and promote sustainability efforts on campuses.
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