By Brian E. Clark
WisBusiness.com
MADISON — In an effort to save money and stay ahead of possible sanctions by regulators, the state’s private colleges have begun voluntary environmental health and safety inspections on their campuses.
“Not only does this make good business sense in terms of risk management, but it also shows that we care about the environmental and want to be good neighbors,” said Rolf Wegenke, president of the Wisconsin Association of Independent Colleges and Universities.
He said he does not anticipate the audits will turn up any toxic “tubs of sludge.”
Wegenke said the agreement with the federal Environmental Protection Agency and the state’s Department of Natural Resources took about 10 months to negotiate. The campus audits started earlier this month.
He said it was prompted by a federal law change requiring colleges to meet many of the same requirements that previously applied to only businesses and industry. The inspection program is modeled on one pioneered by private colleges in Pennsylvania, he said.
“It just makes sense for WAICU to take the lead on this,” he said. “We are ahead of the curve, but I think this has more to do with who we are rather than this being a governmental mandate.
“All of our colleges emphasize the environmental ethic… and conserving our environment is part of our mission,” he said. “We wanted to walk the walk, not just talk the talk in how we operate and be sensitive to the health and safety of our students.”
