The Student Government Association has passed UB-SG56006, or the “Creation of a Green Initiative Fund” bill. This initiative must be voted on through a student referendum because it directly increases student fees.

The referendum question listed on this year’s SGA Election ballot is: “Do you approve of a student fee of $2.00 for a Green Fund to support student-led sustainable initiatives and research on campus?” To learn more about what a Green Fund is, read below:

What is a Green Fund and how is it funded?

A Green Fund is a pool of funding for student-led sustainable initiatives and research efforts to improve the University of Houston and benefit the environment.

Students may submit original ideas that would serve the UH community and promote sustainability. A student-led committee would review these proposals to select programs to receive funding.

These funds would be raised through the addition of a small student fee of up to $2.00 each semester on your tuition bill.

What can a Green Fund do? Why should we want a Green Fund on campus?

On a campus of over 46,000 students, the Green Fund fee impact could be over $90,000 a semester. This means funding for projects focused on promoting water conservation, energy efficiency, restoring the habitat, sustainable modes of transportation, environmental efforts, and food justice.

The University of Houston is the only high enrollment, public university in Texas without an active Green Fund. Green Funds on other university campuses have funded projects such as planting trees to provide shade on campus, water bottle filling stations, bike rack installations, solar roof panels, and replacing incandescent lighting with LED fixtures to increase bulb life and reduce power consumption.

Over 100 RSOs at the University of Houston have already shown their support for a Green Fund by sponsoring the “Creation of a Green Fund Initiative Bill”. Though the individual cost may be small, the collective impact is immeasurable. If you have ever wanted to make a change to help the environment, cast your vote in the SGA Election now.