Mt. SAC "Green Zone" Certified

October 23, 2023 - 03:16 PM

Mt. San Antonio College has been certified as the first AGZA Green Zone community college in the United States, furthering demonstrating its commitment to a campus-wide culture of sustainability and working toward a carbon neutral future.

An American Green Zone Alliance (AGZA) Green Zone is a defined property on which all routine grounds maintenance is performed with low-noise zero-emission battery-electric equipment. 

“Mt. San Antonio College is honored to be selected as AGZA’s first Green Zone community college in the country,” said Dr. Martha Garcia, the college’s president/CEO. “This effort complements our commitment to sustainability and reducing greenhouse gases. I am proud of our Grounds crew for initiating this change and their collaboration with AGZA.”

Aside from using battery-electric equipment for routine maintenance, Mt. SAC’s Grounds crew is also implementing robotic mowers, two on the main campus and two at the Athletics complex on the south side of campus. “In addition to the environmental benefits, using these robotic mowers will free up our personnel to focus on detail work they previously didn’t have time to address,” said Grounds Manager Ruben Flores.

AGZA developed AGZA Green Zone® Certification to be the most rigorous program for measuring and eliminating the serious health and environmental impacts of ongoing gas-powered landscape maintenance.

A certification ceremony celebrating Mt. SAC’s achievement will be held at 11 a.m. on Nov. 2 at Mt. SAC’s Heritage Hall, located adjacent to Hilmer Lodge Stadium.