Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 73.94
Liaison Caitlin Steele
Submission Date July 21, 2023

STARS v2.2

San Francisco State University
EN-14: Participation in Public Policy

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.00 / 2.00 caitlin Steele
Dr of Sust & Energy
Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution advocate for public policies that support campus sustainability or that otherwise advance sustainability at the municipal/local level?:
Yes

A brief description of how the institution engages in public policy advocacy for sustainability at the municipal/local level:

SFSU has active communication our local government. One example is our advocacy with the city government over a parking tax in 2021 (see attachment). Our president, student body and staff members push back on a city of San Francisco 25% parking tax increase that would negatively affect our students.

San Francisco State University works with our surrounding city and county agencies to collaborate on sustainability policies like the Climate Action and Resilience Plan (April 2022). The campus also engages with the city planning department and transportation authorities during Master Plan or General Plan updates. The campus also works with local administrative law agencies like local Air Pollution Control Districts and Sanitary/Waste districts.

SFSU also has all of our new construction certified as a minimum of LEED Gold, including the current construction of our new science and health buildings which are projected to be finished in 2024.


Does the institution advocate for public policies that support campus sustainability or that otherwise advance sustainability at the state/provincial/regional level?:
Yes

A brief description of how the institution engages in public policy advocacy for sustainability at the state/provincial/regional level:

For Calendar Year 2022, CSU engaged on two (2) bills pertaining to sustainability-related with the state legislature:

SB 155: Public resources trailer bill, contains historic infusions of funding for public resource projects, including wildfire & forest resilience, water & drought, climate resilience, sustainable agriculture, and energy.

This Department of Finance memo includes charts summarizing the specific funding amounts and state departments involved: Budget Summary (ca.gov)

AB 2232: School facilities: heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems, requires a covered school, and request the University of California, to ensure that its HVAC system meets the minimum ventilation rates in effect at the time the building permit for installation of that HVAC system was issued. The bill would also require a covered school, and request the University of California, to install filtration that achieves specified minimum efficiency reporting values (MERV) levels, determined by the school to be feasible with the existing HVAC system, as provided. The bill would require, upon the next triennial update of the California Building Standards Code, the California Building Standards Commission and the Division of the State Architect to research, develop, and propose for adoption mandatory standards for carbon dioxide monitors in classrooms of a covered school and the University of California. By imposing new duties on local educational agencies, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The CSU’s Advocacy and State Relations (ASR) team monitors all sustainability legislation that impacts the CSU specifically. It also participates in state-wide advocacy on issues like climate change policy, energy efficiency, water resources and other utility issues that impact the operation and physical facilities. ASR and the Chancellor’s Office also work with the Governor’s Office Sustainability Task Force and are members of the Direct Access Customer Coalition and the Alliance for Retail Markets advocacy groups to advocate in the best interest of the CSU on energy and sustainability efforts.

The CSU provides public comment, meets with legislative staff, and testifies at budget subcommittee hearings in order to express CSU support for regulatory initiatives and activities related to carbon emission reductions and climate resiliency. The CSU’s advocacy, in collaboration with the Board of Trustees, work to ensure diverse stakeholders are represented and considered in decision-making processes. The CSU also partners with the University of California and community colleges to advocate for energy efficiency programs.

The CSU Chancellor’s office collaborates with administrative law agencies like Utilities Commission, Energy Commission, Air Resources Board, Strategic Growth Council, Office of Planning and Research, Cal-Fire, etc. Much of the sustainability advocacy action happens at the agency administrative law level and the CSU Chancellor’s Office provides comment on many of their sustainability-related policies.


Does the institution advocate for public policies that support campus sustainability or that otherwise advance sustainability at the national level?:
Yes

A brief description of how the institution engages in public policy advocacy for sustainability at the national level:

In 2021, President Lynn Mahoney signed a letter with other University Presidents urging U.S. Senators to pass DREAM Legislation.
https://www.presidentsalliance.org/dream-act-signatories/.

The CSU has taken a clear and public position to support and lobby for the protection of DACA students (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals). The CSU also offers free legal support services throughout the system, and additionally, all 23 CSU campuses offer resources to support undocumented students.
https://www2.calstate.edu/attend/student-services/resources-for-undocumented-students/Pages/legal-support-services.aspx

San Francisco State University has been a signatory of the Second Nature Climate Leadership Commitment since 2007. Second Nature works to leverage the power of its network to lobby for climate policy at the national level. By signing this commitment, SFSU committed to moving toward Climate Neutrality and also is part of a larger, ongoing effort to advocate for national climate policy.
https://secondnature.org/wp-content/uploads/Carbon-Commitment_Charter-Signatories.pdf

SFSU is a Leadership Level member of the Intentional Endowments Network. IEN encourages and supports higher education institutions to adopt long-term investment strategies that create an equitable, low-carbon, and regenerative economy.
https://www.intentionalendowments.org/network_members

Second Nature and Intentional Endowments Network hold an Annual Higher Education Climate Leadership Summit which SFSU attends and participates in. SFSU attended the February 2023 conference and also our Vice President of University Advancement, Jeff Jackanicz, gave a lecture at the February 2022 conference.
https://climateactionpursuit2021.sched.com/speaker/jeff_jackanicz.239acoo4


Does the institution advocate for public policies that support campus sustainability or that otherwise advance sustainability at the international level?:
No

A brief description of how the institution engages in public policy advocacy for sustainability at the international level:
---

A brief description of other political positions the institution has taken during the previous three years (if applicable):

San Francisco State University, as part of the California State University System, has taken a clear and public position to support and lobby for the protection of DACA students (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals). All 23 CSU campuses offer free legal support services and resources to support undocumented students.


A brief description of political donations the institution made during the previous three years (if applicable):
---

Website URL where information about the institution’s sustainability advocacy efforts is available:
http://govrel.sfsu.edu/

Additional documentation to support the submission:
SFSU_Proposal_Re_Parking_Tax_2021.pdf

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.