| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 72.67 |
| Liaison | Aurora Sharrard |
| Submission Date | Feb. 13, 2024 |
University of Pittsburgh
PA-1: Sustainability Coordination
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.00 / 1.00 |
Aurora
Sharrard Executive Director of Sustainability Office of Sustainability |
Does the institution have at least one sustainability committee?:
The charter or mission statement of the committee(s) or a brief description of each committee's purview and activities:
The Chancellor’s Advisory Council on Sustainability leads the University of Pittsburgh in its quest to balance equity, environment, and economics so that current and future generations can thrive. The Council is supported in this journey by a number of other committees and guiding bodies.
Council Charter below; more info on the Council & its Committees - https://www.sustainable.pitt.edu/team/council-committees/
The Chancellor’s Advisory Council on Sustainability helps the University be a leader in balancing equity, environment, and economics so that current and future generations can thrive. The Council recognizes that sound sustainability practices, operations, infrastructure, curriculum, research, and partnerships benefit the institution, the Pittsburgh region, and the community at large. With representation from staff, faculty, and students across a variety of departments and expertise, the Council is commissioned to:
* Lead and educate by example by integrating sustainable practices into all areas of University operations, academics, research, and public service;
Identify and support implementation of practices and standards that preserve and promote the stewardship and replenishment of energy, water, materials, and other resources;
* Strive towards increased social equity and access on-campus and in our communities; being respectful partners of renewal.
* Work to align our economic decision-making with ecological principles and human integrity, reflecting present-day and intergenerational equity so that we may regenerate life through networks of reciprocity.
* Engage faculty, students, and staff in sustainability exploration, including the development of meaningful curriculum, scholarly research, innovation, and outreach activities to inspire future generations to consider sustainability in all that they pursue;
* Promote and enhance the visibility of sustainability initiatives across campus and within the community at large through education, promotion, and action-oriented community partnerships; and
* Foster linkages among and within University departments for the purpose of advancing, achieving, innovating, collaborating, promoting, informing, and reporting on sustainability efforts.
This University-wide body is supported by a number of committees, including:
+ Active Mobility Committee
+ Campus Tree Advisory Committee
+ Carbon Commitment Committee
+ Pollinator Habitat Advisory Committee
+ Sustainable Laboratories Committee
The Council also collaborates closely with several other University-focused committees, including:
+ Facilities’ Sustainability & Utilities Working Group
+ MCSI Faculty Sustainability Task Force
+ Pitt Bradford’s Sustainability Committee
+ Provost's Ad Hoc Faculty Committee on Sustainability (2022-23)
+ Student Office of Sustainability’s (SOOS) Steering Committee
Members of each committee, including affiliations and role:
MEMBERS & LIAISONS OF THE CHANCELLOR'S ADVISORY COUNCIL ON SUSTAINABILITY:
MEMBERS
• CHAIR: Aurora Sharrard, Executive Director of Sustainability, Office of Sustainability
• Jennifer Barnes, Supplier Diversity & Sustainability Manager, Purchasing Services
• Illona Beresford, Director of Planning & Projects, Business Auxiliary Services
• Melissa Bilec, Co-Director, Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation; Professor, Civil & Environmental Engineering
• Maggie Lincoln, Undergraduate Student & Student Director, Student Office of Sustainability
• Justin Dandoy, Director of Community Affairs, Engagement & Community Affairs
• Keith Duval, Associate Director of Environmental Programs, Environmental Health & Safety
• Nicholas Goodfellow, Sustainability Manager, Business, Hospitality, & Auxiliary Services
• Dustin Gray, Executive Associate Athletic Director for Administration, Athletics
• Gena Kovalcik, Co-Director, Administration & External Relations; Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation
• Will Mitchell, Facility Services Director, Facilities Management
• Meghan Orman, Doctoral Student, School of Education + Office of Child Development
• Cindy Wertz, Chief of Staff, Information Technology
• Laura Zullo, Director of Administration, Business & Operations
LIAISONS
• Drew Armstrong, Director of Architectural Studies and Associate Professor, Department of History of Art & Architecture
• Scott Bernotas, Vice Chancellor of Facilities Management, Business & Operations
• Gina Bleck, Vice Chancellor of Planning, Design, & Construction; Business & Operations
• Michal Boninger, Distinguished Professor, Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, School of Medicine; Chief Medical Sustainability Officer, UPMC
• Amy Buxbaum, Vice President for Finance & Administration, University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown
• Dan Camarda, Director of Government Relations and Public Affairs, Government Relations
• Mark Collins, Teaching Professor, Environmental Studies, Geology & Environmental Science
• Dan Fisher, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Operations & Maintenance, Facilities Management
• Tom Hitter, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Policy Development and Management, Office of Policy Development & Management
• David Hornyak, Assistant Dean, Honors College
• Alyse Faerberg, Undergraduate Student & Student Director, Pitt Green Fund Advisory Board
• Lucy Klug, Mobility Specialist, Parking & Transportation
• Matt Kropf, Director of Energy Institute, Assistant Professor of Energy Science & Technology, University of Pittsburgh at Bradford
• Michael Papale, Surplus Property Manager, Services & Surplus Property
• Jose Perez Vela, Sustainability Director, Dining / Pitt Eats by Compass
• Cheryl Ruffin, Institutional Equity Manager, Office of Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion
• David V. P. Sanchez, Assistant Director, Education & Outreach, Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation; Associate Professor, Civil & Environmental Engineering
• Cynthia Sweet, Associate Vice Chancellor, Economic Partnerships
• Paul Supowitz, Special Assistant for Strategic Initiatives and Interim Board Secretary, Office of the Chancellor
Does the institution have at least one sustainability office that includes more than 1 full-time equivalent employee?:
A brief description of each sustainability office:
Established in July 2018, the University of Pittsburgh’s Office of Sustainability centralizes campus-wide sustainability activities, strategies, and partnerships.
Led by Executive Director of Sustainability, Dr. Aurora Sharrard, the Office of Sustainability leads University-wide sustainability strategy, activities, policies, collaborations, & partnerships that build on the Plan for Pitt, 2018 Pitt Sustainability Plan, 2022 Pitt Climate Action Plan, and additional University-wide strategic plans. The 68 measurable goals across stewardship, exploration, community, and culture in the Pitt Sustainability Plan are the primary strategy of this work.
The Office of Sustainability ensures milestone progress and accomplishments are shared across the Pitt community through both principal staff members and sustainability unit leads, staff, and collaborators embedded in 5 operational divisions and 3 academic centers (Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation, Center for Sustainable Business, and Pittsburgh Water Collaboratory) and the School of Medicine. Along with contributing staff, students, and partners across the University, sustainability-affiliated faculty members collaborate through the Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation. With over 75 supporting staff members leading the charge across the campus and community and a Student Office of Sustainability serving as a hub for student groups, the University’s commitment to sustainable action is clear.
+ Pitt Sustainability team – https://www.sustainable.pitt.edu/team/
+ Pitt Sustainability staff members - https://www.sustainable.pitt.edu/team/staff/
Full-time equivalent of people employed in the sustainability office(s):
Does the institution have at least one sustainability officer?:
Name and title of each sustainability officer:
Does the institution have a mechanism for broad sustainability coordination for the entire institution?:
A brief description of the activities and substantive accomplishments of the institution-wide coordinating body or officer during the previous three years:
In 2021, 2022, and 2023, the University of Pittsburgh has made continued strides further embedding sustainability into the culture and practice of the institution.
Select 2021-23 accomplishments of the Chancellor’s Advisory Council on Sustainability, Executive Director of Sustainability, and cross-departmental Pitt Sustainability team and collaborators includes (but is certainly not limited to):
1) Regular cross-departmental success sharing at 5 annual Council meetings, regular committee meetings, and bi-weekly Pitt Sustainability team meetings, meetings with our embedded and cross-departmental staff.
2) Regular Committee reports, updates, and strategies from the following committees:
• Active Mobility Committee
• Campus Tree Advisory Committee
• Carbon Commitment Committee (including annual greenhouse gas inventory updates)
• MCSI Faculty Sustainability Task Force
• Pollinator Habitat Advisory Committee
• Provost's Ad Hoc Faculty Committee on Sustainability (2022-23)
• Sustainable Laboratories Committee
3) Internal review and checkpoint for sustainability-focused and -related plans and strategies, including:
• 2023 Pitt Literacy & Culture Survey results, https://www.sustainable.pitt.edu/2023-literacy-culture-survey-results/
• 2018-22 PROGRESS REPORT ON THE PITT SUSTAINABILITY PLAN
This 108-page Progress Report tallies Pitt’s collective progress on each of the 2018 Pitt Sustainability Plan’s 68 distinct and ambitious goals, with summaries of the outcomes of work on each goal accumulated from 2018 through 2022. The Progress Report celebrates Pitt’s shared achievement of 6 goals alongside the 43 goals on target or on track. Goals achieved, off track, and unclear were referred to a 2023-24 Council working group for review and recommendation of next steps.
Full Progress Report - https://www.sustainable.pitt.edu/progress-report/
• 2022 PITT CLIMATE ACTION PLAN
The first ever Pitt Climate Action Plan (PittCAP) for the University of Pittsburgh’s Pittsburgh campus presents our strategy, approach, and details to achieve carbon neutrality by 2037, the 250th anniversary of our founding. We have worked to ensure that our carbon neutrality strategy fulfills our full sustainability aspirations of reaching toward environmental solutions while balancing and addressing our academic mission, pursuing equitable outcomes, and helping create economic resilience for our University and communities.
Developed under the direction of the Carbon Commitment Committee of the Chancellor’s Advisory Council on Sustainability, this PittCAP builds on the goals of our existing Pitt Sustainability Plan, while setting both an insistent and realistic approach on the carbon opportunities and challenges in front of our campus, community, and world.
All actions delineated in this Pitt Climate Action Plan will cascade over time. These projections for our Pitt greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation activities show how each strategy contributes to our carbon reduction journey between 2019 and 2037, helping us meet our incremental target to reduce GHG emissions 50% below 2008 levels by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2037.
PittCAP Details - https://www.sustainable.pitt.edu/commitments-reports/pitt-climate-action-plan/
The Council, its committees, Executive Director of Sustainability, and Pitt Sustainability team are described previously in this credit and online in detail - https://www.sustainable.pitt.edu/team/
Dr. Aurora Sharrard’s biography - https://www.sustainable.pitt.edu/team-member/aurora-sharrard/
Gena Kovalcik biography - https://www.sustainable.pitt.edu/team-member/gena-kovalcik/
Job title of the sustainability officer position:
Job description for the sustainability officer position:
Job description for the sustainability officer position:
Reporting to the Senior Vice Chancellor for Business and Operations, the University of Pittsburgh's Executive Director of Sustainability is a senior member of the Senior Vice Chancellor for Business and Operations' executive team. The Executive Director provides strategic analysis and forecasting of optimal sustainability practices. The incumbent for the Executive Director for Sustainability oversees initiatives for all University of Pittsburgh aspects of sustainability and green practices, including strategic plan development, implementation, and analytics, all of which will continue to advance Pitt as a global sustainability leader benefitting people, planet, and the economy.
See attached for full Executive Director of Sustainability job description.
Job title of the sustainability officer position (2nd position):
Job description for the sustainability officer position (2nd position):
Job description for the sustainability officer position (2nd position):
The Co-Director of the Mascaro Center is responsible for providing administrative leadership, which includes supervising personnel, financial management, and operations. This position represents the interests of the University-wide Center with academic administration, encouraging and supporting the raising of funds, and managing and ensuring regular communication of Center activities for faculty, students, and external partners. The Co-Director helps to develop and operationalize strategy and planning for the University-wide sustainability-focused center. The Co-Director is accountable for the smooth and successful development and implementation of all MCSI events and programs and provides support to the faculty leadership team on all initiatives.
Job title of the sustainability officer position (3rd position):
Job description for the sustainability officer position (3rd position):
Job description for the sustainability officer position (3rd position):
The Assistant Director of Sustainability leads embedding sustainability into the culture of the University with special focus on the Pitt Green suite of programs, education, communications, partnerships, and DEI efforts. The Assistant Director also co-leads coordinated, timely and effective flow of information across multiple university communications channels and platforms. This position reports to the Executive Director of Sustainability. The incumbent works closely with sustainability-focused and -related staff across the University including (but not limited to) Auxiliaries, Student Affairs, Purchasing, Facilities, and Communications.
See attached for full Assistant Director of Sustainability job description.
Website URL where information about the institution’s sustainability coordination is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Pitt Sustainability Council, its committees, and Pitt Sustainability team - https://www.sustainable.pitt.edu/team/
Pitt Sustainability staff team - https://www.sustainable.pitt.edu/team/staff
Pitt Sustainability Council, its committees, and Pitt Sustainability team - https://www.sustainable.pitt.edu/team/
Pitt Sustainability staff team - https://www.sustainable.pitt.edu/team/staff
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.