Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 74.38
Liaison Lisa Kilgore
Submission Date March 1, 2018
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Cornell University
PA-1: Sustainability Coordination

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 1.00 Robert Bland
Sr. Director
Energy & Sustainability
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Does the institution have at least one sustainability committee?:
Yes

The charter or mission statement of the committee(s) or a brief description of each committee's purview and activities:

The President's Sustainable Campus Committee (PSCC) was formed to a) provide high-level oversight on administrative decisions that impact campus and regional sustainability and b) facilitate communication and promote synergies across relevant University functions and constituencies. The PSCC works to promote a culture of sustainability on campus through effective collaborations among staff, students, faculty, and regional partners, and it advocates for policies and programs that enhance Cornell’s commitment to be a living laboratory for the environmental, economic, and social dimensions of sustainability.

The PSCC includes representatives from operations and academic staff, students and faculty, and is involved across 10 areas of sustainable campus activities: energy, climate, water, food, waste, buildings, people, land, purchasing and transportation.

The Senior Leaders Climate Action Group directs Cornell’s pivotal role as an international leader and exemplar to the world in addressing climate change and promoting sustainability through research, education, engagement, and operations – using our own campus as a living laboratory.

With a goal of ameliorating current climate trends by spurring innovative cross-disciplinary solutions, the group will:

• serve as the ongoing university leadership group for setting broad climate action direction and prioritizing initiatives that offer the greatest promise of emissions-reducing breakthroughs
• organize consortia of stakeholders including federal and state government, private industry, utilities, and foundations to collaborate on high-priority initiatives
• communicate to policy makers and the general public knowledge gained through research and demonstration projects
• develop a campus-wide engagement plan integrating climate action strategies into the campus culture and strategic plans
• champion the campus Climate Action Plan which will be reviewed annually and updated every 5 years.


Members of each committee, including affiliations and role (e.g. staff, student, or faculty):

The PSCC Executive Committee is co-chaired by Bert Bland, Associate Vice President, Energy & Sustainability and Mike Hoffmann, Executive Director, Cornell Institute for Climate Smart Solutions. Other members are listed online at http://www.sustainablecampus.cornell.edu/initiatives/president-s-sustainable-campus-committee

The SLCAG is co-chaired by Lance Collins, the Joseph Silbert Dean of Engineering and Rick Burgess, the Vice President of Infrastructure, Properties & Planning. Other members are listed online at http://www.sustainablecampus.cornell.edu/initiatives/senior-leaders-climate-action-group


Does the institution have at least one sustainability office that includes more than 1 full-time equivalent (FTE) employee?:
Yes

A brief description of each sustainability office:

The Campus Sustainability Office works with students, staff, faculty and community members to catalyze Cornell's transformation into a sustainable campus, including its energy infrastructure. The Campus Sustainability Office is a section within the Energy & Sustainability Department.


Full-time equivalent (FTE) of people employed in the sustainability office(s):
6

Does the institution have at least one sustainability officer?:
Yes

Name and title of each sustainability officer:
Bert Bland, Associate Vice President for Energy & Sustainability; Sarah Zemanick Director of Campus Sustainability

Does the institution have a mechanism for broad sustainability coordination for the entire institution (e.g. a campus-wide committee or an officer/office responsible for the entire campus)?:
Yes

A brief description of the activities and substantive accomplishments of the institution-wide coordinating body or officer during the previous three years:

Sustainability Snapshot: http://www.sustainablecampus.cornell.edu/documents/71/download

Created a Behavior Change Working Group
Added carbon emissions and energy impact to formal Project Approval Request form and process
Created online campus sustainability map http://www.sustainablecampus.cornell.edu/initiatives/sustainabilitymap
Published updated campus Guide to Living Sustainably http://www.sustainablecampus.cornell.edu/initiatives/student-green-guide
Hosted the Annual Campus Sustainability Summit
Climate Action Plan Acceleration Report
Carbon Neutral Campus Energy Alternatives Report
Options for Achieving a Carbon Neutral Campus by 2035 Report
Developed Cornell’s first five large scale, 2 megawatt solar farms
Expanded Green Office and Green lab certification program to include 47 offices and 12 labs
Climate literacy survey and sustainability orientation instituted for incoming students.
Thing BIG | Live Green sustainability engagement campaign


Job title of the sustainability officer position:
Associate Vice President for Energy & Sustainability

Job description for the sustainability officer position:
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Job description for the sustainability officer position:

The Associate Vice President will lead, promote, and direct a comprehensive, customer-sensitive unit for one of Cornell University’s core functional Facilities areas: Energy & Sustainability. The Associate Vice President of Energy & Sustainability will direct, lead, promote, and support a comprehensive program for the utility and energy management operations of Cornell University. As a key steward of the university’s energy infrastructure and sustainability, the Associate Vice President is responsible for every aspect of the management of all associated utilities infrastructure and operations, energy procurement, infrastructure capital planning, energy management, and sustainability. In sustainability, The Associate Vice President not only is directly responsible for advancing sustainable energy, but is also is responsible for managing the overall sustainable campus initiative. The Associate Vice President is responsible for providing professional leadership and administrative direction to a staff of approximately 50 employees.


Job title of the sustainability officer position (2nd position):
Director of Campus Sustainability

Job description for the sustainability officer position (2nd position):
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Job description for the sustainability officer position (2nd position):

Provide vision, organizational strategy, and leadership for the University to advance operational and programmatic sustainability efforts across campus operations. Create a “living laboratory” to engage students and faculty.

* President’s Sustainable Campus Committee Management: Provide leadership and subject matter expertise to promote sustainability to campus senior staff, faculty, staff, and students including the Presidents Sustainable Campus Committee (PSCC) and the PSCC Focus Teams.

* Engagement, Education and Outreach: Develop educational and campus engagement programs to foster a campus culture of sustainability.

* Media and Communications: Coordinate strategic communication and outreach efforts to advance broad internal and external understanding of Cornell sustainability efforts and engage various stakeholders and the public in these efforts.

* Climate Action Plan & Renewable Energy Projects: Lead Cornell in the transformation to a climate neutral campus.

* Lead the Campus Sustainability Office (CSO) and serve on the management team of the Energy & Sustainability Department: Administer the personnel and budgets of the CSO, and help direct the E&S Department.


Job title of the sustainability officer position (3rd position):
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Job description for the sustainability officer position (3rd position):
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Job description for the sustainability officer position (3rd position):
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The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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