Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 65.76
Liaison Allison Jenks
Submission Date Jan. 26, 2017
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

New Mexico State University
PA-1: Sustainability Coordination

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 1.00 joni newcomer
Mgr. Env. Policy and Sustainability
Facilities and Services
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

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 mission of the NMSU Sustainability Council is to coordinate sustainability-related activities and efforts throughout the New Mexico State University system and to residents statewide. While a primary goal is making sustainability awareness part of the experience of all NMSU students, council members recognize that addressing the many challenges revolving around sustainability issues calls for the involvement of everyone. University faculty, staff and students are committed to working with individuals, community organizations, business owners, farmers and ranchers, and local, state and national leaders.

a) Composed of volunteers from the faculty, staff and student body, and other stakeholders

1. Operations (OP)
This committee is made up of representatives from Facilities and Services (FS), Auxiliary Services, and Housing and Residential Life departments, as well as others concerned with maintaining buildings and infrastructure sustainably at NMSU. The Operations Committee has a large role in greening the campuses including Grounds, Energy and Utilities, plumbing, electrical, custodians, and recycling.

2. Education
This committee ensures that sustainability is infused throughout the core curriculum to give each graduate of NMSU multiple perspectives for dealing with sustainability-related challenges. The ER committee will also work to identify and support sustainability-related research by NMSU faculty. "Greening the Curriculum" is a sub-committee that has created three sustainability minors in agriculture, business, and anthropology in 2014.

3. Outreach
The Outreach committee works to institutionalize sustainability at NMSU through sustainability coordination, incorporating sustainability into campus plans, and developing further plans to move toward sustainability. Outreach committee helps NMSU organize, implement, and publicize sustainability initiatives, providing the infrastructure that fosters sustainability within an institution. This is the committee that does outreach to the community (City of Las Cruces, county, and statewide).

4. Programs and Education - this committee is responsible for finding speakers for each monthly meeting.


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

Council Chair - David Boje, faculty)
Council past-chair - Steve Self, staff
Committee chairs:
1) Operations - Pat Chavez
2) Education - Dave Dubois and Luis Rios
3) Outreach - vacant
4) Programs and Education - joni newcomer

Student co-chairs for each committee


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 Office of Sustainability (OoS) is responsible for developing policies and guidelines for protecting natural resources, reducing the university's ecological footprint and ensuring accountability for green building and low impact development.

• Environmental sustainability initiatives on issues ranging from climate change to recycling and water conservation
• Academic programs and educational outreach activities aimed at enhancing faculty, staff, and student environmental literacy and awareness
• Be a resource for those pursuing sustainability initiatives
• Create Sustainable Building Design Standards for new construction and renovations
• Utility conservation to reduce energy use and associated costs
• Recycling initiatives to increase landfill space and lower disposal costs
• Student support for environmental projects and student organizations
• Climate Leadership Commitment (ACUPCC) reporting

The Environmental Education Center (EEC) is run by the sustainability manager. The EEC was designed by the sustainability manager and constructed as a green building. The Center is open to everyone – campus and local community alike. Some of the teaching points you’ll see at the Center are:

• Zero VOC paint
• Interface carpet tiles that have been re-used from another location
• Furnishings that are all reused
• LED lighting on occupancy sensors
• Rapidly-renewable bamboo veneer cabinets and doors
• Hydration station
• Re-used blue jean insulation that can be seen through the “Honesty Window” in the wall
• Video system to show webinars and environmental movies
• What makes a building LEED
• The 10 sustainability initiatives


Full-time equivalent (FTE) of people employed in the sustainability office(s):
1

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

Name and title of each sustainability officer:
joni newcomer, Manager, Environmental Policy and 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:

The all-volunteer Sustainability Council is our institution and community-wide mechanism for broad sustainability coordination.


Job title of the sustainability officer position:
joni newcomer, Manager, Environmental Policy and Sustainability

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

The Office of Sustainability (OoS) is responsible for developing policies and guidelines for protecting natural resources, reducing the university's ecological footprint and ensuring accountability for green building and low impact development.

• Environmental sustainability initiatives on issues ranging from climate change to recycling and water conservation
• Academic programs and educational outreach activities aimed at enhancing faculty, staff, and student environmental literacy and awareness
• Be a resource for those pursuing sustainability initiatives
• Create Sustainable Building Design Standards for new construction and renovations
• Utility conservation to reduce energy use and associated costs
• Recycling initiatives to increase landfill space and lower disposal costs
• Student support for environmental projects and student organizations
• Climate Leadership Commitment (ACUPCC) reporting


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

The Office of Sustainability was created in 2010.
The Environmental Education Center was opened March 2015


The Office of Sustainability was created in 2010.
The Environmental Education Center was opened March 2015

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.