Saint Mary's College of California
PA-1: Sustainability Coordination
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.00 / 1.00 |
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 Sustainability Committee is a standing committee of the College and acts as an advisory board to the President and Cabinet. The Committee reviews, recommends and facilitates the implementation of policies and programs that advance sustainability and environmental justice across the Saint Mary’s Community, through education, research, community engagement and campus operations.
The Committee will be consulted on matters that have an impact on the College’s environmental footprint. The Committee makes recommendations to the President regarding College operations, to the Academic Senate regarding academic curriculum and/or academic research and to the Provost and Institutional Effectiveness Committee regarding the tracking of environmental justice and environmental sustainability efforts across the College.
The primary responsibilities of the Committee are to:
-Function as the primary conduit for information and decision-making regarding environmental stewardship and sustainability on campus.
-Proactively design and propose policies and initiatives that expand our campus commitment to climate action and environmental justice in research, curriculum, engagement and/or built environment.
-Develop, recommend, support and sponsor academic programs, certificates, and co-curricular education activities that promote environmental awareness and sustainability as both an institutional and an individual responsibility
-Monitor operations and practices on campus that directly affect the College’s use of resources and contribute to our environmental footprint.
-Review annual assessments of the College’s sustainability efforts.
-Update and maintain the College’s sustainability vision and values statement.
-Develop action plans to promote greater awareness of sustainability, to increase campus sustainability over time, and to inform annual operating and capital budget processes.
Members of each committee, including affiliations and role:
Membership is as follows:
-Faculty Member (appointed by the President, in consultation with the Academic Senate) Co Chair
-Academic Administrator(appointed by the President) Co Chair
-Sustainability Director
-Campus Facilities Planning Committee Chair
-Assistant Vice President for Communications
-Vice President for Mission
-Vice President for Student Life
-Vice Provost, appointed by the Provost
-Provost’s Council representative appointed by the Provost
-One Faculty Member from each School appointed by the Chair of the Committee on Committees
-Staff Council Chair
-Associated Student Senator, appointed by the ASSMC
-Other Members of the Campus Community as appointed by the President.
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:
Saint Mary's Office of Sustainability hosts a number of programs, initiatives and events to foster a more sustainable and just Saint Mary's campus and world. Initiatives range from small-scale events to larger collaboarive programs aimed at addressing global challenges, such as climate change and environmental justice. Saint Mary's Office of Sustainability uses its campus as a living laboratory for piloting sustainable food systems, waste diversion, energy and water conservation as well as addressing issues of social justice and equity. Students take advantage of numerous involvement opportunities offered by Saint Mary’s Office of Sustainability, including the Free Store, Zero Waste initiatives, Energy Efficiency projects, the Green Space program, the Legacy Garden, the Climate Reality Project, the Sustainability Living Learning Community and the Green Gaels club. Our students are the face and voice of our efforts as we continue to develop a community and culture around sustainability. For more information about Saint Mary’s sustainability programs please email smcsustainability@stmarys-ca.edu.
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:
Since the current Campus Sustainability Committee (formed in 2012) and its predecessor the Task Force on Sustainability (formed in 2007), a number of important foundational activities have been completed. These include an assessment of the campus' current sustainability activities, development of a Sustainability Action Plan, a Climate Action Plan and creation and revision of the Sustainability Vision.
In conjunction with the Campus Facilities Planning Committee, the Sustainability Committee has advised on and reviewed GHG assessments completed by Sightlines for 2011 and 2013.
Starting in 2008, the Committee began the STARS process, and has submitted three successful STARS reports.
Job title of the sustainability officer position:
Job description for the sustainability officer position:
Job description for the sustainability officer position:
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):
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):
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:
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.