Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 61.91
Liaison Nathan King
Submission Date Aug. 2, 2011
Executive Letter Download

STARS v1.1

Virginia Tech
PAE-1: Sustainability Coordination

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.00 / 3.00 Dennis Cochrane
Director, Office of Sustainability
Division of Campus Planning, Infrastructure and Facilities
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Does the institution have a sustainability committee?:
Yes

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

Energy and Sustainability Committee Charge: To review and provide advice to the University Administration on broad policy issues relating to the university's energy supply and use, and resource conservation. The Energy and Sustainability Committee is part of our university governance structure. The Committee reports to the Commission on University Support which further reports to the University Council. The university governance structure is shown at: http://www.governance.vt.edu/governance_instructions/structure.html


Members of the committee, including affiliations:

Mr. Fred Selby, Chair of the Energy and Sustainability Committee
Dr. Sherwood Wilson, Vice President for Administrative Services or designee
Mr. Dwight Shelton, Vice President for Finance and Chief Financial Officer or designee
Mr. Mike Coleman, Associate Vice President for Facilities Services
Mr. Denny Cochrane, Sustainability Program Manager, Office of Energy and Sustainability
Vacant, Director of Housing and Dining Services
Ms. Lynn Eichhorn, Assistant Vice President for Campus Planning, Space, and Real Estate
Mr. Bruce Ferguson, University Planning, Design, and Construction, Facilities Services
Mr. Fred Selby, Energy Manager, Facilities Services
Mr. Rob Lowe, Environmental Health & Safety Services
Dr. Madeline Schreiber, Geosciences Department, Faculty Senate
Dr. Mintai Kim, Landscape Architecture Department, Faculty Senate
Dr. John Randolph, Urban Affairs and Planning Department, Faculty Senate
Dr. Nancy McGehee, Hospitality and Tourism Department, Faculty Senate
Ms. Becky Saylors, University Controller’s Office
Mr. Tom Tucker, Facilities Information Systems, Facilities Services
Dr. Paul Winistorfer, Dean, College of Natural Resources and Environment
Mr. Kapil Panchal, Graduate Student, Mechanical Engineering
Mr. Spencer Riddle, Graduate Student, Geography
Ms. Lauren Miller, Undergraduate Student, Industrial & Systems Engineering
Ms. Kara Dodson, Undergraduate Student, Civil and Environmental Engineering

Constitution and By-laws, specifically By-laws, Section V, paragraph G “Energy and Sustainability Committee”: http://www.governance.vt.edu/uc_constitution_and_by-laws.html


The website URL where information about the sustainability committee is available:
Does the institution have a sustainability office?:
Yes

A brief description of the sustainability office:

The Office of Sustainability was established immediately following the approval of "The Virginia Tech Climate Action Commitment Resolution" by the Board of Visitors on June 1, 2009. The office reports directly to the Associate Vice President for Facilities Services who, in turn, reports to the Vice President for Administrative Services. The Office of Sustainability has been renamed the Office of Energy and Sustainability to more accurately reflect the significant role energy has to our overall sustainability mission, and to align the name with the "Energy and Sustainability Committee" of our university governance system.

The office has five primary missions:
(1) Coordinate programs for campus sustainability;
(2) Oversee the implementation of the Virginia Tech Climate Action Commitment and Sustainability Plan;
(3) Monitor annual electricity and other energy use and greenhouse gas emissions;
(4) Work with faculty and departments; and
(5) Manage a campus-wide student internship program, and foster an undergraduate research program that utilizes the campus as a learning laboratory.

Number of staff in office (in FTE): 3 - The Office of Energy and Sustainability includes the Sustainability Program Manager, the Energy Manager, the Campus Sustainability Planner. In addition, the office has a Graduate Assistant, and a Sustainability Consultant.


The number of people employed in the sustainability office:
3

The website URL where information about the sustainability office is available:
Does the institution have a sustainability coordinator?:
Yes

Sustainability coordinator's name:
Mr. Denny C. Cochrane

Sustainability coordinator's position title:
Sustainability Program Manager, Office of Energy and Sustainability

A brief description of the sustainability coordinator’s position:

The Sustainability Program Manager is primarily responsible for overseeing the implementation of the Virginia Tech Climate Action Commitment and Sustainability Plan (VTCAC&SP). Develops and maintains the quarterly “Status Report” spreadsheet that tracks the progress of over 80 actions and measures identified for implementation in the Immediate Phase (2009-2012) of the VTCAC&SP. Develops and maintains the Office of Energy and Sustainability website. Plans and coordinates a myriad of campus sustainability programs, participates in academic instructional opportunities at both the graduate and undergraduate level, and supports student requests for sustainability information and research. Responsible for gathering and submitting data for the Sustainable Endowments Institute’s (SEI) College Sustainability Report Card and the “Annual Report on Campus Sustainability at Virginia Tech.” Serves as an Ex-Officio member of the Energy and Sustainability Committee. Serves as the university’s primary contact to the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), and spearheads our university’s submission for AASHE’s Sustainability Tracking and Rating Assessment System (STARS). Promotes and participates in university sustainability outreach programs and serves as the principle sustainability contact to the media and outside organizations.


The website URL where information about the sustainability coordinator is available:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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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.