| Overall Rating | Silver - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 52.06 |
| Liaison | Casey Meehan |
| Submission Date | June 15, 2017 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Western Technical College
PA-2: Sustainability Planning
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
4.00 / 4.00 |
Casey
Meehan Director of Sustainability and Resilience Sustainability |
Does the institution have current and formal plans to advance sustainability in the following areas? Do the plans include measurable objectives?:
| Current and Formal Plans (Yes or No) | Measurable Objectives (Yes or No) | |
| Curriculum | Yes | Yes |
| Research (or other scholarship) | No | No |
| Campus Engagement | Yes | Yes |
| Public Engagement | Yes | Yes |
| Air and Climate | Yes | Yes |
| Buildings | Yes | Yes |
| Dining Services/Food | Yes | Yes |
| Energy | Yes | Yes |
| Grounds | Yes | Yes |
| Purchasing | Yes | Yes |
| Transportation | Yes | Yes |
| Waste | Yes | Yes |
| Water | Yes | Yes |
| Diversity and Affordability | Yes | Yes |
| Health, Wellbeing and Work | Yes | No |
| Investment | No | No |
| Other | No | No |
A brief description of the plan(s) to advance sustainability in Curriculum:
Western's Sustainability Plan (approved by our District Board in 2015) includes a section on incorporating sustainability into the curriculum with the two following broad goals:
-Strengthen Western’s sustainable culture policy and the college core abilities within existing curriculum and potentially the creation of new programs of instruction.
-Create opportunities for students to transfer sustainable theories into practical application.
The timeline for implementation for Western's Sustainability Plan spans three years (2015-2018)
Sustainability in the curriculum is also addressed in our Academics 20/20 plan which guides all of Academic Affairs. Within pillar three (Excellence in Teaching and Learning) of Academic 20/20 is a broad goal whereby academic leadership is directed to promoting, facilitating, and supporting place-based community engagement and sustainability education.
The measurable objectives, strategies and timeframes included in the Curriculum plan(s):
FROM WESTERN'S SUSTAINABILITY PLAN
Integrate sustainability into the curriculum
- Year one: Identify sustainability courses
- Year two: Increase number of sustainability courses via prof. dev. opportunities for faculty to incorporate sustainability ed into curriculum
- Year three: explore new courses to fill sustainability gaps where they exist
Create an institutional approach to utilizing campus sustainability practices and projects as living laboratory, experiential learning opportunities for students.
- Year one: identify living lab spaces, develop educational materials for living lab facilities
- Year two: provide tours, workshops, engagement opportunities for faculty/staff/students
- Year three: increase number of tours, workshops, engagement opps.
Accountable parties, offices or departments for the Curriculum plan(s):
Western Technical College's sustainability department, academic excellence and development department, Academic 2020 Pillar Three team
A brief description of the plan(s) to advance sustainability in Research (or other scholarship):
NA
The measurable objectives, strategies and timeframes included in the Research plan(s):
NA
Accountable parties, offices or departments for the Research plan(s):
NA
A brief description of the plan(s) to advance Campus Engagement around sustainability:
Western's Sustainability Plan (approved by our District Board in 2015) includes a section on student development/campus engagement with the broad goal of designing and promoting personal enrichment activities focused on sustainability concepts.
The measurable objectives, strategies and timeframes included in the Campus Engagement plan:
-Support growth of Service Learning program to reach more students and community members (measured by # of program participants and # of events)
-Develop coordinated, cross-departmental outreach/education campaigns with opportunities for students (measured by # of events held and attendance)
-Create sustainability themed semester/year (measured by establishment of process, # of themes)
-Provide sustainable fiscal responsibility strategies for students (measured by # workshops and events, student attendance at events)
Accountable parties, offices or departments for the Campus Engagement plan(s):
Sustainability Department, Student Development, Community Engagement Department, and Residence Life.
A brief description of the plan(s) to advance Public Engagement around sustainability:
Western's Sustainability Plan (approved by our District Board in 2015) includes a section on community engagement and strategic partnerships with the broad goal of promoting local economic development and graduating individuals who have demonstrated a commitment to strengthening the community.
The measurable objectives, strategies and timeframes included in the Public Engagement plan(s):
- Collaborate with local business to support training and connect skilled workers with "green" skills. Measured by number of graduates hired in a sustainability-related field
-Collaborate with employers, institutions of higher education, to align curriculum, course credit and on-the-job training to advance sustainability pathways for students. Measured by number of graduates hired in sustainability fields & movement towards course alignment.
-Create and launch a Sustainability Institute focused on regional sustainability development and educational needs. Measured by existence of said organization, number of events hosted, attendance
Accountable parties, offices or departments for the Public Engagement plan(s):
Accountable Parties are the Sustainability Department, Sustainability Institute, Enrollment Services, Student Development, and Business Industry Services.
A brief description of the plan(s) to advance sustainability in Air and Climate:
Western's Sustainability Plan (approved by our District Board in 2015) includes a section on climate impact reduction with the broad goal of reducing our environmental impact from greenhouse gas emissions.
The measurable objectives, strategies and timeframes included in the Air and Climate plan(s):
- Conduct annual GHG inventory
- Complete STARS report and align objectives to areas in need of focus
- Continue to implement President's Climate Commitment tangible actions
- Develop a Climate Action Plan
Accountable parties, offices or departments for the Air and Climate plan(s):
Western's sustainability department and Western's Environment & Sustainability team.
A brief description of the plan(s) to advance sustainability in Buildings:
Western's Sustainability Plan (approved by our District Board in 2015) includes a section on buildings with the broad goal being to design and construct campus facilities that are efficient and sustainable assets to the community. Additionally, Western has a policy that all new construction must meet a minimum of LEED Silver standards.
The measurable objectives, strategies and timeframes included in the Buildings plan(s):
-LEED Silver for all new construction
Accountable parties, offices or departments for the Buildings plan(s):
Accountable parties will be the Facilities Director, the Physical Plant, and the Sustainability Department.
A brief description of the plan(s) to advance sustainability in Dining Services/Food:
Western's Sustainability Plan (approved by our District Board in 2015) includes a section on dining services with the broad goal being to reduce pre-consumer food waste in dining services and purchase products/services that help us reduce environmental impact.
The measurable objectives, strategies and timeframes included in the Dining Services/Food plan(s):
-track sustainable purchasing for food and vendors (dining services)
-increase the percentage of locally produced food (<100 mile radius of campus)
-track usage of reusable eco-clamshell food containers
Accountable parties, offices or departments for the Dining Services/Food plan(s):
Accountable parties include the Union Market, Lunda Center, and the Sustainability Department.
A brief description of the plan(s) to advance sustainability in Energy:
Western's Sustainability Plan (approved by our District Board in 2015) includes a section on energy with the broad goal being to decrease energy consumption across all Western facilities and increase the use of renewable energy on our campuses.
The measurable objectives, strategies and timeframes included in the Energy plan(s):
-Continue implementing Energy Management Conservation Program (systematic, thorough, cross-campus energy audits of energy conservation behavior)
-Benchmark energy usage across all facilities
-Conduct facility energy audits targeting facilities with the most opportunities for energy reduction measures.
-Purchase and/or produce at least 15% of our institution's energy from renewable resources
Accountable parties, offices or departments for the Energy plan(s):
Accountable parties are Physical Plant, Facilities Director, and the Sustainability Department, VP of finance
A brief description of the plan(s) to advance sustainability in Grounds:
Western's Sustainability Plan (approved by our District Board in 2015) includes a section on grounds with the broad goals of reducing environmental impact while increasing ecosystem services.
The measurable objectives, strategies and timeframes included in the Grounds plan(s):
-Earn recognition under the Tree Campus USA program
-Consider stormwater management best practices when developing new construction and hardscapes
-Develop and implement a site management plan
Accountable parties, offices or departments for the Grounds plan(s):
Accountable parties include Landscape Horticulture, Facilities, and the Sustainability Department.
A brief description of the plan(s) to advance sustainability in Purchasing:
Western's Sustainability Plan (approved by our District Board in 2015) includes a section on purchasing with the broad goal being to purchase products or services that factor in environmental impact and buy from regional vendors when possible.
The measurable objectives, strategies and timeframes included in the Purchasing plan(s):
-Adopt an energy-efficient appliance purchasing policy requiring purchase of Energy Star or EPEAT Gold certified products
-develop a campus-wide purchasing policy that assists in making sustainable procurement decisions when possible
-
Accountable parties, offices or departments for the Purchasing plan(s):
Accountable parties are the Business Office, PC Services, VP Finance, and the Sustainability Department.
A brief description of the plan(s) to advance sustainability in Transportation:
Western's Sustainability Plan (approved by our District Board in 2015) includes a section on transportation with the broad goals of reducing the effects of commuting on our GHG emissions.
The measurable objectives, strategies and timeframes included in the Transportation plan(s):
-Establish baseline by tracking fuel-use and mileage for fleet by vehicle
-Explore procurement of low-emitting fuel-efficient vehicles in Western's fleet
-Explore implementation of no-idling policy for fleet vehicles
-Develop an alternative transportation program to encourage commuting by bicycling, walking, carpooling, and telecommuting.
-Increase bike facilities on campus.
-Establish a policy to offset GHG emissions for all generated by air travel paid for by Western.
Accountable parties, offices or departments for the Transportation plan(s):
Accountable parties will be the Sustainability Department, Buisiness office, Human Resources, Facilities Director.
A brief description of the plan(s) to advance sustainability in Waste:
Western's Sustainability Plan (approved by our District Board in 2015) includes a section on waste with the broad goal to reduce our contributions to the landfill.
The measurable objectives, strategies and timeframes included in the Waste plan(s):
-Reduce waste and paper use by 10% in each department through promotion of paperless documents
-Participate in the Waste Minimization component of the national RecycleMania competition
-Adopt three associated measures to reduce waste.
-Evaluate recycling infrastructure on campus.
-100% of electronic waste gets recycled.
-Explore compost program for food waste both pre-consumer and post-consumer.
-Implement a user-behavior campaign around waste reduction.
Accountable parties, offices or departments for the Waste plan(s):
Accountable parties are the Recycling Committee, PC Services, and the Sustainability Department.
A brief description of the plan(s) to advance sustainability in Water:
Western's plan to advance sustainability in Water is closely connected to our goals with Grounds. Please see the section above on grounds for specifics.
The measurable objectives, strategies and timeframes included in the Water plan(s):
-Consider stormwater management best practices when developing new construction and hardscapes
Accountable parties, offices or departments for the Water plan(s):
Sustainability Department, Facilities staff
A brief description of the plan(s) to advance Diversity and Affordability:
Western has been an Achieving the Dream (AtD) school since 2014. While this is not specifically built into the current Sustainability Plan, the goal of all AtD schools is "preserving access and ensuring that their students, especially low-income students and students of color, achieve their goals for academic success, personal growth, and economic opportunity."
The measurable objectives, strategies and timeframes included in the Diversity and Affordability plan(s):
-establish a baseline of success rates for students of color and low-income students
-develop processes for increasing retention rates of students of color and low-income students.
-explore opportunities for professional development on culturally relevant pedagogy
Accountable parties, offices or departments for the Diversity and Affordability plan(s):
Accountable parties are the Welcome Center, Student Services, and the Director of Achieving the Dream
A brief description of the plan(s) to advance sustainability in Health, Wellbeing and Work:
Western's Sustainability Plan (approved by our District Board in 2015) includes a section on internal engagement. Within this, there is a subsection on health and wellness.
The measurable objectives, strategies and timeframes included in the Health, Wellbeing and Work plan(s):
-Establish a connection with the Wellness Center on campus
-Support efforts of Wellness Center
Accountable parties, offices or departments for the Health, Wellbeing and Work plan(s):
Sustainability Department, Wellness Center staff
A brief description of the plan(s) to advance sustainability in Investment:
The measurable objectives, strategies and timeframes included in the Investment plan(s):
Accountable parties, offices or departments for the Investment plan(s):
A brief description of the plan(s) to advance sustainability in other areas:
The measurable objectives, strategies and timeframes included in the other plan(s):
Accountable parties, offices or departments for the other plan(s):
The institution’s definition of sustainability:
Western's sustainability team (WEST) was charged with creating a definition of sustainability for the organization. In 2016, the team adopted the following definition of sustainability:
Sustainability is the act of building — through our daily practices and educational programming — a thriving, resilient, and just community now and in the future.
Does the institution’s strategic plan or equivalent guiding document include sustainability at a high level?:
A brief description of how the institution’s strategic plan or equivalent guiding document addresses sustainability:
Western's guiding strategic plan is called Vision 2020. Within itObjective 2: Commit to sustainability in College operations. Sustainability is called out specifically in the Financial Resources area of focus in two separate objectives:
1. Commit to sustainability in college operations
2. Commit to regional strategies in sustainability
The website URL where information about the institution’s sustainability planning is available:
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.