Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 73.17
Liaison Megan Litke
Submission Date Feb. 28, 2018
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

American University
PA-1: Sustainability Coordination

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 1.00 Megan Litke
Sustainability Manager
Office of Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Sustainability Committee(s) 

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 Sustainability Project Team, comprised of AU students, faculty and staff representatives, is charged with guiding development and implementation of a Sustainability Plan, implementing the existing Climate Action Plan and Sustainability Policies, and developing future sustainability policies and programs. The resiliency team is an offshoot of the committee.

None
Members of each committee, including affiliations and role (e.g. staff, student, or faculty):
Membership is rolling over in Spring 2018, but currently includes: Co-Chairs: David Dower, Assistant Vice President, Planning & Project Management Peter Starr, Dean College of Arts and Sciences Provost Kiho Kim, Environmental Science Maria Figueroa-Armijos, Kogod School of Business Finance Megan Litke, Sustainability Hannah Debelius , Sustainability Hannah Moskowitz, Sustainability Brian Blair, Procurement and Contracts Joe Van Story, Facilities Management Mark Feist, Grounds and Transportation Tyler Orton, Facilities Human Resources, Wellness Campus Life Chris Silva, Housing and Dining Students TBD, Student Government Max Leopold, David Van Siclen, Student Sustainability Educators TBD, Student Club Representative TBD, Student Government Development & Alumni Relations University-Wide Initiatives

Sustainability Office(s) 

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

None
A brief description of each sustainability office:
The Office of Sustainability includes a director, outreach and communications manager, and analyst.

None
Full-time equivalent (FTE) of people employed in the sustainability office(s):
3

Sustainability Officer(s) 

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

Name and title of each sustainability officer:
Megan Litke, Director of Sustainability Programs

Institution-Wide Coordination 

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:
American University has an office of sustainability will three full time staff dedicated to advancing sustainability goals. The office has worked with others across campus to grow environmental and sustainability education efforts, begin implementation of the university's offsets strategy, and continue progress toward carbon neutrality.

Optional Fields 

Job Description (1st position)

Job title of the sustainability officer position:
Director of Sustainability Programs

Job description for the sustainability officer position:
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Job description for the sustainability officer position:
This position leads the university's efforts to reduce its environmental impact by developing plans, proposing policies, implementing improvements and overseeing marketing efforts.

Job Description (2nd position) 

Job title of the sustainability officer position (2nd position):
Sustainability Outreach and Communications Manager

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

Job description for the sustainability officer position (2nd position):
The position manages campus sustainability outreach, communications, education, and behavior change initiatives. This position requires applied knowledge of sustainability principles; the ability to strategically connect outreach and education efforts with university sustainability goals; extensive collaboration with students, faculty and staff; and supervision of student employees. the Manager designs, implements, modifies, and manages sustainability educational, operational, or behavior change programs as appropriate. The manager collects and analyzes data related to outreach for use in campus sustainability assessments and reports. The position manages the student sustainability educators program, including hiring and directing students who use peer education to reach other students and the university community. This position manages sustainability communications regarding AU's sustainability projects and initiatives, including website, newsletter, news items, presentations, social media, and information signage and materials campus-wide.

Job Description (3rd position) 

Job title of the sustainability officer position (3rd position):
Sustainability Analyst

Job description for the sustainability officer position (3rd position):
---

Job description for the sustainability officer position (3rd position):
This position gathers and analyzes sustainability related data and ensures completion of sustainability and green building related assessments and reports. The analyst identifies opportunities for sustainability while tracking, bench-marking, and analyzing a wide range of metrics related to sustainability in operations.

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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