| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 76.02 |
| Liaison | Megan Litke |
| Submission Date | Sept. 17, 2024 |
American University
PA-1: Sustainability Coordination
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.00 / 1.00 |
Megan
Litke Sustainability Manager Office of Sustainability |
1.1 Coordinating committee, officer, or office for sustainability
Narrative and/or website URL providing an overview of the institution’s sustainability committees:
2023-2024 Sustainability Advisory Group
Background
American University signed its first climate commitment in 2008 and has since renewed and deepened its environmental commitment several times through America is All In, Second Nature’s Climate Commitment, the DC University Sustainability Pledge and other public commitments. This robust and continued commitment to sustainability led to AU achieving carbon neutrality in 2018 and receiving recognition on many levels for sustainability work. The 2021 Sustainability Plan calls for an advisory committee to review sustainability progress.
Responsibilities
- Review sustainability progress.
- Support updates, implementation, and communication of the 2021 Sustainability Plan.
- Review and support implementation of sustainability policies including the Green Building Policy, Sustainable Purchasing Policy, and Zero Waste Policy, and recommend revisions and new policies as needed.
- Forge sustainability ties across education, infrastructure, administration, and engagement.
- Elevate sustainability in campus discussions and involve the sustainability office when appropriate.
- Participate in working groups and/or identify participants to fulfill functions described above.
- Working Groups will initially include the following:
- Offsets Oversight
- Single-Use Plastics
- GHG Review and Strategy
- Engagement (Sustainability Council)
- Attend 3-4 meetings annually and respond to requests as needed.
Term
The term of members of this Team is from December 1, 2023 through June 30, 2025. New members will be selected to follow with renewal allowed. Members will consist of faculty, staff and students.
Members
AVP Facilities
AVP Planning and Project Management
AVP, Campus Auxilary Services, Airlie
AVP, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Director, Energy and Engineering
Dean, Kogod School of Business
Asst Director, Transportation Demand Management
Residence Life Representative
Multiple Professors and Students
Does the institution have one or more sustainability officers?:
Narrative and/or website URL providing an overview of the institution’s sustainability officers:
The Office of Sustainability includes three full time staff: a Director of Sustainability who oversees all sustainaiblity efforts, a Sustainability Manager focused on communications and outreach, and a Sustainability Analyst who focuses on data collection and analysis.
Does the institution have a sustainability office that includes more than one full-time equivalent employee?:
Description of each sustainability office:
The Office of Sustainability includes a Director, Manager focused on outreach and communications, and Analyst.
The Zero Waste Office includes a Zero Waste Manager, Recycling Associates.
Full-time equivalent of people employed in the sustainability offices:
Is at least one of the institution’s sustainability committees, officers, or offices charged with coordinating various campus constituencies in the advancement of sustainability across the entire institution?:
Narrative outlining the activities and substantive accomplishments of the institution-wide coordinating body or officer during the previous three years:
American University's Office of Sustainability (housed within the Office of Finance) is operated by three full time staff members dedicated to advancing sustainability goals. The office was created in 2009, after the signing of Second Nature's Campus Climate Commitment. The office has since worked with various campus departments to provide access to environmental and sustainability education opportunities, manage the implementation of the university's sustainability strategies, and continue progress toward decreasing our environemental impact. Coordination accross offices has led to the adoption of several sustainability policies, the development of renewable electricity projects, and acheivement of carbon neutrality.
The Reporting Tool will automatically calculate the following figure:
Optional documentation
Additional documentation for this credit:
Job descriptions
Copy of the job description for the institution’s sustainability officer (1st position):
Text of the job description for the institution’s sustainability officer (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 communicate sustainability principles, such as waste management and energy conservation, to other students and the university community. This position promotes sustainability communications on AU's sustainability projects and initiatives through website updates, the creation on monthly newsletters, oral presentations, social media management, and informational signage and materials that are shared campus wide.
Copy of the job description for the institution’s sustainability officer (2nd position):
Text of the job description for the institution’s sustainability officer (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, benchmarking, and analyzing a wide range of metrics related to sustainability in operations.
Copy of the job description for the institution’s sustainability officer (3rd position):
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.