Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 53.62
Liaison Michael Kensler
Submission Date Jan. 11, 2016
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

Auburn University
PA-1: Sustainability Coordination

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 1.00 Michael Kensler
Director Sustainability Operations
Office of Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution have at least one sustainability committee, office, and/or officer that focuses on sustainability broadly and covers the entire institution?:
Yes

A brief description of the activities and substantive accomplishments of the committee(s), office(s), and/or officer(s) during the previous three years:

The Office of Sustainability advocates for sustainability programs, policies, practices and initiatives across campus, and conducts ongoing educational campaigns to generate understanding of sustainability and its relevance to every individual and unit on campus. Accomplishments include a recently completed sustainability report/story using Prezi as the delivery mechanism; redesigned and enhanced website; establishment of a Sustainability Coalition of student groups that collaborate and support each other's activities; participation in revised campus master plan and landscape master plan efforts, resulting in sustainability being included as a core consideration in both plans; conducted the first ever Sustainability in Business Summit with the College of Business to more comprehensively introduce the importance of sustainability to business faculty and students; contributed to revised building design standards by crafting a sustainability appendix that serves as an umbrella set of requirements for all building projects; initiated a Spirit of Sustainability Awards program in 2013 to recognized faculty, staff, students, and alumni who have made significant contributions toward sustainability. In 2015 Auburn became the first college or university in Alabama to be achieve Bicycle Friendly University designation from the League of American Bicyclists. We received a Silver rating.


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 Operations Advisory Council partners with the Office of Sustainability to facilitate Auburn University’s movement toward sustainability.

The Advisory Council is comprised of students, faculty, staff, and administrators, and is organized and facilitated by the Office of Sustainability. The Advisory Council promotes sustainability across campus and collaborates with the Office of Sustainability to identify opportunities for progress, to assess sustainability performance, and prioritize, develop and implement new initiatives.


Members of each committee, including affiliations and role (e.g. staff, student, or faculty):

Christopher Anderson, School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences

Bliss Bailey, Executive Director, Office of Information Technology

Paul Brown, Associate Director, Cooperative Extension System

Nanette Chadwick, Director, Academic Sustainability Programs

Jeffrey Dumars, Campus Planning

Christine Eick, Executive Director, Risk Management & Safety

Kathryn Flynn, Assoc. Professor, School of Forestry & Wildlife Sciences; Director of Interdisciplinary Studies

Dan King, Assistant VP, Facilities

Charlene LeBleu, Associate Professor, Landscape Architecture

Bob Ritenbaugh, Asst. VP, Auxiliary Services

Jeff Steele, Associate Athletic Director for Facilities

Chandana Mitra, Asst. Professor, Dept. of Geosciences

Mignon Denton, Student;


The website URL where information about the sustainability committee(s) is available:
Does the institution have at least one sustainability office that includes more than 1 full-time equivalent (FTE) employee?:
Yes

A brief description of each sustainability office:

Mission
The Office of Sustainability exists to develop an ethic, practice, and culture of sustainability at Auburn University, and as a sustainability education and training resource for individuals and organizations within the university and in local, regional, national, and international communities.

What we do
The Office of Sustainability is a catalyst, facilitator, and resource for administrators, faculty, staff, students, and alumni to develop shared commitment, shared responsibility, collaboration, transparency, and accountability to fulfill Auburn's sustainability commitments.

The Office fosters a culture and practice of sustainability on campus that is expressed in the University's instructional, research, outreach, and operational activities. The Office also offers sustainability-related education and training, as well as planning and decision-making workshops and seminars for business, government, civic, and other groups.

Our approach
Sustainability is about creating a better future. As a result, our work is aspirational and focused on articulating and creating the future we want. We are committed to a servant leadership approach in working for the common good. Hope and expectation of progress are essential to our work.
Our primary focus is not problem solving. Problems are solved in the context of creating a positive, productive future.
Our fundamental values reflect faith in people and acknowledge the universal human desire to contribute to something larger than ourselves, to do and create something meaningful and lasting.
We work to enable others to realize their agency, their ability and power to be co-creators of the future. We engage people in specific, relevant efforts that make a difference in achieving a more sustainable society.


Full-time equivalent (FTE) of people employed in the sustainability office(s):
3.60

The website URL where information about the sustainability office(s) is available:
Does the institution have at least one sustainability officer?:
Yes

Name and title of each sustainability officer:
Michael Kensler, Director; Jen Morse, Communications & Outreach Manager; Amy Strickland, Program Manager; Nanette Chadwick, Director of Academic Sustainability Programs

A brief description of each sustainability officer position:

The Director is responsible for campus sustainability operations via oversight of Office of Sustainability interactions and initiatives with individuals, groups, and campus units: individual students and student groups, Facilities, Auxiliary Services, Student Affairs, Residence Life, Administration, Human Resources, Purchasing, Business Office, Colleges, Schools, Departments, individual faculty members, community members, and so on. The Director collaborates with the Academic Sustainability Program Director. The Office Director is responsible for Office of Sustainability strategic planning, staff supervision, and office leadership.
Communications & Outreach Manager is responsible for publications, communications, newsletters and other social media content; website development and content; programming with residence life; engagement with student groups; collaboration with Office of Communications and Marketing and campus communicators network; and oversight of monthly Campus Conversation events, etc.
Program Manager is responsible for Climate Action Plan, greenhouse gas inventory, recently completed sustainability report and ongoing updates; collaborating on website development and content; campus bike-friendly initiative and other transportation issues; liaison with Energy Management Team, and other operational aspects of university life.
Director of Academic Sustainability Programs oversees an interdisciplinary sustainability minor; conducts sustainability workshops for faculty; facilitates efforts toward sustainability-related interdisciplinary research projects; and enhancing sustainability in the curriculum.


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