Overall Rating Bronze - expired
Overall Score 30.79
Liaison Rebecca Jones
Submission Date March 2, 2018
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Austin College
PA-2: Sustainability Planning

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 4.00 Kelby Archer
Coordinator
Center for Environmental Studies
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Published Plans That Address Sustainability 

Strategic Plan

Does the institution have a published strategic plan or equivalent guiding document that includes sustainability at a high level? :
Yes

A brief description of how the institution’s strategic plan or equivalent guiding document addresses sustainability:
Our 2015-2020 Strategic Plan includes a section titled "Sustainability in the New Economy." Here's the description of that section as reported in the Strategic Plan: "We will work to make an Austin College education even more affordable and its opportunities more accessible to all talented students, including first-generation college students, international students, transfer students, early-access college students, and others who could benefit from expanded opportunities. We will aim for a student body of at least 1,450—larger than our current size but still well within our capacity—in order to stabilize our financial health. We will create new revenue-producing programs that build on our strength in liberal arts education. And we will launch a comprehensive fundraising campaign that will move Austin College to the next level of competitiveness and excellence."

A copy of the strategic plan:
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The website URL where the strategic plan is publicly available:
http://www.austincollege.edu/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/StrategicPlan-2015-2020.pdf

Sustainability Plan 

Does the institution have a published sustainability plan (apart from what is reported above)? :
No

A copy of the sustainability plan:
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The website URL where the sustainability plan is publicly available:
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Climate Action Plan 

Does the institution have a published climate action plan (apart from what is reported above)? :
Yes

A copy of the climate action plan:
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The website URL where the climate action plan is publicly available:
http://reporting.secondnature.org/media/uploads/cap/1320-cap.pdf

Other Published Plans 

Does the institution have other published plans that address sustainability or include measurable sustainability objectives (e.g. campus master plan, physical campus plan, diversity plan, human resources plan)? :
No

A list of other published plans that address sustainability, including public website URLs (if available):
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Measurable Sustainability Objectives 

Curriculum

Taken together, do the plan(s) reported above include measurable sustainability objectives that address Curriculum?:
No

A list or sample of the measurable sustainability objectives that address Curriculum and the published plans in which each objective is included:
N/A

Research 

Taken together, do the plan(s) reported above include measurable sustainability objectives that address Research?:
No

A list or sample of the measurable sustainability objectives that address Research and the published plans in which each objective is included:
N/A

Campus Engagement 

Taken together, do the plan(s) reported above include measurable sustainability objectives that address Campus Engagement?:
No

A list or sample of the measurable sustainability objectives that address Campus Engagement and the published plans in which each objective is included:
None

Public Engagement 

Taken together, do the plan(s) reported above include measurable sustainability objectives that address Public Engagement?:
Yes

A list or sample of the measurable sustainability objectives that address Public Engagement and the published plans in which each objective is included:
The 2015-2020 Strategic Plan includes these objectives: "1. We will create an endowed center to support economic and cultural development in our region. The center will provide robust data and bring multiple stakeholders together in order to respond to our region’s largest challenges. By 2020, the center will be fully endowed. 2. We will build on our successful culture of service to include service-learning opportunities and linkages between global and local service. By 2020, service learning as high-impact pedagogy will be available to students in a wide range of academic programs."

Air & Climate 

Taken together, do the plan(s) reported above include measurable sustainability objectives that address Air & Climate?:
Yes

A list or sample of the measurable sustainability objectives that address Air & Climate and the published plans in which each objective is included:
Our Climate Action Plan lays out the following objectives: "Our revised climate action plan is based on three key elements: continued purchase of renewable energy credits to offset 100% of electricity consumption; an annual target of 0.75% reduction in electricity and natural gas consumption; and purchase of an incrementally increasing number of carbon offsets beginning in fiscal year 2025 to achieve carbon neutrality in fiscal year 2035."

Buildings 

Taken together, do the plan(s) reported above include measurable sustainability objectives that address Buildings?:
No

A list or sample of the measurable sustainability objectives that address Buildings and the published plans in which each objective is included:
N/A

Energy 

Taken together, do the plan(s) reported above include measurable sustainability objectives that address Energy?:
Yes

A list or sample of the measurable sustainability objectives that address Energy and the published plans in which each objective is included:
We have a goal of continued purchase of renewable energy credits to offset 100% of electricity consumption and an annual target of 0.75% reduction in electricity and natural gas consumption. A greenhouse gas emissions inventory (campus wide) is completed every other year to assess our progress. We will also seek to reduce electricity and natural gas consumption by 0.75% per year. Details are written in our 2016 Climate Action Plan. http://rs.acupcc.org/site_media/uploads/cap/1307-cap_1.pdf

Food & Dining 

Taken together, do the plan(s) reported above include measurable sustainability objectives that address Food & Dining?:
No

A list or sample of the measurable sustainability objectives that address Food & Dining and the published plans in which each objective is included:
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Grounds 

Taken together, do the plan(s) reported above include measurable sustainability objectives that address Grounds?:
No

A list or sample of the measurable sustainability objectives that address Grounds and the published plans in which each objective is included:
N/A

Purchasing 

Taken together, do the plan(s) reported above include measurable sustainability objectives that address Purchasing?:
No

A list or sample of the measurable sustainability objectives that address Purchasing and the published plans in which each objective is included:
N/A

Transportation 

Taken together, do the plan(s) reported above include measurable sustainability objectives that address Transportation?:
No

A list or sample of the measurable sustainability objectives that address Transportation and the published plans in which each objective is included:
N/A

Waste 

Taken together, do the plan(s) reported above include measurable sustainability objectives that address Waste?:
No

A list or sample of the measurable sustainability objectives that address Waste and the published plans in which each objective is included:
N/A

Water 

Taken together, do the plan(s) reported above include measurable sustainability objectives that address Water?:
No

A list or sample of the measurable sustainability objectives that address Water and the published plans in which each objective is included:
N/A

Diversity & Affordability 

Taken together, do the plan(s) reported above include measurable sustainability objectives that address Diversity & Affordability?:
Yes

A list or sample of the measurable sustainability objectives that address Diversity & Affordability and the published plans in which each objective is included:
The 2015-2020 Strategic Plan includes the following objectives regarding diversity and affordability: "We will work to make an Austin College education even more affordable and its opportunities more accessible to all talented students, including first-generation college students, international students, transfer students, early-access college students, and others who could benefit from expanded opportunities." Additionally, the Inclusion and Diversity Task Force Summary Report contains numerous recommendations and objectives regarding diversity.

Investment & Finance 

Taken together, do the plan(s) reported above include measurable sustainability objectives that address Investment & Finance?:
No

A list or sample of the measurable sustainability objectives that address Investment & Finance and the published plans in which each objective is included:
N/A

Wellbeing & Work 

Taken together, do the plan(s) reported above include measurable sustainability objectives that address Wellbeing & Work?:
No

A list or sample of the measurable sustainability objectives that address Wellbeing & Work and the published plans in which each objective is included:
N/A

Other Impact Areas 

Taken together, do the plan(s) reported above include measurable sustainability objectives that address other areas (e.g. arts and culture or technology)?:
No

A list or sample of the measurable sustainability objectives that address other areas and the published plans in which each objective is included:
N/A

Optional Fields 

Does the institution have a formal statement in support of sustainability endorsed by its governing body (e.g. a mission statement that specifically includes sustainability and is endorsed by the Board of Trustees)? :
Yes

The formal statement in support of sustainability:
In 2011, President Marjorie Hass and the Board of Trustees launched Austin College Thinking Green, which included the following mission statement: "The mission of Austin College Thinking Green is to facilitate attitudes, behaviors, policies, and technologies that promote environmental responsibility, reduce resource consumption, and minimize waste production."

The institution’s definition of sustainability (e.g. as included in a published statement or plan):
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Is the institution an endorser or signatory of the following?:
Yes or No
The Earth Charter No
The Higher Education Sustainability Initiative (HESI) No
ISCN-GULF Sustainable Campus Charter No
Second Nature’s Carbon Commitment (formerly known as the ACUPCC), Resilience Commitment, and/or integrated Climate Commitment Yes
The Talloires Declaration (TD) No
UN Global Compact No
Other multi-dimensional sustainability commitments (please specify below) Yes

A brief description of the institution’s formal sustainability commitments, including the specific initiatives selected above:
In 2008, President Oscar Page signed the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment (now the Second Nature Carbon Commitment), which addresses greenhouse gas emissions. Nine years later, in 2017, President Marjorie Hass signed the "We Are Still In" Declaration, which affirms Austin College's commitment to uphold the Paris Climate Agreement.

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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