Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 69.35
Liaison Mary Lucus
Submission Date March 14, 2016
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

Belmont University
PA-1: Sustainability Coordination

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 1.00 Mary Lucus
Director, IR
Provost
"---" 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:

Platinum LEED certification for the Wedgewood Academic Center, making Belmont the first University in Tennessee and the first LEED for New Construction project in Nashville to achieve that level, the highest in the LEED ratings system

Gold LEED certification for the Baskin Center and pending LEED applications for the Dining and Academic Complex

The removal of plastic water bottles across dining locations on campus

Free and available BLINK charging stations in parking garages, bike racks across campus and a campus wide car-sharing program to encourage more energy efficient modes of transportation

A composting system that converts food and cardboard waste into enriched soil additives through large dehydrators, reducing overall waste from food operations by 45 percent

A geothermal heating and cooling system under the Dining and Academic Complex that uses the Earth’s natural temperature to regulate interior climate

The recent designation as a Nashville Tree Foundation Arboretum and USA Tree Campus


University partnership with Metro Transit Authority (MTA) for students, faculty and staff to use public transportation to and from Belmont for free


Meters installed in all dorms to track electricity usage

Office of Campus Security recent switch to hybrid cars for officers

The use of recycled materials construction, wherever possible, and light harvesting technology to allow natural light


An innovative and interactive irrigation system that collects run-off rainwater in underground tanks and utilizes current weather data to dictate the need for water

Educational and sustainable green roofs which provide learning labs for students, while serving the environment through better building insulation

A partnership with Blessed Earth that includes the hosting of several sustainability events and Conscious College Tour that brought new information and a town hall meeting to campus to engage students in conversation about sustainability and living in an eco-friendly way

The formation of a new student organization, Slow Food Belmont, to practice and educate on urban gardening

A multi-pronged approach for recycling that includes labeled receptacles for paper, cardboard, plastic, aluminum and glass and designated locations for battery disposal, shredded documents and white paper

Belmont has increased its physical footprint by 27 percent since 2000, but in just the past 3 years, the University has driven down its electrical consumption by the same rate. That represents a savings of over 14 million kilowatt hours of energy a year, or enough electricity to power 1,349 homes and a savings of over 9,800 metric tons of greenhouse gasses.



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:

Mission Statement: Belmont University is a student-centered Christian community providing an academically challenging education that empowers men and women of diverse backgrounds to engage and transform the world with disciplined intelligence, compassion, courage and faith. Empowering men and women in a Christian community to engage and transform the world includes educating them to protect and care for Creation. Believing that the natural environment is a gift from God, the university will endeavor to model for its students and the broader community appropriate institutional behaviors which protect the environment including respect for and compliance with all applicable environmental laws and regulations.

The Sustainability Committee brings together decision makers from across campus to ensure that all areas of sustainability are being addressed in a systematic fashion.

Additionally, our School of Arts and Sciences has a separate sustainability committee that meets to discuss ways in which we can better promote sustainable practices within the College of Arts and Sciences. The committee is also involved in conducting research on campus about the practices and attitudes of faculty regarding sustainability efforts.


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

University-Wide Sustainability Committee Members:

1. Anthony Donovan--Director, Residence Life
anthony.donovan@belmont.edu
2. Keith Chapman--Director, Auxiliary Services
keith.chapman@belmont.edu
3. Greg Pillon--Director, Communications
greg.pillon@belmont.edu
4. Henry Lacher--Director, Facilities Management
henry.lacher@belmont.edu
5. Jason Rogers--V.P for Administration & General Counsel
jason.rogers@belmont.edu
6. Judy Fisher--President Fisher's spouse
fisher2030@comcast.net
7. Kyle Grover--Director, Food Services
kyle.grover@belmont.edu
8. Mark Grones--Facilities Management
mark.grones@belmont.edu
10. Steve Lasley--V.P., Finance and Operations
steve.lasley@belmont.edu
11. Todd Lake--V.P., Spiritual Development
todd.lake@belmont.edu
12. Benita Walker--Executive Assistant, VPSD
Benita.walker@belmont.edu
13. Lindsay Millward--ECO Club President
Lindsay.millward@pop.belmont.edu
14. Katelyn Keast--ECO Club Vice President
Katelyn.keast@pop.belmont.edu
15. John Niedzwiecki--Faculty Member
John.Niedzwiecki@belmont.edu
16. John Carney--Senior Director of Marketing
John.Carney@belmont.edu
17. April Hefner--Associate Dir. of Communications
April.Hefner@belmont.edu
18. Jonathan Rankin--Student Body President
jonathan.rankin@belmont.edu


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?:
No

A brief description of each sustainability office:

Belmont University has achieved remarkable sustainability outcomes using a decentralized model of planning and implementation. Instead of a central sustainability office and coordinator, we have vested both the responsibility--and authority-- for new initiatives in the relevant operational and academic areas. This has led to remarkable results: Belmont has the first LEED platinum academic building built in Tennessee; irrigation of the campus is done using water captured and reused on campus; there are 14 green roofs on campus, including one with an apiary; all garden and lawn clipping are composted, as is all food waste in the new 1,000-seat cafeteria; and the energy use per student had fallen dramatically each year due to new initiatives in lighting, heating, and cooling. This is all done by those in the best position to assess the opportunities and make the relevant decisions to implement quick and consequential change.


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

The website URL where information about the sustainability office(s) is available:
---

Does the institution have at least one sustainability officer?:
No

Name and title of each sustainability officer:
---

A brief description of each sustainability officer position:

Belmont University has achieved remarkable sustainability outcomes using a decentralized model of planing and implementation. Instead of a central sustainability office and coordinator, we have vested both the responsibility--and authority-- for new initiatives in the relevant operational and academic areas. This had led to remarkable results: Belmont has the first LEED platinum academic building built in Tennessee; irrigation of the campus is done using water captured and reused on campus; there are 14 green roofs on campus, including one with an apiary; all garden and lawn clipping are composted, as is all food waste in the new 1,000-seat cafeteria; and the energy use per student had fallen dramatically each year due to new initiatives in lighting, heating, and cooling. This is all done by those in the best position to assess the opportunities and make the relevant decisions to implement quick and consequential change.


The website URL where information about the sustainability officer(s) is available:
---

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

Belmont University has achieved remarkable sustainability outcomes using a decentralized model of planing and implementation. Instead of a central sustainability office and coordinator, we have vested both the responsibility--and authority-- for new initiatives in the relevant operational and academic areas. This had led to remarkable results: Belmont has the first LEED platinum academic building built in Tennessee; irrigation of the campus is done using water captured and reused on campus; there are 14 green roofs on campus, including one with an apiary; all garden and lawn clipping are composted, as is all food waste in the new 1,000-seat cafeteria; and the energy use per student had fallen dramatically each year due to new initiatives in lighting, heating, and cooling. This is all done by those in the best position to assess the opportunities and make the relevant decisions to implement quick and consequential change.


Belmont University has achieved remarkable sustainability outcomes using a decentralized model of planing and implementation. Instead of a central sustainability office and coordinator, we have vested both the responsibility--and authority-- for new initiatives in the relevant operational and academic areas. This had led to remarkable results: Belmont has the first LEED platinum academic building built in Tennessee; irrigation of the campus is done using water captured and reused on campus; there are 14 green roofs on campus, including one with an apiary; all garden and lawn clipping are composted, as is all food waste in the new 1,000-seat cafeteria; and the energy use per student had fallen dramatically each year due to new initiatives in lighting, heating, and cooling. This is all done by those in the best position to assess the opportunities and make the relevant decisions to implement quick and consequential change.

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