| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 71.29 |
| Liaison | Holly Andersen |
| Submission Date | March 30, 2022 |
Bennington College
PA-1: Sustainability Coordination
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.00 / 1.00 |
Does the institution have at least one sustainability committee?:
The charter or mission statement of the committee(s) or a brief description of each committee's purview and activities:
The Sustainability Committee is made up of staff, faculty, and students from all areas of the College. The Committee's mission is to advance a shared sense of responsibility towards the social, economic, and environmental well being of the College and beyond in order to educate Bennington students and lead by example. The Committee's goals are to advance the ethic of sustainability in College operations, academics, and campus life and to build bridges between the College, the local community, and the world at large.
Members of each committee, including affiliations and role:
Staff: Holly Andersen, Project Manager for Buildings and Grounds; Andrew Schlatter, Vice President for Buildings and Grounds and Planning, Susan Scorbati, Director of The Liz Coleman Center for the Advancement for Public Action, and Steve Bohrer, Chef in Dining Services, Meredith McCoy, Vice President for Institutional Initiatives.
Students: Srichchha Pradham, Ethan Koss-Smith
Does the institution have at least one sustainability office that includes more than 1 full-time equivalent employee?:
A brief description of each sustainability office:
At Bennington, we believe that sustainability is everyone's responsibility, not just one person or one office. The sustainability working group has students, faculty, and staff working collaboratively to work on Bennington becoming a more sustainable institution everyday. This one full time equivalent employee resides in the President's office.
Full-time equivalent of people employed in the sustainability office(s):
Does the institution have at least one sustainability officer?:
Name and title of each sustainability officer:
Does the institution have a mechanism for broad sustainability coordination for the entire institution?:
A brief description of the activities and substantive accomplishments of the institution-wide coordinating body or officer during the previous three years:
Yes, we have a student life sustainability liaison who works closely with buildings and grounds to coordinate sustainability actions. In this role, they also work with other offices for sustainability initiatives. Ethan Koss- Smith filled this role most recently.
Job title of the sustainability officer position:
Job description for the sustainability officer position:
Job description for the sustainability officer position:
The Coordinator for Sustainable Initiatives has a flexible work role that may accommodate the interests of the person holding the position. The largest component of the role is maintaining relationships developed in prior years by students in the Coordinator position. Whichever student holds this role will also be the supervisor of the nascent student organization L.E.S.S, which was initially developed to be a conduit where students with specific opportunities can work on campus lands or to participate in events such as Waste Brand Audits, collection of stored inventory, tree planting and care, advocacy for issues. A student doing an excellent job in the role will:
develop this organization in the flexible manner of their choosing for the Fall-2021-Spring 2022 academic year
center their work on land stewardship
study and be familiar with concepts such as ecology, sustainability, and stewardship in class and outside of class
have the capacity to reason and attend to a diverse array of political, environmental, personal perspectives
collaborate with other students, faculty, and staff members such as groundskeepers and dining hall workers, Buildings and Grounds, Dining Services, Science Department, CAPA, IT, President's Office, among other disciplines and departments.
develop composting management in residential housing (with B&G), waste disposal for electronic waste (with B&G, IT), waste reduction throughout campus, student engagement with campus lands, and the management of an open-year round letter sharing program called Summon, Spring!
Will oversee and collaborate with student positions in Buildings and Grounds, Dining Services, IT, and other offices that develop positions in the years to come.
Job title of the sustainability officer position (2nd position):
Job description for the sustainability officer position (2nd position):
Job description for the sustainability officer position (2nd position):
Project Manager for the Planning Office. Coordinates sustainability in all capital projects.
Job title of the sustainability officer position (3rd position):
Job description for the sustainability officer position (3rd position):
Job description for the sustainability officer position (3rd position):
Vice President for Buildings and Grounds Office and Planning. Oversees campus operations and capital projects.
Website URL where information about the institution’s sustainability coordination is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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.