California Polytechnic State University
PA-2: Sustainability Planning

Goal 4D: Address real-world problems, such as environmental sustainability, through interdisciplinary and international experiences as well as community and industry partnerships.

- Student demand and completion of degree programs, subprograms and General Education pathways
- Tracking of career placement, starting salaries and graduate school enrollment post-graduation
- Measures of efciency and productivity based on student credit units and weighted teaching
units
- Number of new interdisciplinary programs and subprograms

https://www.calpoly.edu/sites/calpoly.edu/files/2020-03/ADA_strategic_plan_text032320.pdf

Goal 5A: Encourage the development of an ethos of individual social responsibility in every student.

- Surveys of student engagement (National Survey of Student Engagement, National College Health Assessment, Housing Skyfactor, National College Bystander)
- Student satisfaction with campus dining and residential amenities
- Student participation in co-curricular programs
- Student focus group results
- Freshman and transfer student 4- and 6-year graduation rates

https://www.calpoly.edu/sites/calpoly.edu/files/2020-03/ADA_strategic_plan_text032320.pdf

Goal 7D: Ensure the sustainability of the whole campus environment by making it smart, resilient and carbon neutral.

- Facilities Condition Index (Deferred Maintenance/Current Value of Facilities); 5-year trend analysis
- Actual Space Inventory/Predicted Space Needs (Per CSU guidelines and CP space model); 5-year trend analysis
- Monitor institutional fnances through annual fnancial ratio trend analysis: Composite Financial Index, Operating Expense Ratio, Primary Reserve Ratio, Annual Operating Margin Ratio, Return on Net Position, Viability Ratio, Debt Burden Ratio
- Numbers of individuals and percentage of alumni who contribute philanthropically to Cal Poly
- Percentage of the Capital Campaign goal reached or exceeded
- Rates of increased communication from campus leaders

https://www.calpoly.edu/sites/calpoly.edu/files/2020-03/ADA_strategic_plan_text032320.pdf

STRATEGIC PRIORITY 3:
Enrich the Campus Culture of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Goal 3A: Create an aligned and cohesive focus on diversity and inclusion across the university.
Goal 3B: Create and sustain a more diverse, equitable and inclusive university community that
reflects and serves the diverse people of California.
Goal 3C: Prepare all students for their future through an education that includes diversity learning
and reflects the principles of Inclusive Excellence.
Goal 3D: Further develop a campus climate that refects the values of diversity, equity and inclusion
as well as free inquiry and mutual respect.
Metrics we will use to measure progress
• CPX Campus Climate Survey outcomes from one survey period to another
• CPX Action Plan including the Score Cards
• Student, staff and faculty demographics relative to the State of California
• Enrollment, retention and graduation of students from under-represented, low-income
and first generation backgrounds
• Frequency and number of bias incidents reported
• Donations received for diversity and inclusion initiatives

https://www.calpoly.edu/sites/calpoly.edu/files/2020-03/ADA_strategic_plan_text032320.pdf

Cal Poly fosters teaching, scholarship, and service in a learn-by-doing environment where students, staff, and faculty are partners in discovery. As a polytechnic university, Cal Poly promotes the application of theory to practice. As a comprehensive institution, Cal Poly provides a balanced education in the arts, sciences, and technology, while encouraging cross-disciplinary and co-curricular experiences. As an academic community, Cal Poly values free inquiry, cultural and intellectual diversity, mutual respect, civic engagement, and social and environmental responsibility.

This statement is highlighted on all job descriptions for hiring any position at the university and serves to highlight the value of sustainability at Cal Poly. In order for this statement to be included in all hiring documents it was approved by the University Executive Leadership.

Cal Poly defines sustainability as the ability of the natural and social systems to survive and thrive together to meet current and future needs. The Sustainability Learning Objectives (SLOs) state that all Cal Poly graduates should be able to:
-Define and apply sustainability principles within their academic programs.
-Explain how natural, economic, and social systems interact to foster or prevent sustainability.
-Analyze and explain local, national, and global sustainability using a multidisciplinary approach.
-Consider sustainability principles while developing personal and professional values.

Second Nature
California AB32, the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, set groundbreaking goals for the state to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020, and 80% below 1990 levels by 2050. The CSU chose to go beyond state mandates in its 2014 Sustainability Policy, aiming to reduce GHG emissions to 80% below 1990 levels by 2040 – ten years ahead of the state goal. Greenhouse gas emissions are broken down into three categories:

Scope 1 – Direct on-site emissions (combustion of fossil fuel, fleet vehicles, ag ops, refrigerants)
Scope 2 – Emissions from purchased utilities (electricity, water)
Scope 3 – Emissions not under direct control (commuting, business travel, waste water, solid waste)
Under CSU Policy, campuses are responsible to quantify and reduce their Scope 1 and 2 emissions to reach the 2020 and 2040 goals. Campuses that have signed the Second Nature Climate Leadership Commitment are also responsible to reduce Scope 3 emissions as part of Climate Action Plans to achieve neutrality as soon as possible. For Earth Day of 2016, President Armstrong made Cal Poly a Charter Signatory to the Climate Leadership Commitment, establishing a goal for Cal Poly to achieve net zero emissions from all sources by 2050.

The Climate Commitment also requires Cal Poly collaborate with local government to achieve Climate Resilience – preparing not only buildings, grounds and infrastructure, but programs and support services to withstand the increasing effects of climate change, such as:

Sea level rise, extended drought, fire, flood, and extreme temperatures
Loss of biodiversity, invasive species, and infectious disease
Disruption of water and energy supply, overloading of community and emergency services

Talloires Declaration
Composed in 1990 at an international conference in Talloires, France, the declaration is the first official statement made by university administrators of a commitment to environmental sustainability in higher education. The Talloires Declaration is a ten-point action plan for incorporating sustainability and environmental literacy in teaching, research, operations and outreach at colleges and universities. Cal Poly became a signatory of the Talloires Declaration in 2004. With the leadership of President Warren Baker, the passionate commitment of faculty, staff, and students, and the ongoing work of two University Sustainability Committees, significant progress has been made on all ten points of the action plan.