Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 54.25
Liaison Sarah Fortner
Submission Date March 1, 2019
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Carleton College
EN-11: Inter-Campus Collaboration

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.00 / 3.00 Alexandra Miller
Sustainability Program Coordinator
Energy and Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Is the institution an active member of a national or international sustainability network?:
Yes

The name of the national or international sustainability network(s):
Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, AASHE Association for Energy Engineers, AEE

Is the institution an active member of a regional, state/provincial or local sustainability network?:
Yes

The name of the regional, state/provincial or local sustainability network(s):
Upper Midwest Association for Campus Sustainability, UMACS Greater Northfield Sustainability Collaborative, GNSC

Has the institution presented at a sustainability conference during the previous year? :
Yes

A list or brief description of the conference(s) and presentation(s):
UMACS (Upper Midwest Association for Campus Sustainability) conference, Waste Audits as a Successful Education Tool AASHE (Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education) conference, Sustaining Ourselves IDEA (International District Energy Association) Conference, District Energy Engagement: What's the big deal about pipes, boilers, and decarbonization?

Has the institution submitted a case study during the previous year to a sustainability awards program that is inclusive of multiple campuses? :
No

A list or brief description of the awards program(s) and submission(s):
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Has the institution had staff, students or faculty serving on a board or committee of a sustainability network or conference during the previous three years? :
Yes

A list or brief description of the board or committee appointment(s):
The Sustainability Program Coordinator sits on the steering committee for UMACS, the Upper Midwest Association for Campus Sustainability The Sustainability Program Coordinator and the Manager of Campus Energy and Sustainability sit on the GNSC, the Greater Northfield Sustainability Collaborative. This group works with St. Olaf College (the other college in Northfield), community members, and city council to advance community sustainability.

Does the institution have an ongoing mentoring relationship with another institution through which it assists the institution with its sustainability reporting and/or the development of its sustainability program?:
Yes

A brief description of the mentoring relationship and activities:
Minnesota has a strong regional network of sustainability professionals who meet regularly and do an annual retreat to discuss best practices and new ideas. We maintain our relationship throughout the year. Carleton also specifically advised St. Olaf College on their composting and EV charging stations. We have also fielded numerous calls and done presentations for fellow liberal arts colleges on our steam to hot water and geothermal utility conversion. We have developed a website and an online presentation, specifically aimed at guiding these discussions with our peers. Utility Master Plan Website: go.carleton.edu/geothermal

Has the institution had staff, faculty, or students serving as peer reviewers of another institution’s sustainability data (e.g. GHG emissions or course inventory) and/or STARS submission during the previous three years?:
No

A brief description of the peer review activities:
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Has the institution participated in other collaborative efforts around sustainability during the previous year, e.g. joint planning or resource sharing with other institutions? :
Yes

A brief description of other collaborative efforts around sustainability during the previous year:
An annual gathering called Sustaining Ourselves is a networking retreat for sustainability staff in the greater Minnesota area. Ideas, resources, etc. are shared at this event. The Sustainability Program Coordinator co-presents with representatives from Macalester and the University of Minnesota on the above-mentioned retreat. We visited Swarthmore in 2017 for a knowledge exchange and presented on the Utility Master Plan. Carleton also gathered with facilities directors and managers throughout the twin cities are for a discussion and tour at Macalester college in 2018.

Optional Fields 

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
http://umacs.org/

Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
We do not have a specific website dedicated to cross-campus collaboration since it is embedded within many of our campus sustainability activities. Carleton's sustainability website also references partnerships with various on-campus departments and organizations including: - Environmental Studies - Carleton Arboretum - Custodial Management - Facilities Department - Center for Civic and Community Engagement (CCCE) - Registrar's Office - Career Center - Students Organized for Protection of the Environment (SOPE) - Farm Club, Farm Interns - Engineers Without Borders - CANOE (outdoors group)

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.