Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 75.90
Liaison Deborah Steinberg
Submission Date Dec. 6, 2021

STARS v2.2

Carnegie Mellon University
OP-9: Landscape Management

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.05 / 2.00 Steve Guenther
University Engineer and Assistant Vice President of Facilities Management and Campus Services
Facilities Management Services
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Total campus area:
157.20 Acres

Figures required to calculate the total area of managed grounds:
Area (double-counting is not allowed)
Area managed organically, without the use of inorganic fertilizers and chemical pesticides, fungicides and herbicides 5 Acres
Area managed in accordance with an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program that uses selected chemicals only when needed 95 Acres
Area managed using conventional, chemical-based landscape management practices 0 Acres
Total area of managed grounds 100 Acres

A brief description of any land excluded from the area of managed grounds:

57.2 acres removed for building footprint and impervious surfaces.


Percentage of grounds managed organically:
5

A brief description of the organic landscape management program:

CMU maintains natural hillsides on campus without the use of inorganic fertilizers and chemical pesticides, fungicides, and herbicides.


Percentage of grounds managed in accordance with an IPM program:
95

A copy of the IPM plan or program:
A brief description of the IPM program:
---

A brief description of the institution's approach to plant stewardship:

The use of native plant species in Carnegie Mellon University landscaping is currently encouraged and recommended by Division 2, Section 02950 of the university design guidelines.


A brief description of the institution's approach to hydrology and water use:

Only 5 acres (5%) of 100 acres of permeable campus grounds are irrigated. Stormwater capture and retention has been used for all new development projects in the past 10 years to reduce runoff and stress on the municipal combined storm sewer infrastructure. In addition, the university has installed several water reuse systems. In 2017, we installed a 275,000 gallon cistern under our historic quad that captures storm water for use in our cooling plant. A 6,000 gallon grey water system captures rain water in a storage tank to be used for irrigating the grounds around the MCIC building. The hillside near the Gates Hillman Complex was engineered to capture storm water runoff from the hillside. There are also over 41,000 sq ft of green roofs on campus buildings.

https://www.cmu.edu/environment/energy-water/stormwater.html


A brief description of the institution's approach to landscape materials management and waste minimization:

Carnegie Mellon University composts all plant materials waste through a recycling contractor.


A brief description of the institution's approach to energy-efficient landscape design:

CMU has installed approximately 41,000 sq ft of green roofs.


A brief description of other sustainable landscape management practices employed by the institution:
---

Website URL where information about the institution’s sustainable landscape management program 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.