Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 54.08
Liaison Andrew McMahan
Submission Date June 24, 2015
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

Central Carolina Community College
AC-8: Campus as a Living Laboratory

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 4.00 / 4.00 Laura Lauffer
Sustainability Coordinator
Sustainable Technologies
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Is the institution utilizing the campus as a living laboratory for multidisciplinary student learning and applied research in the following areas?:
Yes or No
Air & Climate No
+ Date Revised: Feb. 8, 2016
Buildings Yes
Dining Services/Food Yes
Energy Yes
Grounds Yes
Purchasing Yes
Transportation Yes
Waste Yes
Water Yes
Coordination, Planning & Governance Yes
Diversity & Affordability No
Health, Wellbeing & Work No
Investment No
Public Engagement Yes
Other No

A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Air & Climate and the positive outcomes associated with the work:

Curriculum, continuing education and the community (non course campus visitors) are exposed to the college's commitment to air quality and emissions reduction efforts via educational signage, course content, campus tours and publications. Students see 'real-life' examples of green building, renewable energy and air quality efforts on a daily basis in our LEED certified campus buildings on the Chatham County Campus.


A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Buildings and the positive outcomes associated with the work:

Students enrolled in SST 120 - Energy Use Analysis utilize the energy data collection capabilities of the Sustainable Technologies building on the Pittsboro campus for multiple labs in class. Students are able to compare energy use projections with the actual energy use of the building as well as learning about building performance monitoring software and its various uses.

+ Date Revised: Feb. 9, 2016

A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Dining Services/Food and the positive outcomes associated with the work:

Students enrolled in the Culinary Arts program operate the Natural Chef Cafe on the college's Pittsboro campus where they learn to utilize local and seasonally available foods. These foods are often purchased from local farmers or even procured from CCCC's student run organic farm.

By using the Natural Chef cafe a living laboratory CCCC is able to educate it's students on the importance of local foods while also providing healthy and delicious food to others at the college and our community.

+ Date Revised: Feb. 9, 2016

A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Energy and the positive outcomes associated with the work:

Students enrolled in ELC 220 - Introduction to Photovoltaic Systems and ALT 250 - Thermal Systems have installed multiple photovoltaic and solar thermal systems on campus as part of the hands-on learning experience for the courses. The college also has a large solar thermal system on the Sustainable Technologies classroom building, and a 100kw photovoltaic array that are used as models for system design and operation by students in these courses.

Students enrolled in these courses are able to obtain hands on experience and technical skills by using the college campus as a living laboratory for various energy projects.

+ Date Revised: Feb. 9, 2016

A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Grounds and the positive outcomes associated with the work:

Students enrolled in the Sustainable Agriculture program at CCCC utilize the 5-acre on-campus farm for a variety of educational experiences. Located less than 250 ft from classroom buildings, the student run farm is a certified organic farm that serves as a living laboratory for topics related to integrated pest management, organic crop production, soil science, greenhouse design, equipment maintenance, and other topics related to the operation of a small farm.

+ Date Revised: Feb. 9, 2016

A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Purchasing and the positive outcomes associated with the work:

The Issues in Sustainability Course (SST210) focuses on the practical applications of sustainability in the workplace. The college has numerous purchasing policies for computer purchasing, energy efficiency and paper demonstrating a commitment to sustainable purchasing practices.


A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Transportation and the positive outcomes associated with the work:

The Computer Information students worked collaboratively with the Sustainability Coordinator to create a staff ride share board as part of their semester long class project. This ride share web space was designed to reduce campus trips by faculty and staff.


A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Waste and the positive outcomes associated with the work:

The Natural Chef Culinary program collaborates with the Sustainable Agriculture program to manage all food waste from the culinary program. The food waste is transfered to the student farm for use in the both the worm composting and traditional composting process. Both student groups apply the concepts of the virtuous circle of food consumption (some of the food served comes directly from the farm) and waste management.


A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Water and the positive outcomes associated with the work:

The Sustainable Agriculture program uses rainwater catchment and high efficiency drip irrigation sysetms for the college farm. Students are trained in irrigation system design, management and maintenance for year round crop production.


A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Coordination, Planning & Governance and the positive outcomes associated with the work:

The college's commitment to the ACUPCC and STARS program on a Governance level (President's council approval) demonstrates a commitment to institutional sustainability. This example is used in both the Introduction to Sustainability course and Issues in Sustainability course as a demonstration of institutional commitment and HOW sustainability can be measured in the workplace.


A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Diversity & Affordability and the positive outcomes associated with the work:
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A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Health, Wellbeing & Work and the positive outcomes associated with the work:
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A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Investment and the positive outcomes associated with the work:
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A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Public Engagement and the positive outcomes associated with the work:

The college is home to a broadcasting and communications degree program. These students and faculty participate in sustainability programming by documenting via video sustainability events at the college. In turn these events are broadcast on the college tv station, 4CNC.


A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory in Other areas and the positive outcomes associated with the work:
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The website URL where information about the institution’s campus as a living laboratory program or projects is available:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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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.