Cleveland State University
PA-2: Sustainability Planning

Strategies relating to curriculum in the 2013 CSU Climate Action Plan included the following:

Develop new and extend campus-wide curriculum development programs featuring the following:
a. Design and deliver faculty workshops on sustainability and energy.
b. Develop a 2 + 2 undergraduate program on energy systems to educate energy professionals to frame the value proposition of advanced and distributed energy generation in light of the entire system, including regulatory, environmental, and business considerations.
c. Develop a cross-disciplinary program at the graduate school level involving business, law, policy, engineering and environmental sciences on clean energy.

A draft CSU Sustainability Plan has been developed for 2020-2025. Sustainability objectives that address sustainability in curriculum and/or research include:

Education
Target: Increase the number of students enrolled in sustainability related programs

Priority Actions:
• Provide coursework opportunities for students to gain the knowledge, skills, and motivation to understand and address the challenges of sustainability including systems thinking, critical thinking, integrated problem-solving, creativity, entrepreneurship, social responsibility and collaboration
• Support the creation of new sustainability-related curricula and programming including interdisciplinary majors, minors, and/or certificates
• Develop a sustainability literacy program for CSU faculty and academic leadership to encourage adoption of sustainability concepts and competencies into their classes and academic programs
• Utilize the campus as a living laboratory in order to link operational and academic aspects of the university
• Promote engaged learning and increase student’s ecological literacy through internships, professional development, and work experience opportunities
• Facilitate the inclusion of sustainability-themed courses into general education credit options or modify at least one existing general education course to include the concepts of sustainability
• Implement sustainability course requirements at the department level or tailored to individual majors
• Enhance promotion of environmental degrees offered by the University

Research
Target: Increase the number of sustainability related research projects at CSU
Priority Actions:
• Expand opportunities for multidisciplinary and sustainability related research and innovation
• Utilize the campus as a living laboratory for faculty and students to implement new ideas and track results over time
• Expand collaboration between academic and operational units
• Raise the visibility of faculty research in sustainability
• Connect with industry and community collaborators to support applied sustainability research
• Leverage regional partnerships through the Cleveland Water Alliance to address research needs, aid workforce development and build capacity for leadership in the water sector
• Seek external research funding to support research on sustainability topics and disseminate results to the region

The 2013 CSU Climate Action Plan outlined the following strategies for campus engagement:

Build enhanced engaged learning opportunities and workforce development/co-op opportunities on and off campus for students through campus and community partnerships.
Make available for resident life co-curricular best practices and collaborate on developing on-campus activities to educate students about sustainability, energy and their implications for the future through collaboration with the student life office. This will support the university’s retention programs.

A draft CSU Sustainability Plan has been developed for 2020-2025. Sustainability objectives related to engagement include:

Civic Engagement
Target: Cultivate and expand community partnerships to problem-solve across borders, share strategies and provide engaged learning opportunities for CSU students

Priority Actions:
• Expand sustainability themed internships, cooperatives, professional development, and work experience opportunities for students through campus and community partnerships
• Provide employment pathways for students in environmental fields to meet the growing need for sustainability professionals in key Ohio industries such as freshwater management
• Supply the NEO economy with graduates who can solve complex problems
• Seek and maintain memberships in professional organizations that enhance the University’s sustainability initiatives

Campus Engagement
Priority Actions:
• Include sustainability information in new student programs, Residence Life, campus tours and new staff orientation
• Engage dorm residents in energy, water and waste reduction efforts
• Develop Green Office and Green Lab guides
• Seek innovative technologies or initiatives to implement as demonstration projects on campus
• Establish programs where students proactively promote energy conservation (eg Friday Night Lights Out)
• Increase sustainability-related service learning opportunities
• Include sustainability targets and metrics in CSU’s annual reports
• Develop interface that allow users to visualize building resource usage (electricity, steam, emissions, water)
• Consider environmental, social, governance, and ethical issues in managing institutional investment assets

The 2013 CSU Climate Action Plan outlines a carbon neutrality (Scopes 1+2) target date of 2060. The stated energy goal was to reduce building energy consumption by at least 20% by the end of FY 2014 compared to FY 2004.

A draft CSU Sustainability Plan has been developed for 2020-2025. Sustainability objectives related to operations include:

Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Target: Reduce annual Scope 1 and 2 emissions (from a 2007 baseline):
o 40% by 2025
o 70% by 2035
o 100% by 2045 (carbon neutral)

Energy Efficiency
Target: Reduce EUI (energy use intensity) per square foot 25% by 2030 (from a 2007 baseline)

Renewable Energy
Target: Use 50% renewable electricity by 2020 and 100% by 2030

New Construction
Target: All new construction will achieve LEED Silver certification at a minimum

Water Conservation
Target: Decrease water consumption 50% by 2030 (from a 2005 baseline)

Green Cleaning
Target: Increase percentage of certified cleaning and janitorial paper products used in custodial applications.

The 2019-2020 Diversity Action Plan contains practical objectives designed to impact diversity at CSU.

Faculty and staff diversity goals include:
Increase Black/African American management staff from 14% to 20% in ten years.
Increase Black/African American faculty from 5% to 10% in ten years.

Student diversity goals include:
Increase Black/African American student population from 16% to 22% in ten years.
Increase graduation rate of Black/African American students from 22% to 42% in 10 years.

A draft CSU Sustainability Plan has been developed for 2020-2025. Sustainability objectives related to administration include:

Diversity and Inclusion
Objective: Provide supportive, inclusive and safe working and learning environments for all people with particular attention to traditionally marginalized groups including students of color, people from socially disadvantaged backgrounds, differently-abled individuals, women, LGBTQIA+ individuals, and people from diverse cultural and faith communities.

Target: Increase faculty/staff diversity and increase retention and graduation/completion rates of students with a focus on traditionally marginalized student populations*
* Targets are outlined in detail in the 2019-2020 Diversity Report and Action Plan: Engaged Equity
https://www.csuohio.edu/engagement/diversity-report-action-plan

CSU originally signed the American College & University Presidents' Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) on 2/7/2011 and has maintained membership in the program, now renamed Second Nature’s Carbon Commitment.