Colorado College
PA-2: Sustainability Planning

1. Integrate Sustainability into Curriculum Across Disciplines The fourth recommendation in Colorado College's 2013 strategic plan is to "enhance our distinctive place of learning-- our campus-- to support our engaged, globally connected academic community and embody our regional and historic identity". This recommendation includes emphasizing a "sense of place" in curriculum by utilizing the campus as a "living laboratory" and exploring "the themes important to the region-- healthy living, sustainability, the value of water, and the spirit of nature." Likewise, the plan outlines an effort to "ensure that the college is recognized as a model of environmental stewardship and innovation by advancing both the study and the practice of sustainability" and "integrating sustainability across the breadth of our curriculum more deeply and cultivating the ethic of sustainability in all aspects of campus programing." 2. Center for Immersive Learning and Engaged Teaching Colorado College's strategic plan includes a recommendation to provide new forms of resources and to support the block plan. It calls for the establishment of a Center for Immersive Learning and Engaged Teaching. This center will bring together the Office of Sustainability with a number of other current academic support programs such as community engagement, international programs, and the Crowne Center for Faculty Development. 3.The Hiring of CC's Sustainability Manager In 2013, Ian Johnson, CC's Sustainability Manager, was hired through the Dean's Office to further sustainability in curriculum through workshops, collaboration with the Dean, etc. The expectations are clearly and formally outlined in the Sustainability Manager job description. As of fall 2014, the Sustainability Manager's office has been moved to the dean's office suite to facilitate further collaboration between sustainability and academic planning. 4. Introduction of EV260 Sustainability through Land Use Policy Professor Phil Kannan well be introducing a 2 block course in the spring of 2015. In this course we will explore major land use policies, their impacts on sustainability, and possible innovations in land use policy that can lead to a more secure future. We will consider such questions as: How can land use policies mitigate global climate change and the harm it causes? How can land use policies promote the social and economic development within a community and at the same time reduce airpollution and habitat destruction? 4. Implementation of "Sustainability Across the Curriculum" Faculty Workshop The Sustainability Across the Curriculum workshop was a two-day faculty development workshop that took place directly after the end of classes last May 2014. It was designed to support faculty in incorporating sustainability learning in courses broadly across the curriculum (not only in the environmental sciences). Ten professors participated in the workshop, from ten different departments. The workshop included programming on foundational sustainability concepts, health and wellness, local history and sense of place. There was also time for open discussion and brainstorming ideas for courses. The goal was to support professors in redesigning an existing course or developing a new course that would focus on sustainability issues or incorporate a unit or module on sustainability. Faculty received a $500 stipend for participating in the workshop, with another $500 upon completion and approval for a course re-design. In addition, the participants are part of a continuing program as Faculty Sustainability Scholars. The scholars come together once a semester to discuss progress in developing courses. The will also hopefully provide support for future participants in the workshop. The workshop will be a yearly occurrence from here into the future.

1. Integrate Sustainability into Curriculum Across Disciplines The Strategic Plan's recommendation for has triggered the commencement of the Environmental Stewardship Knowledge Development Team Curriculum Subcommittee. The subcommittee has completed a report defining criteria for a sustainability designated course and recommending integration of a sustainability designation into the curriculum. The sustainability designation is being pursued and implemented by the Strategic Action Team for fall of 2016. 2. Center for Immersive Learning and Engaged Teaching A steering group made up of 6-9 faculty and staff will begin the Center’s work by setting in motion specific pilot projects to demonstrate how the Center will contribute to the mission of the College in the future. 3.Hiring of CC's Sustainability Manager Currently, the Office of Sustainability and the Associate Dean of the Faculty are collaborating to further the incorporation of sustainability learning objectives more broadly across disciplines. Last May 2014, the Office of Sustainability introduced the new Sustainability Scholars program, which offered faculty an opportunity earn $1,000 for attending a multi-day workshop on sustainability and systems thinking and redesigning a CC course that includes sustainability learning objectives within twelve months of the workshop. The program will now be held annually and the program's success will be measured by the number of course offerings introduced that include sustainability objectives. 4. Introduction of EV260 Sustainability through Land Use Policy The course will be taught during the spring of 2015.

-Chair of Strategic Action Team for Environmental Stewardship, Mike Siddoway -Sustainability Manager, Ian Johnson -Curriculum Development Intern, Kyra Wolf

Curriculum Intern for the Office of Sustainability, Kyra Wolf

1. The Hiring of CC's Sustainability Manager In 2013, the College hired its Sustainability Manager through the Dean's Office. The Sustainability Manager job description includes facilitating student leadership to organize sustainability related workshops, seminars, and conferences on campus; advising various campus sustainability groups such as the Synergy House, the CC Farm, and the Local LLC; fostering peer to peer educational efforts on campus through programs such as the ECO-Reps; updating and maintaining the campus sustainability website; disseminating promotional materials and publications;and supervising and educating the students involved in the sustainability intern program. 2. Semester in Environmental Education The College is currently piloting a residential Teaching and Research in Environmental Education (TREE) Program to start fully with undergraduate students in fall 2015 . The program involves a partnership between Colorado College and Catamount Center, an environmental non-profit organization that operates the Catamount Mountain Campus in Woodland Park, 40 minutes from Colorado College. Undergraduate participants would be teaching about 100 hours of environmental education over the course of the semester in the outdoors and in K-12 classrooms. Students competing the program will be eligible to apply for Colorado Association for Environmental Education basic and master level certifications. 3. The Global Sustainability Summer Internship Program is a summer program the college began offering the summer of 2013 in collaboration with the Foundation for Sustainable Development. The course revolves around a 9 week internship in Nicaragua, Bolivia, or India with a community-based organization working on a dimension of sustainable development. Through both theory and practice, the course engages fundamental debates over the goals, practices, and power dynamics of international development efforts. Additionally, each student is introduced to the larger social, political, economic, cultural, and geographic characteristics of their host country that impact local community development efforts. 4.The State of Sustainability Report was prepared in 2014 by the Office of Sustainability at the college in order to make the information present in the STARS report more accessible. The 2014 State of Sustainability outlined all of the school’s “best practices” and “priority actions.” The Campus Sustainability Council relied heavily on this document for guidance in specific areas of sustainability. Additionally, the document is referenced by current and incoming students, faculty, and staff for a briefing on CC sustainability. For 2015, we have prepared a State of Sustainability Update. This document details our progress since last year. The document highlights both the improvements we have made according to the AASHE STARS criteria as well as the areas we have fallen behind. The Office of Sustainability has prepared the State of Sustainability Report for two years and plans to continue writing this report as long as it still subscribes to the STARS reporting tool. This annual writing of this report is certainly current and formal as an intern in the Office of Sustainability is tasked with compiling the report each year alongside the Sustainability Director, Ian Johnson. The Sustainability Council, Sustainability Office, student body, and Administration all reference this report and hold the Office of Sustainability accountable for its progress as it is the method for which all of these groups stay updated on CC sustainability every year. 5. The Sustainability interns in the Office of Sustainability work to access various aspects of sustainability on campus and increase campus engagement by working in other offices and with different campus groups. A list of official intern titles are as follows: Student Intern Manager, Communications Intern, Buildings and Grounds Intern, Local Food Liaison, Sense of Place Intern, Curriculum Development Intern, Jr. State of Sustainability Intern, and Sr. State of Sustainability Intern. The interns promote initiatives around campus, such as "Sense of Place" or food justice, to name a few.

1. CC Sustainability Manager's Strategies to Advance Campus Engagement around Sustainability -The Office of Sustainability has revamped the ECO-Rep program to work in conjunction with campus RA's to enhance the value and effectiveness of the program. The modified ECO-RA program is new this year. Planned programs for the 2014-2012 include: Develop Criteria for a Green Dorm Room, promote the college-wide composting program, host informational events on college sustainability, offer sustainable alternatives to residents, such as drying racks, CFL lightbulbs, compost bins, etc, promote the RecyleMania competition, and brainstorm effective ways to mobilize students for Sustainability causes. -In fall of 2013, the Office of Sustainability hired a student intern to update the office's website and to restructure it according to the format of STARS. By making the website more user friendly, the Sustainability Manager hopes to increase community engagement in and awareness of the office's activities. -The RECS and carbon offset credits that CC receive's through various these various programs contribute to the larger goal of carbon neutrality.

-Sustainability Manager, Ian Johnson

1. Strategic Plan: Innovation Institute The third recommendation of the strategic plan outlines the development of an Innovation Institute, that would provide resources, structure, and encouragement to students and faculty as they investigate social and environmental challenges, understand the context in which they exist, identify sustainable solutions, and put them into action. The Institute will connect several of programs already in place that help students pursue ideas related to the environment and social entrepreneurship such as the State of the Rockies Project, the Keller Venture Grants, The Big Idea, and the Public Interest Fellowship Program. 2. ASHOKA Change-Maker Designation As Colorado College was awarded the ASHOKA Change-Maker Designation, the college has been able to pursue both the Global Sustainability Summer Internship Program as well as a zero-waste program in collaboration with Care and Share to encourage local engagement between the school and community. The zero-waste program turns food waste from donated expired food to Care and Share (a Colorado Springs non-profit) into animal feed. The program is partnered with Future Point Farms, which assesses the nutritional value of the feed and adds necessary nutrients. The program creates a revenue stream from products that would have otherwise been landfilled while also awarding the college with carbon offset credits. The Office of Sustainability has created a new internship position starting in the spring of 2015 dedicated solely to the zero-waste program with Care and Share. 3. K-12 Solar Panel Arrays The school is in the beginning planning stages of a program to place solar arrays on K-12 schools in District 11 and District 20 in Colorado Springs. The college intends to sell power to these schools at a reduced rate and keep the carbon offset credits gained from the renewable energy in order to get closer to its goal of carbon neutrality by 2020 as well as foster partnerships and mutually beneficial relationships with local schools. The project is on hold pending approval from the Board of Trustees in the future. 4. Colorado Springs Food Rescue The Colorado Springs Food Rescue works to collect wasted, thrown away food from local restaurants and businesses and distribute this food by bicycle to underserved community members. The student-run organization fosters relationships between the college, the marion house, local food kitchens, local businesses, and community members.

1. Strategic Plan: Innovation Institute CC's President Jill Tiefenthaler has appointed a strategic action team to further the execution of the Innovation Institute.

GSSI Program, Emily Chan K-12 Solar Arrays, Mark Ferguson Zero-Waste Program/Carbon Offsets, Ian Johnson ASHOKA Designation, Eric Popkin

1. Carbon Neutrality The Colorado College Sustainability Plan (CCSP) and a plan for carbon neutrality were presented to the Colorado College Board of Trustees in 2009. The Board voted formally to accept the CCSP on February 21st, 2009 and voiced support for committing to carbon neutrality. President Celeste signed the ACUPCC in April of 2009, with a target date for eliminating greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 and a long-term goal to become carbon-regenerative and a net energy producer. The college is currently working with local and community partners on innovative ways to meet this goal.

1. Carbon Neutrality In order to meet its ACUPCC goal, the College has adopted the following strategy: -Invest $22 million for local solar installation and a combined heat and power system at the College's Central Plant -Use savings from solar and central plant investments to fund efficiency strategies in existing buildings and at the Central Plant To ensure its compliance with the ACUPCC targeted emission reduction, the College set an interim milestone emission-reduction target of a 50% below the 2008 baseline level by 2015.

-Energy Manager, Mark Ferguson -Sustainability Manager, Ian Johnson

1. Strategic Plan: Sustainable Built Environment The strategy outlined in the strategic plan for its vision of a sustainable built environment: -The College will reinvent the campus master plan to include specific sustainability guidelines for current and future building projects. The master planning process is still underway, but is projected to be finished this spring. In the meantime, the college has also developed a High Performance Building Design Criteria to establish a procedural methodology to achieve and maintain high performance goals for new building projects and renovations of existing buildings. These goals are intended to go beyond the requirements of green building programs such as Energy Star, LEED, and Green Globes in order to achieve the most significant and beneficial long-term carbon footprint reductions. Currently the college is in the process of using these procedural guidelines to create a peer certification program for all schools in the Associated Colleges of the Midwest.

1. Strategic Plan: Sustainable Built Environment The President of the College has appointed a knowledge development team to oversee the initiative to develop a campus master plan. The team has established a timeframe for five primary objectives it wants to achieve by 2015, including interview and making a recommendation for an outside consultant, preparing a project plan for the completion of the master plan, preparing a progress report at the end of the 2013-14 academic year, submitting a preliminary concept plan to the president during the summer of 2014, and submitting the final proposed campus master plan to the President by early Fall 2014. The Knowledge development team has hired three design firms, Atkin, OLIN and Schade, to execute our campus Master Plan. The Master Plan architects have already shared Preliminary designs and solicited feedback. The new Master Plan includes more energy efficient buildings, more water-smart landscaping, and an East Campus Eco-Village. The eco-village is intended to be a residential are where pre-existing residential communities will gather around the shared goals of sustainable living and arts for social change.

-Facilities, George Eckhardt -Knowledge Development Team for the campus master plan, Robert Moore -Building and Grounds Intern, Benjamin Feldman

In the spring of 2015, students working for the Office of Sustainability conducted a food audit of Bon Appetite using the Real Food Calculator as part of the Real Food Challenge. The food audit assess the amount of sustainably grown, healthy, local food being offered at the college.The food audit performed by Colorado College students is a formal and current plan to advance sustainability both because it is institutionalized through a specific intern in the Office of Sustainability as well as further pursued by students interested in food. The food audit will be completed bi-annually by an Office of Sustainability intern as well as a group of students. By calculating the percentage of “real food” at Colorado College, the campus community may track that number bi-annually. Without a metric to understand the percentage of local and organic food, any initiative to advance sustainability in food services will not be fully informed. The completion of the Real Food Calculator is the first step in a progression of steps to advance the sustainability of Colorado College’s food.

1. Firm Natural Gas Transportation The firm natural gas transportation project is a change in the way the college buys natural gas at the central plant. Currently the college is on an interruptible rate meaning Colorado Springs Utilities can stop natural gas delivery to the school at any time. When this happens, facilities switches to the back-up fuel #2 fuel oil. This project moves the college from interruptible service to firm service meaning the school's service cannot be interrupted. As part of this project the College has contracted to purchase natural gas from Continuum Energy. 2. Campus Micro-Grid This project would create a campus micro grid to reduce carbon emissions by combining heat and power processes, reduce energy costs by peak shaving, and provide infrastructure to critical infrastructure to support emergency operations. Currently during a power outage, the college can operate the central plant but does not have power to circulate water through the buildings connected to the high temperature hot water distribution system. This project would construct a 400kW combined heat and power system at the central plant. The system would run off of natural gas and provide emergency power to the Worner Center to support cooking operations and El Pomar for use as an emergency shelter. The system would achieve carbon savings and payback by operating in parallel to with the utility grid during summer peak demand periods. This would reduce demand at the central plant, also known as, peak shaving. 3. Real Time Energy Dashboards This project is to create dashboards internal to our building automation system. These dashboards will provide building technicians real-time feedback on building operations. Getting this information in real-time will help technicians understand and manage building energy use. 4. Honnen LED Lighting Replace metal halide lighting in Honnen Ice Arena with more efficient LED lighting. 5. Schlessman LED Lighting Replace metal halide lighting in the Schlessman Pool with more efficient LED lighting. 6. Central Plant Controls Upgrade The central plant controls upgrade project will complete the automation of the central plant heating operation. The controls work includes adding system logic to allow for the modulation of the high temperature hot water system expansion tank and distribution system pumps. These controls will enable the central plant to adjust system temperature more frequently to help optimize central heating plant efficiency. The project will also add alarms for safety allowing the plant to be controlled remotely and left unmanned allowing central plant operators time to perform maintenance activities on the distribution system during the summer. 7. Worner Steam Generator The Worner steam generator project will add a steam generator to the Worner Center to support cooking operations and allow the temperature of the high temperature hot water loop to be lowered during the summer. Currently the campus high temperature hot water loop temperature during the summer is driven by the need for steam to support cooking operations at Worner Center. By removing this constraint, the centralized system will be able to run at a lower temperature. This will save energy by decreasing system losses in the campus distribution system.The seven projects listed in this reporting field are all current and formal plans to advance sustainability in energy. Each project is on a specific timeline and has been allotted a specific amount of funding from the annual Facilities Department budget. In the 2014 Energy Report prepared by Campus Energy Manager Mark Ferguson, all of these projects are listed under “2015 Facilities Sustainability Projects.” This report can be found at https://www.coloradocollege.edu/dotAsset/82ab62ed-dd72-4585-8df7-e1e0e1d05e3a.pdf.

1. Firm Natural Gas Transportation This was recently completed in October 2014 2. Campus Micro-Grid This project is in its developmental stage and is expected to be completed within 2 years. 3. Real Time Energy Dashboards This project is in its construction phase and is expected to be completed within 6 months. 5 buildings complete and 15 to go. 4. Honnen LED Lighting This project is in construction phase and is expected to by completed February 1 2015. 5. Schlessman LED Lighting This project is in its design phase and is expected to by completed May 1 2015. 6. Central Plant Controls Upgrade This project is in its construction phase and is expected to be completed February 28, 2015. 7. Worner Steam Generator This project is in its planning phase and is expected to be completed May 31, 2015.

Energy Manager, Mark Ferguson Campus Planner, Facilities Services, George Eckhardt

1. Strategic Plan: Sustainable Landscape Management The strategic plan outlines a commitment to sustainable landscape management. As part of its fourth recommendation, the plan states, "CC's identity as a distinctive place of learning depends on developing a relationship between the campus physical environment and the functions of our institution. In order to enhance our campus, we must provide sustainable landscape..that is in harmony with our educational mission and embodies our regional identity".

1. Strategic Plan: Sustainable Landscape Management To move forward with the the strategic plan's vision for greater sustainable landscape management, the College is currently interviewing consultants to help update the Campus Master Plan to include specific guidelines for sustainable landscaping. These plans will be completed by Spring 2015.

-Campus Planner, Facilities Services, George Eckhardt -Facilities Director, Chris Coulter

The Office of Sustainability and transportation services is in the process of creating a Veggie Van for the campus fleet. The van will be fueled with reclaimed vegetable oil from Rastall dining hall. The van will be used mostly by the Outdoor Recreation Club for outdoor expeditions. Colorado College has contributed $7500 to the City of Colorado Springs Bikeshare Feasibility Study and has appointed Ian Johnson, Sustainability Director and Chris Coulter, Facilities Director, as the college’s representatives. The formal study aims to develop a collaborative bikeshare program at strategic points within the City of Colorado Springs, including the downtown business district and the Colorado College campus and is developing the rollout plan and identifying funding sources to realize the project.

The Veggie Van will be used by the Outdoor Recreation Club for a spring break trip in the spring of 2015.

Sustainability Manager, Ian Johnson Student Lead on Project, Tom Crowe Transportation Manager, Bob Winkelblech

1. Waste Minimization Initiative The Waste Renovation Project seeks to develop a consistent and unified system of dealing with waste on campus by promoting the three streams of waste: Landfill, Recycling, and Compost. The project seeks to educate the community and reduce the amount of misplaced waste occurring at the school. The Waste Minimization Project is being pursued not only by the Office of Sustainability but also by Facilities Services and Campus Master Planner, George Eckhardt. The pilot portion of the project is now in its final stages of implementation and has a working budget of $45,000 including $10,000 awarded by the Campus Sustainability Council, making it a formally planned effort.

1. Waste Minimization Initiative Phase one of the project includes the standardization of trash, recycling, and compost bins on campus. The Sustainability Office seeks to put an RFP out, select a company, and develop a plan with short-term, mid-term, and long-term goals identified for the Waste Renovation Program to be complete in 2-3 years time.

Office of Sustainability Intern, Michael Stevens

1.Strategic Plan: Diversity and Inclusion The strategic plan identifies three primary areas in which to advance diversity and affordability: a. Building additional resources for financial aid in order to recruit talented students of all backgrounds b. Eliminating program fees to make field trips, blocks abroad, and other experiences accessible to students regardless of family income c. Fostering an inclusive campus culture that values different backgrounds, experiences, and ideas in order to attract and retain diverse faculty, staff, and administrators

1. Strategic Plan: Diversity and Inclusion To achieve its goal of fostering a more diverse and inclusive campus, the College is adopting innovative strategies for hiring and retention. For example, recently the College added a talent acquisition manager to the community to ensure that the institution does all it can to hire and retain a highly talented, diverse staff and faculty. Furthermore, President Tiefenthaler appointed an "action team" to ensure the execution of the diversity and inclusion goals included in the Strategic Plan. The team's objectives from 2013-14 include undertaking an inventory of student support services at CC, evaluating best practices at other liberal arts projects for supporting students from disperse backgrounds, and making recommendations for changes and/or new programs. The team will report on progress throughout the year.

Strategic Action Team for Diversity and Inclusion, Rochelle Masion Financial Aid Office

-The Wellness Resource Center is constantly working to understand student mental health and wellness, and stay on top of addressing these issues in a proactive and wholesome way. The Center plans to settle into a cycle of assessment including various surveys in order to track student issues as well as assess the Center's own effectiveness. -The Wellness Resource Center is also pursuing a 7-dimensional model of health and wellness, which includes environmental wellness, intellectual wellness, and spiritual wellness to list a few. More information about the 7-dimensional model of health and wellness can be found on the Wellness Resource Center's website https://www.coloradocollege.edu/other/wellness/.

-Last spring, the Wellness Resource Center at Colorado College administered a National College Health Association assessment. This assessment will be administered every 2-3 years so that data trends among students may be observed and the effectiveness of the Center's initiatives assessed. -The Campus Climate Survey will be administered in February of 2015. This survey looks at power and gender based violence among students. The survey will be completed annually or bi-annually so as to look at data trends and patterns and create effective campaigns to lessen these issues. -The Core Survey looks into substance use and abuse. The college plans to start this survey in the coming year.

Director of the Wellness Resource Center, Heather Horton

The Colorado College mission commits us to providing the finest Liberal Arts education in the country by embodying our core values. Among our core values are to live with integrity; serve as stewards of the traditions and resources of Colorado College; nurture a sense of place and an ethic of environmental sustainability; encourage engagement and social responsibility at local, national and global levels; and seek excellence, constantly assessing our policies and programs. Sustainability isn't optional for the Colorado College community; it's who we are and how we have defined ourselves. We aspire to make Colorado College a model for campus and community sustainability - an academic village that instantiates a commitment at all levels to a sustainable and desirable future, not only for the human economy but for the larger ecosystem in which it is embedded.

Sustainability is an integral part of the College's strategic plan. The State of Sustainability report is an annual publication started in 2014 which details best practices and priority actions for sustainability. The report outlines numerous opportunities in which to expand sustainability efforts on campus through areas such as diversity and inclusion, the built environment, landscaping, and campus and public engagement based upon the guidelines of STARS.

Colorado College Carbon Neutrality https://www.coloradocollege.edu/offices/sustainability/Campus/carbon-neutrality/? Strategic Plan https://www.coloradocollege.edu/other/strategicplan/progress/ The Waste Renovation Project has been stalled many times by red tape at the administrative level. We hope to have an RFP out to companies to bid on by Spring 2015 and have a company selected later in the spring or fall of 2015, hopefully beginning the initial phases of building before the end of fall 2015. This is an optimistic timeline and is certainly bound to change.