| Overall Rating | Silver |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 48.20 |
| Liaison | Lauren Poole |
| Submission Date | Dec. 10, 2021 |
Colorado School of Mines
PA-1: Sustainability Coordination
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.00 / 1.00 |
Lauren
Poole Sustainability Coordinator EHS |
Does the institution have at least one sustainability committee?:
The charter or mission statement of the committee(s) or a brief description of each committee's purview and activities:
Mines has two Sustainability Committees: a smaller Advisory Committee that deals with high level topics and a larger Sustainability Committee that deals with implementation and planning. The Sustainability Advisory Committee, comprised of faculty and staff, provides strategic planning and sets long-term sustainability goals for the campus. The larger Sustainability Committee is a conduit for getting information out to different departments and students as well as a resource for providing feedback and ideas on campus sustainability. The smaller Advisory Committee comprises a few select directors and faculty members from the larger Sustainability Committee.
Responsibilities of Sustainability Committee:
• Develop an annual set of sustainability goals based on their area of expertise and planned actions designed to further promote and advance an institutional culture of sustainability.
• Publicize and communicate current university sustainability initiatives to the university community through their departments.
• Report to committee on sustainability improvements or concerns in their respective areas.
• Assess the completeness and progress of university sustainability efforts as compared to national benchmark institutions.
• Conduct an annual review of operations in terms of sustainability; Help to produce an annual report of active university sustainability efforts and activities in the areas of business operations, education, research and community engagement.
• Conduct and promote campus events, workshops, and exhibits focused on enhancing sustainability efforts and practices so as to more fully engage students, faculty and staff in this topic.
• Create and appoint task forces or subcommittees as may be appropriate to advise the main committee and to foster increased opportunities for campus community involvement and input
Members of each committee, including affiliations and role:
Current members of Sustainability Committee:
Environmental Health & Safety - Barb O'Kane, Director
Sustainability Office - Lauren Poole, Sus Coordinator
Residence Life/Student Life
• Mary Elliott, Director
• Kelsi Streich (STudent Activities)
• Jordan Burkhart, hall mgr
• Gauen Alexander, Graduate Student Government
• Lucy Davis, Undergraduate Student Government
• Alice Hakala – Earthworks Student Club
Operations – Facilities, Admin, Business, etc.
• Sam Crispin, Facilities Director
• Teresa Hall, Dir Custodial Services
• Lisa Goberis (Student Center business mgr)
• Susan Fukushima (Sodexo dining)
• Jerry Nonko, Grounds Mgr
• Charles O’Dell (athletics department)
• Theryn Ridge (Purchasing)
• Mark Ramirez (communications)
• Nate Bondi (Outdoor Rec Center)
• Rob Thompson (athletics)
• Jeff Norris ( IT)
• Bryann Lynch – campus police
• Anna Welscott – business services
* Brad Avenia – Student Rec Center
• Dinae Baker – Library Book & Brew
• Nevan Mandel – Grants office
Faculty
• Paulo Cesar Tabares, Energy engineering & Green Roofs
• Tim Ohno, Physics
• Paula Farca, Humanities
• Diane Witters, Humanities
Does the institution have at least one sustainability office that includes more than 1 full-time equivalent employee?:
A brief description of each sustainability office:
The Mission of the Office of Sustainability at Mines is to advise Mines Operations and Academia on matters pertaining to the campus environment, sustainability, and energy efficiency. The Sustainability Office serves as the primary hub for sustainability information, practices, and initiatives on campus. We are charged with developing sustainability values and changing behaviors of students, staff, and faculty on campus to make the campus more sustainable. Key responsibilities include
• Leading and coordinating AASHE STARS 2.2 data collection and assessment for the university
• Coordinating with facilities and academia on greenhouse gas inventories and assessment
• Reviewing LEED certification of new construction projects
• Assisting with student organizations such as EarthWorks and Mines Green Team
• Maintaining and managing the Green Fund
• Student, faculty, and staff engagement on energy efficiency, water conservation, and waste reduction
• Grant writing for sustainability projects
• Zero waste events
• Earth Day Fair
• Consult with faculty on sustainability projects for academia
• Sustainability strategic planning and managing sustainability committee
• Sustainability communications, marketing, and outreach.
• Overseeing sustainability committees
• Coordination of sustainability living laboratory projects
• Funding sustainability related research
• Green Labs
The office includes one full-time equivalent employee (staff) and three part-time student interns that are each authorized to work up to 10 hours per week equivalent to one full-time position of 30 hours.
Full-time equivalent of people employed in the sustainability office(s):
Does the institution have at least one sustainability officer?:
Name and title of each sustainability officer:
Does the institution have a mechanism for broad sustainability coordination for the entire institution?:
A brief description of the activities and substantive accomplishments of the institution-wide coordinating body or officer during the previous three years:
Established in spring 2018, the Sustainability Coordinator position is charged with overseeing the Sustainability Committee and managing the student engagement program on energy, water and waste reduction on campus. In the last few years, activities and accomplishments include
• Development of sustainability communications programs and products including a website, newsletter, exhibit materials, and a social media campaign
• Creation of a Steering Committee/Sustainability Committee for energy, water, and waste reduction on campus
• Partnering with an engineering firm to develop and implement a student educational engagement campaign around energy, water, and waste reduction called People Power Planet
• Creation of a green labs program that includes recycling of nitrile gloves and other lab materials such as styrofoam and gel packs
• Creation of a zero waste events program that brought back composting for several large events each year with an average of 3,000 to 5,000 attendees
• Worked with academia on integration of sustainability projects into their course curriculum and assisted with funding of sustainability related research projects
• Worked with student clubs such as EarthWorks and help to create a Green Team to further campus sustainability
• Created the first of several Earth Day Fairs
• Wrote and received grants for recycling bins and electric vehicle charging stations
• Presented sustainability topics at three conferences, including a presentation on green labs for the International Institute for Sustainable Laboratories and student engagement on energy and water conservation for AASHE
• Produced an annual Sustainability Report that required sustainability benchmarking on energy, water, and waste for the campus
• Produced a Sustainability Strategic Plan
• Implemented a compost pilot and furniture swap pilot for privately owned student furniture at a large apartment complex
• Increased recycling rate and decreased carbon emissions and energy use (see that section for detailed numbers)
Also tasked with transitioning the campus to smoke free. Setup and new surplus property resale program and manages that program.
Job title of the sustainability officer position:
Job description for the sustainability officer position:
Job description for the sustainability officer position:
Job title of the sustainability officer position (2nd position):
Job description for the sustainability officer position (2nd position):
Job description for the sustainability officer position (2nd position):
Job title of the sustainability officer position (3rd position):
Job description for the sustainability officer position (3rd position):
Job description for the sustainability officer position (3rd position):
Website URL where information about the institution’s sustainability coordination 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.