Overall Rating Platinum - expired
Overall Score 85.56
Liaison Tonie Miyamoto
Submission Date Feb. 7, 2017
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Colorado State University
EN-11: Inter-Campus Collaboration

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.00 / 3.00 Nik Olsen
Assistant Director of Administrative Communications
Office of the President
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Is the institution an active member of a national or international sustainability network?:
Yes

The name of the national or international sustainability network(s):

Future Earth is a global platform for international scientific collaboration, providing the knowledge required for societies in the world to face risk posed by global environmental change and to seize opportunities in a transition to global sustainability.

The governance structure of Future Earth embraces the concepts of co-design and co-production of science with relevant stakeholders across a wide range of sectors.

The Governing Council and its subsidiary bodies are representatives from a range of communities (academia, founders, governments, international, organizations and science assessments, development groups, business and industry, civil society and the media).

The work of these bodies is supported by the Future Earth Secretariat that coordinates the scientific projects and performs the day-to-day management of Future Earth, ensuring coordination across themes, projects, regions and committees, and liaising with key actors.

The Secretariat comprises five global hubs which function as a single entity, located in Canada (Montreal), France (Paris), Japan (Tokyo), Sweden (Stockholm) and the United States (Colorado). CSU and the University of Colorado are part of the U.S. hub.


Is the institution an active member of a regional, state/provincial or local sustainability network?:
Yes

The name of the regional, state/provincial or local sustainability network(s):

The Colorado School of Public Health is the first and only accredited school of public health in the Rocky Mountain Region, attracting top tier faculty and students from across the country, and providing a vital contribution towards ensuring our region’s health and well-being.

Collaboratively formed in 2008 by the University of Colorado, Colorado State University, and the University of Northern Colorado, the Colorado School of Public Health provides training, innovative research and community service to actively address public health issues including chronic disease, access to healthcare, environmental threats, emerging infectious diseases, and costly injuries.


Has the institution presented at a sustainability conference during the previous year? :
Yes

A list or brief description of the conference(s) and presentation(s):

Representatives from CSU have presented at several conferences in the last year. Note that some of these conferences (like AASHE) were completely focused on sustainability while others were more broadly focused with sustainability tracks.

Just a few presentation examples include:

AASHE - Baltimore October 2016 "Project Managing STARS 2.1 Submission," and "Smart Parking: How Easy Charging Can Reduce Transportation Emissions Panel"

Rocky Mountain APPA - September 2016 - "Promoting Sustainability through Campus Partnerships"

Extension Sustainability Summit - April 2016 - "Community Energy Assessments - Identifying Cost-Effective Energy Opportunities in the Rural West"


Has the institution submitted a case study during the previous year to a sustainability awards program that is inclusive of multiple campuses? :
Yes

A list or brief description of the awards program(s) and submission(s):

In 2015 the CSU Student Sustainability Center joined a cohort with other institutions, lead by the University of Virginia, to complete the first Nitrogen Footprint for the participating campuses. The team at CSU had ten student members and the was the only one formed entirely by undergraduate students. The team received technical guidance from a faculty adviser in the Natural Resource Ecology Lab and the campus energy engineer. Once completed, the cohort submitted the project as a case study that was accepted for a presentation at the 2015 AASHE Conference in Minneapolis. Other institutions in the cohort included Dickinson College, University of New Hampshire, Eastern Mennonite University, and Brown University.

In the awards category, CSU was the recipient of the 2016 APPA Sustainability Award for the Rocky Mountain Region. APPA is the organization of Facilities Managers in higher education. APPA's Sustainability Award in Facilities Management is designed to recognize and advance sustainability excellence in educational facilities. This award recognizes the facilities management department that has integrated sustainable policies and practices throughout all facets of the organization and embedded them within the educational institution.


Has the institution had staff, students or faculty serving on a board or committee of a sustainability network or conference during the previous three years? :
Yes

A list or brief description of the board or committee appointment(s):

Yes, CSU currently has a representatitve on the STARS Advisory Panel.

Co-Chair of the Sustainability Knowledge Committee for NASPA (Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education).


Does the institution have an ongoing mentoring relationship with another institution through which it assists the institution with its sustainability reporting and/or the development of its sustainability program?:
No

A brief description of the mentoring relationship and activities:

While CSU does not have official mentoring relationships with other institutions, as the only STARS Platinum institution we are contacted regularly (at least once a week) by other institutions for information on specific sustainability programs, STARS reporting, and general sustainability insight.


Has the institution had staff, faculty, or students serving as peer reviewers of another institution’s sustainability data (e.g. GHG emissions or course inventory) and/or STARS submission during the previous three years?:
Yes

A brief description of the peer review activities:

The Institute for the Built Environment (IBE) is a center on the CSU campus that helps CSU, other campuses, and private companies with LEED reporting. The program helps to train students in the LEED process and provides a LEED reporting service to a variety of both public and private customers. IBE has worked with the University of Woming to obtain LEED Gold ratings for both the Berry Center and the Visual Arts building and is currently working on the Engineering Education and Research building at UW.


Has the institution participated in other collaborative efforts around sustainability during the previous year, e.g. joint planning or resource sharing with other institutions? :
Yes

A brief description of other collaborative efforts around sustainability during the previous year:

The Colorado Campus Consortium is a group of CO higher education institutions trying to find creative ways to procure renewable energy. The consortium has met with the National Renewable Energy Lab and selected vendors to discuss alternatives to installing renewables on our campus.


The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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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.