Denison University
PA-2: Sustainability Planning

Denison strategic plan is robust and sets a path for the well-being of the college into the future. Among other things related to Sustainability it has primary strategies related to: Focusing co-curricular efforts on innovation, diversity and student wellness. Expanding the curriculum in areas not traditionally seen as being liberal arts, yet will use the liberal arts approach to provide a unique experience for students in those majors. One major currently being proposed is Environmental Science.

Campus Master Plan Housing Master Plan Green Hill Fund - https://denison.edu/campus/green/green-revolving-fund

These objectives are taken directly from the 2015 Campus Sustainability Plan and have a five year time frame. Develop resources and enhance campus collaborations to support the inclusion of sustainability themes in the curriculum. Work with the Center for Learning and Teaching to compile resources that help faculty understand how sustainability fits with their own teaching interests. Develop a collection of pedagogical readings, assignments, prompts, and questions that can be used to teach sustainability in the classroom and house the collection in the Center for Learning and Teaching. Hold workshops for faculty, in a venue such as the Fall Faculty Conference, on integrating sustainability issues into the curriculum. Emphasize the broad scope of sustainability (environmental, social, and economic sustainability) and engage faculty in discussions of how different disciplines can address aspects of sustainability. Collaborate with The Alford Center for Service Learning to foster and highlight the important ongoing work Denison students, faculty and staff do toward the social and economic sustainability of our local community. Identify ways CSC can support and enhance this work, and ways that themes of environmental sustainability and environmental justice could be included in service learning. Encourage faculty to utilize resources for pedagogical development and interdisciplinary teaching such as the CLT, Denison Seminars, and Pedagogical Practice Projects as a means to help them develop curriculum that addresses sustainability. Enhance the curriculum with sustainability-related courses. Use resources outlined above to encourage faculty to include sustainability topics in courses and/or develop new courses within their disciplines, within the writing program, or Denison Seminars that focus on Environmental, Social and/or Economic Sustainability. Attach a searchable designation to courses related to sustainability within the course catalogue. (This might be part of a larger scheme to attach searchable keywords or tags to courses so that students could search for courses with “sustainability,” “service learning,” “global perspectives,” or any number of other designations faculty and students would find useful.) Utilize the energy Dashboard, the solar array, and other campus resources to allow students to engage with real and local sustainability data.

These objectives are taken directly from the 2015 Campus Sustainability Plan and have a five year time frame. Find a donor to support a sustainability themed student summer research program. Summer research is popular and competitive; adding 1-3 summer research positions on a sustainability theme would enable more students to participate as well as foster faculty and student engagement in scholarly work on sustainability. These positions could be open to all disciplines. Work with Gilpatrick House to create a sustainability-themed learning community (research table) on campus. Utilize the “design lab” that’s part of the strategic plan to spur innovative research opportunities Within the next year, develop an open source data base for research, including sustainability related research, at the Denison Library Promote and expand opportunities to use the biological reserve in teaching and research. All of these objectives are ongoing and the plan calls for action on each within five years.

These objectives are taken directly from the 2015 Campus Sustainability Plan and have a five year time frame. Increase communication and collaboration among campus groups. Hold semi-annual planning meetings for campus groups interested in sustainability/diversity to coordinate schedules, budgets, and events (coordinated by the Office of Sustainability) Provide incentives such as increased funding for groups who regularly collaborate and/or share best practices for programming in sustainable ways. Develop an integrated marketing plan for sustainability that includes both on campus and off campus outreach. This should include collaboration with University Communications, Alumni Relations, and Admissions. Facilitate a sustainability summit for students, faculty and staff that includes other colleges and universities in an effort to share best-practices and encourage collaboration on sustainability initiatives. Educate the entire Denison community on sustainability issues and encourage sustainable living. Develop a Denison specific Carbon Footprint Calculator. Promote the existence of Green Office Certification and increase the proportion of offices that are certified. Include sustainability in orientation and pre-orientation programs for first-year students and new faculty and staff. Present a sustainability update once a year at a General Faculty Meeting. Track community service of employees and recognize these efforts. Report student service hours on official transcripts. Collaborate with the Community Health Involvement Committee and the Wellness Coalition to educate the community on environmental issues related to health. Organize a sustainability forum and/or planning retreat and invite all sustainability-related campus groups, area non-profits, representatives from the Alford Center for Service Learning and Licking County schools. Encourage students to reuse or repurpose belongings through Operation Move-Out, “Yard Sales,” and so forth. Promote MyDenison discussion boards as ways to re-purpose/re-use items and to collaborate on sustainability-related issues (carpools, etc.) Partner with the Alford Center to host environmentally-focused service activities (e.g. Saturday Service, or one-day events). Partner with Residential Education & Housing and Facilities Services to provide students with mock utility bills to help them understand their own consumption, improve financial literacy, and suggest helpful tips for how they could decrease consumption. Reduce vandalism in residence halls (to public spaces and individual rooms). All of these objectives are ongoing and the plan calls for action on each within five years.

As part of the Campus Sustainability Plan Denison is will make civic engagement with our local community a key component: Facilitate a sustainability summit for students, faculty and staff that includes other colleges and universities in an effort to share best­ practices and encourage collaboration on sustainability initiatives. Develop meaningful internships with local businesses and organizations that focus on issues of Sustainability. Coordinate and collaborate with local service organizations on activities that promote the triple bottom line and use Denison students, faculty, and staff to aid in the implementation of these activities. All of these objectives are ongoing and the plan calls for action on each within five years.

These objectives are taken directly from the 2015 Campus Sustainability Plan and have a five year time frame. Be carbon neutral by 2030. Phase 1: Reduce carbon dioxide emissions, pollution and environmental degradation from current energy sources. Investigate opportunities to utilize the existing heating and cooling plants more effectively. Phase 2: Change main sources of heating, cooling, and electricity to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, pollution, and environmental degradation. Ensure coal is never burned again on campus. Continue to expand use of carbon-neutral sources of electricity, specifically wind and solar, including on- or off-site generation. Investigate alternatives to the current steam and chilled water plants for heating and cooling, including but not limited to: a co-generation plant; ground source heat pumps (geothermal); carbon-neutral fuels such as a sustainably sourced biofuel; decentralization, or an alternate location of the plant if centralized; absorption cooling; and thermal storage. Include, along with engineering and economic life cycle analysis, a thorough investigation of potential future technology and trends impacting the potential carbon footprint of the various energy sources. Phase 3: Purchase or produce energy from renewable and carbon-neutral sources to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from the use of fossil fuels. Create a 15-year Road Map for achieving carbon neutrality status by 2030, including detailed intermediate goals, long-term strategic objectives, and timetables. Work toward objectives set by the Road Map by installing on-site renewable energy generation and implementing aggressive energy conservation measures, and/or investing in off-site renewable energy credits. Keep abreast of technological advances. Continually assess the costs and benefits to increase the use of renewables systematically. Include an educational component connected to any renewable energy development on campus or purchase of renewable energy credits. All of these objectives are ongoing and the plan calls for action on each within five years and have the overall time table of 2030 for neutrality.

These objectives are taken directly from the 2015 Campus Sustainability Plan and have a five year time frame. Include sustainability and efficiency decisions at the forefront of all future planning decisions. Vigorously challenge the need to expand total square footage across campus by instead improving utilization of existing spaces. Any new construction cannot cause an increase in the overall carbon footprint of the campus. Ensure that all new construction and major renovations are designed and built to a high standard of sustainability, such as LEED Gold. Work closely with design teams and representatives from the Campus Sustainability Committee to include best practices and start with the greenest possible design. Implement funding strategies for proposed construction in which both initial and ongoing costs are considered. Ensure decision makers (i.e. Board of Trustees) are well informed about potential long-term financial and energy savings in building operations by utilizing greener technology that may have higher upfront costs. Review certification programs and identify an appropriate method to ensure that Denison will be an innovator in green building construction. Review the advantages and disadvantages of obtaining documented certification and consequences of obtaining them. Require Life Cycle Cost analysis on HVAC, electrical, plumbing and building systems on projects more than $500,000. All of these objectives are ongoing and the plan calls for action on each within five years.

These objectives are taken directly from the 2015 Campus Sustainability Plan and have a five year time frame. Continue to collect and analyze monthly consumption information for all utilities: electricity, water, natural gas, steam, coal, gasoline, and diesel. Organize, and share widely, data on consumption by areas such as academic, general and residences. Continue to install utility metering systems (esp. steam, condensate, and water) to collect real time data where feasible/practical. Continue to implement a campus energy dashboard that is accessible to all Denisonians. This will be used to monitor energy use by building to promote awareness of energy usage. Continue to mock bill students to educate about energy usage and “real world” costs, and to discourage wasteful energy practices. Update, expand, and disseminate campus-wide standards for indoor temperature, humidity, air quality, and lighting, and implement in new and renovation buildings. Create educational materials explaining policies and conservation programs specifically targeted to students, faculty, and staff. Develop and disseminate efficiency standards and usage guidelines to reduce energy consumption of office and personal equipment and appliances, such as refrigerators and space heaters. This should include completely eliminating the use of inkjet printers on campus, and utilizing existing policy and procedure documents such as the “Guide to the General Operating Procedures” and “Green Office Certification” to help inform and educate the community on reducing personal energy consumption on campus. Utilize students and the campus community to help investigate, monitor, and reduce wasteful energy consumption across campus (such as turning off lights, closing unused hoods, and powering off digital projectors after use) and to create programs to drive behavior change. Encourage behaviors and practices that utilize building spaces more fully to minimize climate control and lighting use, such as using natural light when available and creating designated study spaces that concentrate students into fewer individual buildings/spaces. Identify and implement a sustainable ‘Green Standard’ for the maintenance and operation of buildings across campus. Identify a benchmarking tool to compare building energy use on Denison’s campus with similar buildings on other campuses (such as USEPA Energy Star rating system) and establish benchmarking goals. Reach full compliance for the ‘Green Cleaning Program’ requiring all products used in cleaning buildings to be ‘certified’ products unless written documentation is provided. Continue to operate and maintain building equipment and systems to maintain established health, safety and environmental requirements, while minimizing energy consumption. Establish policies and programs to reduce the need to heat and cool buildings and spaces when unoccupied, both after normal working hours and when the campus is on break. Continue to install equipment, sensors and controls to automatically reduce lighting and HVAC energy consumption in all new construction, and wherever cost-effective. Re-commission existing equipment and control systems on a regular basis and investigate continuous commissioning programs to keep systems operating at peak efficiency. Continue to upgrade or install control systems to utilize energy saving strategies when operating HVAC, lighting equipment, and systems. Upgrade or replace inefficient HVAC equipment or systems, replacing them with appropriate technology to help reduce and control energy use. Continue to survey all major buildings for energy conservation measures, and complete economically feasible projects as quickly as possible. Provide domestic hot water only where needed or required by code and investigate alternative methods for producing domestic hot water that improves energy efficiency. Eliminate the use of chilled water drinking fountains across campus by replacing broken refrigerated units with fountains that do not have refrigeration. Install bottle-filling compatible fountains at key locations. All of these objectives are ongoing and the plan calls for action on each within five years.

These objectives are taken directly from the 2015 Campus Sustainability Plan and have a five year time frame. Actively help build and promote local food systems and supply lines in the community. Move to “meatless days” Look at options to freeze local foods from summer months, for use in winter months. Educating kitchen staff on when to prepare food / when to turn on ovens / using HVAC systems properly. Implement a sustainability side of this training and invite D.U. Invest in local farms to help build their capacity to provide responsibly-sourced products for Denison. Minimize food waste by doing batch cooking and employing food recovery. Utilize reusable containers in all to-go operations Minimize the use of disposable water bottles on campus All of these objectives are ongoing and the plan calls for action on each within five years.

These objectives are taken directly from the 2015 Campus Sustainability Plan and have a five year time frame. Identify and expand areas of land for low or no mowing. Include signage and community education about these areas. Reduce the use of petroleum based fertilizer by increasing and improving composting. Explore alternative equipment, development of policies, procedures and processes used to maintain the campus and identify best practices that reduce labor and reliance on non-organic and petroleum based chemicals. Plant native, deer resistant, and low maintenance shrubs, trees, and plants.Expand the planting of trees wherever possible. All of these objectives are ongoing and the plan calls for action on each within five years.

These objectives are taken directly from the 2015 Campus Sustainability Plan and have a five year time frame. Develop more sustainability themed components in the general operations guide and conducting training on sustainable purchasing processes. Set guidelines for purchasing within the Ohio Five Prioritize items and sources that use less packing materials Conduct a comprehensive assessment of campus purchasing to identify opportunities for conservation (where are we buying, are we duplicating purchases) Develop an online database of campus surplus. Increase spend on locally-sourced products and businesses. All of these objectives are ongoing and the plan calls for action on each within five years.

These objectives are taken directly from the 2015 Campus Sustainability Plan and have a five year time frame. Evaluate current fleet management system and improve for greater efficiency. This would include making non-specialized vehicles part of a central pool and providing an online reservation system through which campus members can reserve appropriate vehicles from that pool for university business As part of fleet management, evaluate vehicle use by major fleet users, including security and facilities. Determine if some vehicles could be replaced with more efficient types of vehicles (cars in place of vans or SUVs) or if some vehicle use could be accomplished with alternative transport such as golf carts, Segways or bikes Establish a leasing/purchasing policy for campus vehicles that assesses both the need for a given vehicle and type of vehicle proposed for purchase or replacement, with the goal to purchase the most fuel efficient and cost appropriate vehicles Research the costs and benefits of alternative fuel and high efficiency vehicles (such as biodiesel, hybrid, electric, and/or compressed natural gas) for addition to the fleet. Establish a pilot program to test the best possibilities as fleet vehicles are replaced Educate staff that use university vehicles to reduce idling time; this might include signage on DU vehicles instructing the operator to minimize idling. Increase the cost of student parking permits over 3 years to $150, while maintaining and publicizing a discounted rate ($25) for the Orange lot. Consider more restrictive parking permits to limit driving from one part of campus to another. Add bike sheds, racks, covered areas (part of new performing arts building?) Evaluate expansion of the third party car share program (such as ZipCar) on campus. The car(s) would be available for private use by students, staff, and faculty, as well as possibly as a supplement to the University fleet when necessary Evaluate current shuttle programs available to students for transport to Columbus, the airport, and area shopping. Expand shuttle service as appropriate, investigate potential community partnerships (e.g., Licking County Transit, COTA, etc.). Publicize bike share, car share options, ride share boards, and shuttle services to reduce the use of and need for a car on campus Evaluate and improve walking access to campus from surrounding neighborhoods (repair stairways, add pathways and sidewalks if needed to better connect campus to the village). Evaluate and improve bicycle access to campus from surrounding neighborhoods as well as bicycle parking options on campus (consider adding bike racks and/or bike sheds) Incentivize faculty and staff to carpool by offering designated parking spots in the garage with special carpool parking stickers. Collect data on air travel related to university business Collect data on student travel that is part of their educational experience (such as study abroad, conference, or research trips) Research ways to reduce the carbon footprint associated with air travelEncourage departments to utilize Skype for interviews and meetings whenever practical to reduce the need for air travel. All of these objectives are ongoing and the plan calls for action on each within five years.

These objectives are taken directly from the 2015 Campus Sustainability Plan and have a five year time frame. Investigate the most effective way for the Denison community to recycle (commingling versus sorted) Institute a campus wide system for compost collection Create a recycling point person for each academic and residential building and steering committee to identify best models for location dependent recycling Improve recycling in residence halls by installing larger recycling bins and expanding recycling options Expand participation in “Recyclemania” through better publicity Collect and recycle more construction waste from summer and regular small scale projects Track and publicize monthly waste land-filled, recycling rate, and compost generated Educate campus community about ways to reduce consumption and promote reuse and sharing of campus resources Develop targets level for waste on campus per person. Increase number of recycling bins across campus Create student jobs for recycling, sorting, and/or composting operations Provide more education about composting in dining halls Investigate options for increasing recyclable/compostable containers at Slayter Incorporate new composting stations into Huffman and Curtis to help facilitate and educate about composting practices Recyclable or compostable take-out containers Purchase food pulpers for Curtis and Huffman OR invest in chipper for more efficient composting (do we also need to allocate more land for compost piles?) – Moved to “Waste” Install dishwashing facilities in ALL campus dining locations, including any new buildings with snack bar or other food service All of these objectives are ongoing and the plan calls for action on each within five years.

These objectives are taken directly from the 2015 Campus Sustainability Plan and have a five year time frame. Continue to upgrade all fixtures on campus to low flow fixtures. Eliminate any use of city water for irrigation in landscaping, and work toward use of only rainwater rather than well water. Explore and implement where feasible alternative water collection, including optimizing use of the underground cistern, other rainwater collection, and condenser water from air-handling systems. Adopt a policy that no additional irrigation will be added unless it draws from non-city water sources. Consider water use when purchasing equipment and seek sustainable alternatives to equipment with heavy water use demands such as once through water cooled equipment. Limit polluting runoff from our campus wherever possible by minimizing and using best practices for applying substances like fertilizer and road salt. Work proactively to prevent pollution from fuel, oil or other spills. Follow best practices to promptly clean up any spills that do occur. Continue to utilize retention ponds, bio swales, and other structures to reduce run-off. All of these objectives are ongoing and the plan calls for action on each within five years.

As part Campus Strategic Plan, Denison is will make scholarships the central focus of the campaign created to fund the plan. Create scholarship opportunities and conduct targeted outreach to attract prospective students from a wide range of cultural and economic backgrounds. Develop programs and policies that foster the development of a diverse faculty. This objectives are ongoing and the plan calls for action on each within five years.

Goal 5 under Energy in the 2015 Sustainability Plan states: Invest significantly in local sources of clean energy production to meet both current energy needs and the goal of carbon neutrality by 2030. Since creation of that goal, Denison has invested in and an installed three solar arrays totaling more than 2.3MW of capacity. In addition, through Denison's Green Hill Fund, our GRF established in 2011. Denison is committed to grow the fund to $3 million dollars over the next 10 years and will invest up to $500,000 annually energy efficiency, water conservation, and renewable energy projects on campus. To date, the college has invested in over 120 projects - most of which can be seen in the GRITS Library. https://denison.edu/campus/green/green-revolving-fund

Taken from our Campus Sustainability Plan: Develop comprehensive programming centered on student wellness. Collaborate with the Community Health Involvement Committee and the Wellness Coalition to educate the community on environmental issues related to health. Integrate residential health and wellness with sustainable dining efforts. Our Campus Strategic Plan also has wellness as one of its five core areas, however, it doesn't go into specific detail on measurable goals, but is focused on: Increasing counseling and support services for students, developing opportunities to teach life skills to students that include: cooking, budgeting, personal fitness, and coping strategies and will culminate in the construction of a new LEED student wellness center.

Taken from the Campus Sustainability Plan and in accordance with Denison's Strategic Plan. Denison will invest in the creation of an Art Space in Downtown Newark as part of Newark's downtown revitalization. The Art Space will provide access to the arts to the local community as well as provide a much needed meeting location for local service and outreach organizations. The location for this space is an abandoned building in Newark. We also will invest in the arts in general, becoming a liberal arts college of choice for arts-oriented students who do not want a conservatory environment. We have an unusual array of strengths across the arts, including curricular strengths in music, theater, dance, cinema, art history, studio art, and creative writing. We also have co-curricular strengths driven by strong student organizations. And we have a unique strength with our proximity to Columbus. Our vision is to give students opportunities to explore the arts in different ways. Some students will want to go deep in a chosen artistic passion while others will want a major outside the arts while still pursuing an artistic interest. And other students will want to work across the college in ways that create robust interdisciplinary programs and pathways.

Denison is a community committed to being environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable. Each member of our campus community is empowered to be an active citizen, engaged in social change locally and globally. We integrate sustainability into teaching, learning, scholarship, and our daily lives. We recognize our responsibility to current and future generations. We consume mindfully and invest ethically, while maintaining the dynamic systems necessary to support a healthy, vibrant, and just global community. Our commitment to sustainability runs deep.

Denison signed the Carbon Commitment in 2010 and the Talloires Declaration in 2008.

Denison maintains an internal password protected website where most of this information resides. Public access web pages have limited information on this topic.