Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 53.17
Liaison Jeane Pope
Submission Date March 4, 2014
Executive Letter Download

STARS v1.2

DePauw University
PAE-4: Sustainability Plan

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.00 / 3.00 Carol Steele
Sustainability Director
Academic Affairs
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution have a sustainability plan that meets the criteria for this credit?:
Yes

A brief description of how multiple stakeholder groups were involved in developing the plan:

When President Casey signed the ACUPCC in 2008, the groups involved in making this happen included, university professors, students and staff. DePauw's Climate Action Plan and Sustainability Master Plan represent the collective vision of students, faculty, staff, administrators and Greencastle leaders for how DePauw can become a thriving, sustainable community while reducing its greenhouse gas emissions from 38,700 metric tons of annual CO2 emissions to zero by 2040.

These plans have been developed in partnership with the City of Greencastle, which has been recognized as Green City of the Year for the last four consecutive years. DePauw and Greencastle community members have worked closely to ensure that sustainability efforts are inclusive of all regional residents and leverage both the city's and college's strengths.


A brief description of the plan’s measurable goals :

NEW BUILDINGS
New buildings will be energy efficient, decreasing energy and resources use per building.
Planning for all new buildings will include a consideration of alternative energy sources for heating and cooling.
All new buildings and major renovations will be at least LEED Silver certified.
TREES
The campus plan will call for significant tree planting, which will mitigate DePauw's carbon footprint. Tree plantings will rely heavily on native species, which require less water and fertilizer to thrive.
LANDSCAPING
Plans for renovating walkways and paths will include environmentally friendly construction materials, such as porous paving, whenever possible. Streetscaping projects will seek to include water reclamation efforts.
PARKING
Moving parking to the perimeter of campus will foster a campus safe for pedestrians and bicyclists. Moving parking to the perimeter will increase the walkability of the campus, cultivating a more sustainable and sustaining environment.
BIKE LANES
Establishing bike lanes will promote more sustainable transportation options.
Promoting bicycling will not only improve the health of the community but also contribute to a culture shift in which the campus comes to favor carbon-neutral transportation.
CONNECTING TO THE COMMUNITY
Campus sustainability initiatives will be actively engaged with Greencastle's sustainability efforts. The campus plan will be implemented so as to better connect DePauw to Greencastle and will support walking, biking and community gathering.


A brief description of how progress in meeting the plan’s goals is measured:

The physical presence of many of the above-mentioned goals is measurement in itself. Items such as trees and connection to the community, however, will be measured differently. Trees on campus will be measured using GPS (Tree Campus USA) and recorded by geology students. Community connection will be measured by interactions with the community and relationships maintained through the process of adding initiatives such as Community Bikes, etc.


The website URL where more information about the sustainability plan is available:
The year the plan was developed or last updated:
2,012

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.