Overall Rating Bronze - expired
Overall Score 43.68
Liaison Jeane Pope
Submission Date June 23, 2020

STARS v2.2

DePauw University
EN-14: Participation in Public Policy

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 0.67 / 2.00 Claire Dorner
Director of Sustainability
Office of Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Local advocacy

Does the institution advocate for public policies that support campus sustainability or that otherwise advance sustainability at the municipal/local level?:
Yes

A brief description of how the institution engages in public policy advocacy for sustainability at the municipal/local level:
The Director of Sustainability serves on the Greencastle Sustainability Commission, which advocates for sustainability policies and takes action on a number of sustainability options in our city including recycling, community gardens, invasive species prevention, and more.

Students in the Sustainability Leadership Program frequently make recommendations to the Greencastle Tree Board, Sustainability Commission, Mayor, and more. In Fall 2018, the DePauw Environmental Policy Project proposed that the City of Greencastle participate in the 2019 Indiana University Resilience Cohort to complete a community-wide greenhouse gas inventory, to which the City Planner and Mayor agreed. DePauw students worked with the city in the summer of 2019 to complete the inventory and make recommendations to the city for a Climate Action Plan. In Spring 2019, the Forestry group proposed a series of tree policy recommendations to the Tree Board for consideration of more comprehensive policies in the City of Greencastle.

The University Sustainability Committee is supportive of these advocacy efforts and will assist with letters of support on behalf of the University, if needed.

During fall 2020, the Sustainability Leadership Program engaged in an election-year project in which they partnered with the Hoosier Environmental Council to conduct research on how various Indiana state legislators had voted on important environmental bills. Students also conducted research on environmental policy on a local, state, national, and international level and designed social media graphics to help communicate to both DePauw's campus and the surrounding community about which candidates up for election in Putman County, Indiana, and the U.S. support environmental protection.

Regional advocacy

Does the institution advocate for public policies that support campus sustainability or that otherwise advance sustainability at the state/provincial/regional level?:
No

A brief description of how the institution engages in public policy advocacy for sustainability at the state/provincial/regional level:
The DePauw Environmental Policy Project has existed for over ten years on DePauw's campus and frequently partners with organizations like the Hoosier Environmental Council and Defenders of Wildlife, visits the Indiana Statehouse to meet with senators and representatives, and writes letters for local and regional newspapers about upcoming bills. However, this dedicated work by the students does not have the "implicit or explicit support of the institution's top administrators and/or governing bodies".

During fall 2020, the Sustainability Leadership Program engaged in an election-year project in which they partnered with the Hoosier Environmental Council to conduct research on how various Indiana state legislators had voted on important environmental bills. Students also conducted research on environmental policy on a local, state, national, and international level and designed social media graphics to help communicate to both DePauw's campus and the surrounding community about which candidates up for election in Putman County, Indiana, and the U.S. support environmental protection.

National advocacy

Does the institution advocate for public policies that support campus sustainability or that otherwise advance sustainability at the national level?:
No

A brief description of how the institution engages in public policy advocacy for sustainability at the national level:
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International advocacy

Does the institution advocate for public policies that support campus sustainability or that otherwise advance sustainability at the international level?:
No

A brief description of how the institution engages in public policy advocacy for sustainability at the international level:
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Optional Fields 

A brief description of other political positions the institution has taken during the previous three years (if applicable):
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None
A brief description of political donations the institution made during the previous three years (if applicable):
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Website URL where information about the institution’s sustainability advocacy efforts is available:
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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