Earlham College
PA-2: Commitments and Planning
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
Reporter |
Jamey
Pavey Director of the Integrated Program in Sustainability Sustainability and Environmental Studies |
2.1 Public sustainability commitment
Narrative detailing the institution’s guiding vision or goals for sustainability and the plan(s) in which they are published:
The college has a Campus Environmental Sustainability Plan adopted in 2023: https://earlham.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/23050_CampusEnvironmentalSustainability-1.pdf
GOALS BY SECTION
Resource Conservation & Waste Management
1. Investigate options for a centralized approach to purchasing on campus that would
include guidelines for environmental performance and/or ethical trade practices. Make a
recommendation to college administration regarding possible approaches.
2. Investigate options for a more effective surplus management system and make a
recommendation to college administration regarding possible approaches.
3. Conduct annual waste characterization studies to include data from waste and recycling
haulers, composting information, along with regular waste audits. Based on results of
waste characterization baseline, work towards a 50 percent reduction in divertible waste
being sent to the landfill within 5 years. “Divertible waste” is recyclable or compostable.
4. Increase efforts to educate Earlhamites about sustainability by incorporating recycling at
athletic events, Environmental Sustainability ESEM courses, NSO activities surrounding
sustainability and videos focused on sustainable aspects of Earlham.
5. Identify cost-effective strategies for reducing Earlham’s water use.
Academic/Curriculum
1. Support hiring and staffing of environmental sustainability courses and campus activities.
2. Investigate possible opportunities to increase the number of sustainability-focused
wellness courses.
3. Develop sustainability-focused course modules for use in Earlham Seminars (ESEMs).
4. Track and promote sustainability research conducted by Earlham faculty and students.
Land
1. Investigate and, when deemed appropriate, pursue certifications under the following:
Indiana Wildlife Federation’s (IWF) Landscaping the Sustainable Campus, Tree Campus
USA and Bee Campus USA. Center for Environmental Leadership staff can aim to focus
on one of these per year, beginning in the year that this plan is adopted.
2. In an effort to both increase carbon sequestration capacity on campus and decrease
landscaping maintenance needs, continue following through with the proposal for
the establishment of prairie plots on campus that was developed by Environmental
Sustainability seniors in 2019.
3. Investigate and recommend policies to encourage landscaping practices that minimize
maintenance needs, the use of synthetic chemicals and the need for watering, while also
beautifying and diversifying the campus landscape.4. Integration of Miller Farm more fully into sustainability efforts on campus through
campus engagement, academic coursework, & extending sustainable food projects to
other parts of campus. In addition, ensure continued support for Miller Farm as a hub for
practical, applied, experiential learning on campus.
5. Continued implementation of the college’s Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan
(SWPPP) and associated monitoring. The SWPPP aims to reduce potential release of
pollutants from college property into neighboring waterways.
Community
1. Strive for sustainable awareness through Earlham website, social media, NSO, flyers, HR
welcome folder for new employees and green certificates for offices. Also, create and
promote campus sustainability-related events to reach all of the campus community,
incoming students, alumni and public organizations here and afar.
2. Develop sustainability guidelines and provide resources for all campus events, focused
on food, resource and waste minimization. Promote and spread the word of green events
by letting our community here and afar via email, campus monitors, the College website,
social media and networking through departmental offices on campus.3. Establish working relationships with campus and off campus communities in order to
increase sustainable practices in our Earlham community and off campus communities,
including governmental units such as the Richmond Environmental Sustainability
Commission.
4. Network and work with Student Sustainability Corps (SSC), NSO leaders, Residence
Life staff and house conveners to provide sustainable awareness in campus housing
to reduce waste, electricity and water expenses. Help encourage resident students to
engage in daily sustainable practices that are accessible, equitable and interactive.
5. Develop, promote and maintain low-cost resources and activities which help students
and the entire community save money, reduce waste production and live sustainably:
Outdoors Club, Bike Co-op, Repair Shop, Free Store, Free Food page on Facebook, Free
Food Pantry, Sustainable Agriculture House (currently in Fry House), sustainable residence
floor and SSC. Continue supporting student sustainability groups and these initiatives
by providing tools, resources, increased coordination, faculty advising, staff and faculty
assistance.
6. Explore ways that environmental, diversity and social justice efforts can take into
account, support and strengthen one another in the curriculum, co-curriculum and
Earlham community. Focus environmentally themed events on environmental justice
or environmental racism and promote similar material in Environmental Sustainability
courses. Connect the DPC Diversity Progress Committee with the Center for Social
Justice and sustainability.
Additionally, we have a Climate Action Plan filed with Second Nature that calls for carbon neutrality by 2042.
Narrative and/or website URL outlining the institution’s external sustainability commitments that include a reporting requirement:
Earlham College signed onto Second Nature's Climate Commitment, which includes both carbon reduction and resilience goals. We report GHG inventory results and progress regularly.
The Reporting Tool will automatically calculate the following figure:
2.2 Measurable sustainability objectives
Narrative listing the institution’s measurable sustainability objectives that address teaching, learning, and research:
From Sustainability Plan:
- Track and promote sustainability research conducted by Earlham faculty and students. Year 1: Collect information and locate stories that might have already been written to get on the website quickly. Ongoing: Update list of projects/faculty, prepare stories to highlight
- Develop sustainability-focused course modules for use in Earlham Seminars (ESEMs). Year 1: Development of 2-3 modules and outreach to limited pool of ESEM instructors to “pilot” these. Year 2: Refinement of modules and development of additional options, full outreach to ESEM instructors.
Has the institution adopted one or more measurable sustainability objectives that address stakeholder engagement?:
Narrative listing the institution’s measurable sustainability objectives that address stakeholder engagement:
From Earlham's Sustainability Plan:
Network and work with SSC, NSO leaders, Residence Life staff and house conveners to
provide sustainable awareness in campus housing to reduce waste, electricity and water
expenses. Help encourage resident students to engage in daily sustainable practices that are
accessible, equitable and interactive. Year 1: Draft informative sustainability signs/infographics. Year 2: Implement into housing spaces.
Has the institution adopted one or more measurable sustainability objectives that address campus operations?:
Narrative listing the institution’s measurable sustainability objectives that address campus operations:
From sustainability plan
Conduct annual waste characterization studies to include data from waste and recycling
haulers, composting information, along with regular waste audits. Based on results of waste
characterization baseline, work towards a 50 percent reduction in divertible waste being
sent to the landfill within 5 years. “Divertible waste” is recyclable or compostable.
Investigate and recommend policies to encourage landscaping practices that minimize
maintenance needs, the use of synthetic chemicals and the need for watering, while also
beautifying and diversifying the campus landscape. Year 1: Review policies and opportunities, establish test plots. Year 2: adoption of policies, monitoring of test plots. Year 3: Expansion of practices. Ongoing: Monitoring.
Identify cost-effective strategies for reducing Earlham’s water use. By year 3: The College should work to identify the return on investment of the above improvements and aim to implement the most cost-effective approaches to reduce overall water consumption.
Has the institution adopted one or more measurable sustainability objectives that address racial equity and social justice?:
Narrative listing the institution’s measurable sustainability objectives that address racial equity and social justice:
From sustainability plan:
Explore ways that environmental, diversity and social justice efforts can take into
account, support and strengthen one another in the curriculum, co-curriculum and
Earlham community. Focus environmentally themed events on environmental justice or
environmental racism and promote similar material in Environmental Sustainability courses.
Connect Diversity Progress Committee with the Center for Social Justice and sustainability. Year 1: The director for the Center of Environmental Leadership and the
director of Student Engagement & Diversity, Equity and Inclusion will meet to brainstorm
potential collaborations to then be shared with SPC (Sustainability Progress Committee).
Ongoing: Regular meetings (at least once each semester) between CEL staff and Student
Life staff focused around DEI efforts.
Has the institution adopted one or more measurable sustainability objectives that address administration and finance?:
Narrative listing the institution’s measurable sustainability objectives that address administration and finance:
From sustainability plan:
Investigate options for a centralized approach to purchasing on campus that would
include guidelines for environmental performance and/or ethical trade practices. Make a
recommendation to college administration regarding possible approaches. Year 1: Convene a group to develop approach. Year 2: Work out details. Year 3: Launch.
The Reporting Tool will automatically calculate the following figure:
2.3 Climate resilience assessment and planning
Narrative and/or website URL providing an overview of the institution’s climate resilience assessment:
The initial resilience assessment was based on class projects completed during the Spring of 2020, in conjunction with the results of climate resilience work conducted by the City of Richmond, Indiana. Richmond's participation in programming offered through Indiana University's Environmental Resilience Institute has provided a wealth of information on local readiness for the three primary risks from climate change in Indiana: an increasing number of extreme heat events, an increasing number of extreme precipitation events, and an increasing risk of flooding along rivers and streams.
Initial indicators of resilience, as identified in Earlham’s Campus-Community Resilience Assessment Report, include the following:
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Social Equity & Governance
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Community engagement – A strength that will need to be maintained over time.
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Civic engagement (voter turnout) – Slightly below state averages, so room to improve.
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Health & Wellness
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Access to health care – A strength, though COVID-19 demonstrated vulnerabilities in the local health care system.
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Emergency health care – A strength
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Food security – A vulnerability at the community level that several community organizations are working to address.
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Proximity to grocery store – A strength for Earlham’s campus, but several neighborhoods in Richmond considered food deserts.
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Ecosystem Services
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Access to outdoor recreation – A strength to be maintained.
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Protected floodplain – Some vulnerabilities due to limited restrictions on private lands.
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Infrastructure
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Stormwater pollution prevention plan – A strength to be maintained.
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Energy efficiency – Room for improvement both on campus and in local community.
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Emergency communication – A strength to be maintained.
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Local electric grid – Opportunities to partner with City of Richmond to advocate for additional renewable energy.
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Economic
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Employment – A strength to be maintained. Initiatives through Earlham’s Center for Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Creativity are utilizing partnerships with local businesses to advance workforce development efforts. See this news release for additional details on one of these initiatives.
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Collaboration with local government and community organizations on efforts to improve local resilience will be encouraged and pursued as opportunities arise. These efforts will be tracked and included in an annual report.
Does the institution participate in an ongoing campus-community task force or committee that is focused on climate resilience?:
Narrative and/or website URL providing an overview of the campus-community task force or committee focused on climate resilience:
The institution has an ongoing relationship with the City of Richmond's Environmental Sustainability Commisssion and regularly collaborates on projects related to climate resilience. Most recently, we have been looking at tree canopy cover on campus and within the city.
Has the institution incorporated climate resilience strategies and/or goals into one or more of its published plans?:
Narrative listing the institution’s climate resilience strategies and goals and the plan(s) in which they are published:
Integrated into the assessment information provided above.
The Reporting Tool will automatically calculate the following figure:
Optional documentation
Additional documentation for this credit:
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.