Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 67.49
Liaison Elizabeth Swiman
Submission Date March 15, 2023

STARS v2.2

Florida State University
PA-1: Sustainability Coordination

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 1.00 Elizabeth Swiman
Director of Campus Sustainability
Facilities
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Sustainability committee(s) 

Does the institution have at least one sustainability committee?:
Yes

The charter or mission statement of the committee(s) or a brief description of each committee's purview and activities:
The Sustainability Committee is a standing Faculty Senate committee. The Sustainability Committee provides input, expertise, and accountability in service of university decision-making as FSU works toward national leadership in sustainability.

The Committee consists of faculty members appointed by the Steering Committee, with the advice and consent of the Senate, for staggered three-year terms. The Director of Campus Sustainability is a non-voting ex-officio member. The Committee chairperson appoints annually one student to serve as a nonvoting member. The Committee also invites to its meetings representatives of administrative offices, students, and others with relevant expertise and implementation responsibilities.

The chairperson is appointed by the Steering Committee from the faculty representatives. The Committee makes its recommendations to the Steering Committee, which transmits the recommendations to the Senate for action.

Members of each committee, including affiliations and role:
2020-2023
- Akash Gunjan, Medicine
- Will Hanley, Arts & Sciences
- Charles Hofacker, Business
- Eundeok Kim, Entrepreneurship
- Sarah Lester, Social Sciences & Public Policy, Chair
- Erin Ryan, Law

2022-2025
- Amy McKenna, Mag Lab
- Jeff Chanton, EOAS

Ex Officio: Elizabeth Swiman, Director of Sustainability
Student representative: Shaifali Prajapati
Emeritus Faculty: Ian MacDonald

Sustainability office(s) 

Does the institution have at least one sustainability office that includes more than 1 full-time equivalent employee?:
Yes

A brief description of each sustainability office:
Florida State University’s Sustainable Campus works to educate and engage students, staff, and faculty to set an example of campus sustainability and position FSU as a leader of environmental and social action.

Sustainable Campus’ educational efforts, community outreach, and programs work alongside the greater campus efforts and operations to provide everyone with the ability to develop, apply, and practice sustainability. Our efforts seek to conserve resources at FSU and strengthen the positive impact our university leaves upon the local and global environment for generations to come.

The Sustainable Campus office consists of full-time staff, Graduate Assistants, and student staff. The student staff oversee peer to peer sustainability education programs for the student body with the management of full-time staff. Full time staff develop programs and initiatives to engage the entire campus and Tallahassee community in sustainability efforts.

Full-time equivalent of people employed in the sustainability office(s):
10

Sustainability officer(s) 

Does the institution have at least one sustainability officer?:
Yes

Name and title of each sustainability officer:
Elizabeth Swiman, Director of Sustainability

Institution-wide coordination 

Does the institution have a mechanism for broad sustainability coordination for the entire institution?:
Yes

A brief description of the activities and substantive accomplishments of the institution-wide coordinating body or officer during the previous three years:
The Future is Florida State: Strategic Plan 2017-2022 includes sustainability, declaring a commitment to climate action, resource stewardship, waste minimization, and education for sustainability. Since the publication of the strategic plan, FSU increased resource allocation to sustainability, including the appointment of additional FTE staff positions.

On April 14, the Florida State University Faculty Senate passed a resolution advocating for the improvement of sustainability at FSU. The resolution addresses the need to elevate sustainability to a core strategic goal while also proposing the establishment of a Sustainability Council and a standing Sustainability Committee, which would both work on keeping the university accountable for maintaining ecological balance.

Optional Fields 

Job description (1st position)

Job title of the sustainability officer position:
Director of Sustainability

Job description for the sustainability officer position:
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Job description for the sustainability officer position:
This position supervises the Sustainable Campus Program Coordinators and works at a high level with senior staff to develop strategies and initiatives to reduce FSU’s overall footprint. This includes: overseeing the Sustainability Advisory Board, collaborating with Utilities to reduce energy consumption, managing department mergers for optimal efficiency, teaching a Leadership and Sustainability course, and perusing sustainability initiatives across campus.

Job description (2nd position) 

Job title of the sustainability officer position (2nd position):
Engagement & Outreach Coordinator

Job description for the sustainability officer position (2nd position):
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Job description for the sustainability officer position (2nd position):
The Engagement Coordinator develops and coordinates Sustainable Campus student outreach engagement programs, specifically Garnet & Gold Goes Green, Food Recovery Network, Eco-Reps, Seminole Organic Garden, and reCycle Bike. The coordinator supervises OPS and student program staff, interns, and volunteers and advises related student organizations.

Job description (3rd position) 

Job title of the sustainability officer position (3rd position):
Academics & Partnerships Coordinator

Job description for the sustainability officer position (3rd position):
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Job description for the sustainability officer position (3rd position):
The Academics and Partnerships Coordinator coordinates the development and implementation of sustainability best practices, programs, and events targeting actions across a range of topical areas. The coordinator is responsible for developing a co­curricular "campus as living lab" sustainability partnership program, which engages the campus and local community to implement community based, experiential learning opportunities. The coordinator works with faculty to build sustainability into courses and supports the coordination of data collection and reporting for Sustainable Campus programs, STARS, and other benchmarking opportunities.

Website URL where information about the institution’s sustainability coordination 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.