| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 65.28 |
| Liaison | Michelle Seppala Gibbs |
| Submission Date | March 3, 2023 |
Hope College
EN-11: Inter-Campus Collaboration
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
3.00 / 3.00 |
Michelle
Gibbs Director Office of Sustainability |
Is the institution currently a member of a national or international higher education sustainability network?:
The name of the national or international sustainability network(s):
AASHE, CURC, WEGE Prize, WMSBF
Does the institution actively participate in a regional, state/provincial, or local higher education sustainability network?:
The name of the regional, state/provincial or local sustainability network(s):
MiSBF Campus Sustainability Collective
The Campus Sustainability Working Group is a community of faculty, staff, alumni, and students from Michigan colleges and universities and community stakeholders that will create a platform for the development of shared capacity initiatives. It is facilitated by West Michigan Sustainable Business Forum and will generate initiatives and shared sustainability practices on campuses and provide resources to assist with sustainability within courses across Michigan.
Specific objectives include:
• Collaboratively promote the discussion of campus sustainability and best practices for colleges and universities
• Create a community of Michigan college/university affiliates and advocates to develop relationships and connections
• Elevate and promote the use of sustainability on campuses
• Utilize collaboration as a combined voice to speak for higher education in Michigan
• Connect college/university stakeholders to resources, vendors, and information related to the use of campus sustainability, facilitating peer-to-peer learning and continuing education
Has the institution presented at a higher education sustainability conference during the previous year?:
A list or brief description of the conference(s) and presentation(s):
Our Green Team Chair and Director for the Office of Sustainability co-presented during the "Role of Higher Education in Nuturing Sustainable Communities Conference at Albion College" in June of 2022.
"Colleges and universities play important roles in developing both the leaders of tomorrow and the communities in which they are embedded. During this conference, we will discuss the many ways in which the connection between college and community can grow sustainably and be mutually beneficial, including collaborations for students, staff, faculty, and community members. We seek to build a space for professional development, resource sharing, networking opportunities, and inspiration." https://www.albion.edu/sustainable-communities/
The Director for the Office of Sustainability also served as a panelist during the December WMSBF "December Forum to Discuss Sustainability in Higher Education"
https://wmsbf.org/blog/2021/12/01/december-forum-to-discuss-sustainability-in-higher-education/
Has the institution submitted a case study during the previous year to an external higher education sustainability resource center or awards program?:
A list or brief description of the sustainability resource center or awards program and submission(s):
We have submitted stories for the AASHE newsletter, but no official case studies submitted for this nor any other external higher education sustainability resource centers or award programs.
Hope College, along with five other local companies and institutions were nominated for the 2022 West Michigan Sustainable Business of the Year Award.
article - https://wmsbf.org/blog/2022/09/23/six-organizations-nominated-for-2022-sustainable-business-of-the-year/
video - https://www.woodtv.com/news/ottawa-county/hope-college-green-team-works-toward-sustainability/
Has the institution had employees or students serving on a board or committee of a sustainability network or conference during the previous three years?:
A list or brief description of the board or committee appointment(s):
Dr. Steven Bouma-Prediger, from our Relgion Department and Green Team Chair serves on the Au Sable Institute for Environmental Studies, a non-profit organization that offers college level courses all over the world.
Dr. Bouma-Prediger also served on the organizing committee for a conference on sustainability in June 2022 for the Great Lakes College Association (GLCA).
Dr. Jeffrey Christians from our Engineering Department served as a member of the Holland Community Energy Plan Strategic Development Team from 2020-2021. During this time, the Strategic Development Team performed a comprehensive review of the Holland Community Energy Plan. The results of this work were recommendations by the Strategic Development Team for additional strategies and an updated, more aggressive, goal for carbon emission reductions for the City of Holland, as part of a revised 40 year Community Energy Plan. The recommendations from this report were unanimously adopted by the Holland City Council in the fall of 2021.
Kara Slater, our Director of Operations serves on the Board of Directors for the local organization "Benjamin's Hope." https://www.benjaminshope.net/about
Dr. David Van Wylen from our Office of Possibilities serves on the Board of Directors for the Outdoor Discovery Center. https://outdoordiscovery.org/about/
Does the institution have an ongoing mentoring relationship with another institution through which it assists the institution with its sustainability reporting and/or the development of its sustainability program?:
A brief description of the mentoring relationship and activities:
We have not had a formal ongoing mentoring relationship with another institution, however, we often get emails and calls from other schools asking about specific projects and how we have set-up our office. In the past couple of years we've shared details about our reusable dining products with college's as part of the MiSBF Campus Sustainability Collective as well as other projects such as our waste programs, our internship program, Food Recovery Network Chapter, overall campus sutainability, and bees.
We have hosted a number of other schools for campus tours.
Has the institution had employees or students serving as peer reviewers of another institution’s sustainability data and/or STARS submission during the previous three years?:
A brief description of the peer review activities:
A brief description of other inter-campus collaborative efforts around sustainability during the previous year :
The Director for the Office of Sustainability has served as a WEGE Prize Judge. She has served during the 2022 and 2023 WEGE Prize Competition Years as a preliminary judge.
http://www.wegeprize.org/competition
http://www.wegeprize.org/judges
"Wege Prize is an annual competition that ignites game-changing solutions for the future by inspiring college/university students around the world to collaborate across institutional, disciplinary, and cultural boundaries to redesign the way economies work. Participants contend for $65,000 (USD) in total cash prizes, all while learning—and helping to show the world—what the future of problem solving looks like."
Website URL where information about the institution’s inter-campus collaborations is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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.