Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 72.07
Liaison Katie Koscielak
Submission Date May 7, 2020

STARS v2.2

Cal Poly Humboldt
PA-1: Sustainability Coordination

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 1.00 Katie Koscielak
Sustainability Analyst
Facilities Mgmt
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

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 HSU Advisory Committee on Sustainability (HACS) is charged with planning, governing and overseeing the integration and advancement of environmental sustainability and into core operations of the university, with an eye towards the economic and social impacts of such. The HACS will make recommendations for further implementing sustainability into the following categories:

Curriculum and Research | Campus & Community Engagement | Air & Climate | Energy
Buildings & Grounds | Food & Dining | Purchasing | Transportation | Waste & Water

This committee develosp goals, actions, and timelines for areas of focus in support of the campus strategic plan and academic priorities. Additionally, responsibilities of this committee include timely review and confirmation of: Compliance with the Second Nature Climate Commitment; Progress on meeting or exceeding the CSU Sustainability Policy goals, and Implementation of strategies set forth in the Climate Action Plan.

Furthermore, the HACS aligns its efforts with specific sustainability‐related goals, objectives, and performance indicators in the HSU Strategic Plan 2015‐2020.

Read more at https://facilitymgmt.humboldt.edu/sustainability-hsu-advisory-committee-sustainability


Members of each committee, including affiliations and role:

Membership consists of the following:

Two Co-chairs
-One faculty co-chair appointed by the VP of Admin & Finance and the Provost
-One standing appointment co-chair: Director of Sustainability or designee

Four students appointed from the following organizations:
-Campus Center for Appropriate Technology
-Green Campus
-Waste Reduction & Resource Awareness Program
-Associated Students

Four faculty members:
-One faculty member appointed by the University Senate
-Three faculty members appointed by the Provost

Four Auxiliary Services staff appointed by:
-Housing
-Dining Services
-The University Center
-Athletics

Six staff members appointed by:
-Staff Council
-Director of Sustainability
-Budget Director
-Director of Academic Resources
-Director of Parking Services
-Director of Custodial Services


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:

The Office of Sustainability (OS) was created in 2011 to be the campus focal point for sustainability. The OS is responsible for cultivating a culture of sustainability among the University community, comprised of students, faculty and staff by conceptualizing, planning, developing, implementing, managing and overseeing campus-wide sustainability programs and initiatives. The office is housed under Administrative Affairs at Humboldt State University, and is further tiered under the purview of Facilities Management.

The OS is committed to tracking, reporting and managing progress on a number of sustainability reports and goals, including the Second Nature Climate Commitment, the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment, and Rating System (STARS), the CSU Sustainability Policy, the campus Climate Action Plan, campus Resilience Planning, energy efficiency and generation coordination and planning, waste management, and others. The OS also works closely with students and as such, staff members directly oversee and manage the following student groups: the Waste Reduction and Resource Awareness Program (WRRAP), Green Campus, the Humboldt Energy Independence Fund (HEIF), and the Earth Week Every Week Committee under Associated Students. In addition, staff members in the OS often directly advise the Campus Center for Appropriate Technology (CCAT) and sit on the CCAT Steering Committee, making recommendations to students on any and all operations and planning matters during monthly check in meetings. Relating to student matters, the OS also works closely with the Resident Sustainability Advisor who is supervised by Housing & Residence Life, and advises other student-led initiatives and projects as needed.

Generally, the OS acts as a resource to all areas of campus, (academics, Housing, Dining, student affairs, etc) for on-campus sustainability initiatives. The OS works to consistently identify areas of campus to integrate or improve sustainability operations, working closely and collaboratively with nearly all departments across campus. Although housed in Facilities Management, the OS coordinates significant work throughout other areas beyond operations and utilities, with special focus in the last three years within incorporating sustainability into Academics in a more robust and coordinated way. Over time, the OS hopes to gradually make sustainability operations commonplace across all of campus.


Full-time equivalent of people employed in the sustainability office(s):
4

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

Name and title of each sustainability officer:
TallChief Comet, Director of Sustainability. Morgan King, Climate Action Analyst. Katie Koscielak, Sustainability Analyst. Andrea Alstone, Energy Planner & Analyst.

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:

There are two branches that coordinate institution-wide sustainability activities at HSU:
1. The Office of Sustainability housed in Facilities Management (which is comprised of the sustainability officers listed above) is the primary hub through which activities are coordinated, and
2. The Humboldt State Advisory Committee on Sustainability (HACS, also described above) assists these efforts through collaborative deliberation with diverse representation from campus stakeholders. This group provides recommendations to the Provost and VP of Admin Affairs about resourcing and action.

Substantive accomplishments of these groups include:
-Participation and service in chair role for Zero Waste Working Group with the City of Arcata
-Significant advancement of integrating sustainability into curriculum (improvement of the sustainability literacy assessment, introduction of faculty learning community, redesign of process by which courses are designated as sustainability related and focus)
-Coordination of community partnership on climate change resiliency planning for the region
-Advancement of the conversation to utilize PGE on-bill financing mechanisms for energy efficiency projects
-Coordination and planning of statewide Green Campus Student Summit events
-Development of HSU Advisory Committee measurable goals and digital, online reporting dashboard
-Development of paid student intern positions that focus on sustainability throughout Dining Operations
-Recognition of Level 1 Green Restaurant Certification through the Green Restaurant Association for four out of six Dining Services locations
-Recognition as a Bicycle Friendly Business with a Bronze Rating by the League of American Bicyclists
-Recognition as a Princeton Review "Green School"
-Recognition as a Sierra "Cool School", ranked #31 2018
-Development of pathway to recognize sustainability project and research submissions within annual IdeaFest event
-Partnership and participation in successful food recovery grant to CalRecycle with City of Arcata, City of Eureka, Food for People


Job title of the sustainability officer position:
Sustainability Analyst/Coordinator

Job description for the sustainability officer position:
Job description for the sustainability officer position:
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Job title of the sustainability officer position (2nd position):
Climate Action Analyst

Job description for the sustainability officer position (2nd position):
Job description for the sustainability officer position (2nd position):
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Job title of the sustainability officer position (3rd position):
Director of Sustainability, Energy & Grounds

Job description for the sustainability officer position (3rd position):
Job description for the sustainability officer position (3rd position):
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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.