Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 56.88
Liaison Laura Young
Submission Date Feb. 11, 2016
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

Michigan State University
EN-9: Community Partnerships

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.00 / 3.00 Ann Erhardt
Chief Sustainability Officer
Infrastructure Planning and Facilities
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution have at least one formal sustainability partnership with the local community that meets the criteria as “supportive”?:
No
+ Date Revised: March 30, 2016

A brief description of the institution’s supportive sustainability partnership(s) with the local community:

n/a

+ Date Revised: March 30, 2016

Does the institution have at least one formal sustainability partnership with the local community that meets the criteria as “collaborative”?:
Yes

A brief description of the institution's collaborative sustainability partnership(s):

Michigan State University is part of the Regional Recycling Coordinating Committee consisting of 12 municipal and non-profit agencies throughout the tri-county region of Ingham, Eaton and Clinton counties. The committee coordinates regional recycling promotion and events, including the annual Recycle Rama event where over 1 million pounds of materials have been collected from the community and diverted from landfills over the past 5 years. Michigan State University utilizes its expertise and staff to help collect and develop markets for materials collected. The committee also organizes the Tri-County Environmental Leadership Awards, celebrating businesses, non-profit organizations, schools and municipal agencies that take extraordinary measures to reduce waste.

Michigan State University also has long standing participation and in the Michigan Recycling Coalition, University Surplus Property Association and College & University Recycling Coalition. Whether through Board of Director’s or committee positions, Michigan State University’s active participation and long term support of these organizations helps to create resources for our peers and drive decision making at both the national and state level.

+ Date Revised: March 30, 2016

Does the institution have at least one formal sustainability partnership with the local community that meets the criteria as “transformative”?:
No

A brief description of the institution's transformative sustainability partnership(s) with the local community:
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A brief description of the institution’s sustainability partnerships with distant (i.e. non-local) communities:

Michigan State University is an active participant in the BIG10 & Friends Sustainability Network. Current projects include the analysis of the groups collective sustainability impact within the regional conference.

The Big Ten and Friends Environmental Group began in 2009 as a result of the Big Ten Financial Officers meeting to identify and plan for long-term issues of environmental stewardship.

The first meeting took place in November 2009 in Chicago, IL. Big Ten and Friends institutions came together to discuss energy initiatives and opportunities to work together to solve common challenges. In addition to the (at the time) eleven schools in the Big Ten, the University of Notre Dame, University of Chicago, and the University of California were also represented.

The success of the first meeting prompted the group to organize bi-annual meetings in the spring and fall. The group expanded to include institutions such as University of Texas and the University of Nebraska. The discussion also evolved to include topics such as materials management, food, strategic planning, student engagement, and institutional metrics. The meetings have resulted in multi-institution collaborations around energy efficiency and lighting, purchasing, and bench marking.


The website URL where information about sustainability partnerships is available:
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.