Oregon State University
ER-15: Sustainability Research Identification

Defining Sustainability Research at Oregon State University As a Charter Participant in the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System (STARS), OSU has made efforts to define and quantify its sustainability related research. The OSU Institute for Natural Resources (INR) in June 2009 issued an inventory of sustainability activities entitled Sustainability at Oregon State University. The OSU Sustainability Office has used elements of the inventory combined with input from OSU researchers to inform the process of quantifying OSU’s sustainability research. One tool in the assessment process is the following table, modified from the 2009 INR report: OSU Sustainability Research Focus Areas Alternative Energy & Energy Sources Blue Sustainability Climate Green Sustainability Materials, Practices, & Technologies Social Systems Bio-based energy Coastal & ocean sciences Adaptation Agriculture Bio-based materials Agricultural & resource economics Passive nuclear Fisheries Human dimensions Ecosystems & habitats Bio-remediation Rural studies Solar Water & watersheds Impacts Forests Environmental toxicology Land use and smart growth Wave Mitigation Landscapes Green technologies Green building Wind Processes Soils Green communities Adapted from Sustainability at OSU (Institute for Natural Resources) and US Environmental Protection Agency In addition to categorizing research into the areas in the table above, a sustainability research evaluation committee used recent work by the College of Business to help define sustainability research. Researchers from the colleges of Liberal Arts, Science, and Engineering also contributed to the following statement: An OSU research activity is considered sustainability related if it combines examination of an environmental aspect combined with examination of a social OR an economic aspect. While all three sustainability aspects should play some role in the research activity, only the environment aspect plus one other aspect must be examined in depth. As indicated in OSU’s Strategic Plan, research activities should advance the science of sustainable earth ecosystems, improve human health and wellness, promote economic development and social progress, or expand the current knowledge base within sustainability focus areas listed in the table above.

An agreement between the OSU Sustainability Coordinator and the OSU Vice President for Research made during calendar 2010 resulted in a flow of research information that would be reported on an annual basis. Research Office staff provided a database of OSU research conducted during Fiscal Year 2010. Sustainability Office staff and students reviewed proposal titles and, based on the faculty committee's institutional definition above, selected proposals for further review to search for elements of sustainability. Full proposals were then requested from the Research Office and reviewed for sustainabiltiy-related content. A preliminary list was sent to the faculty committee for concurrence or modification.