Oregon State University
PAE-1: Sustainability Coordination

The OSU Sustainability Advisory Council was formed in fall 2011 by the Provost, the Vice President for Finance and Administration and the Sustainability Coordinator. Its primary objectives are to prioritize actions toward improvement in areas like student engagement, operations and investment that advance sustainability at OSU. The Council also determines and refines a broad range of institutional goals and priorities like carbon neutrality, service learning targets, and community relations.

The Council recommends actions and resources in formulating programs, concepts and strategies as they are sought by the Vice President for Finance and Administration, and assists in leveraging internal and external funding for projects and initiatives. A core goal of the council is to implement sustainability elements from the Strategic Plan and help inform the next round of strategic planning.

The council provides the Vice President of Finance and Administration brief updates on progress every six months on key initiatives and will create an annual report on overall progress using existing indicators.
Communicate regularly but meet at least quarterly, with appropriate Coordination Teams (see below) meeting more often as needed
Operate transparently by posting progress, reports and other pertinent information online

Serves as advisory to the Office of the Vice President for Finance and Administration and to the Sustainability Office. As needed, the Council will establish Coordination Teams to address priority issues. Teams will be led by a member of the Council and may add members from the university community as needed. Team members will be appointed by the Council. Teams will focus on advancing initiatives that address Sustainability Council objectives. Coordination Teams report to the Council on a regular basis.

Potential Opportunities for Coordination Teams
1. Investment
2. Civic engagement
3. Greenhouse gas emissions reduction
4. Purchasing and materials
5. Sustainability metrics data collection improvement
6. Academic interface

Anita Nina Azarenko, Horticulture
Emily Bowling, Student Leadership and Involvement
Brigitte Cluver, Design/Human Environment
David Dodson, Campus Planning
Lucas Friedrichsen, Technology Support Services
Peg Herring, Extension & Experiment Station Communications
Brian Laird, Student Sustainability Initiative
Sonja Mae, Sustainability Office
Andrea Norris, Campus Recyling
Viviane Simon-Brown, Sustainable Living Project
Brandon Trelstad, Sustainability Office
Marianne Vydra, Athletics

The Sustainability Office is the primary support organization for sustainability efforts at OSU, helping facilitate and manage projects, network on- and off-campus entities, and support student, academic, research and outreach efforts. The office is engaged in multiple partnerships with collaborative organizations such as campus recycling, the Student Sustainability Initiative, and the Corvallis Sustainability Coalition.

The Sustainability Office was formed by the creation of a full-time sustainability coordinator in 2005. Another full-time position was created in 2008, as the university understood the need for another staff member to focus on energy data acquisition and management. With regard to operations, the office conducts sustainability audits, which are complete assessments of the environmental impacts associated with campus buildings and work spaces and subsequent recommendations for improvement. The office also holds an annual Building Energy Challenge, conducts lighting retrofits, and night audits to illustrate the amount of energy wasted by campus buildings during night hours.

While the office focuses partially on campus operations, projects and initiatives are created in to address multiple areas of sustainability. Student engagement is encouraged through experiential learning projects, such as: energy and water systems analysis, feasibility studies for green building ideas, campaigns to promote cultural changes, and policy impacts and development. The office is also making an effort to incorporate sustainability issues into academic programs by assisting departments to integrate sustainability into their curriculum.

The office is represented at many campus and community events where we inform the public about OSU sustainability and encourage people to get involved.

The sustainability office engages in other ongoing activities including: overseeing conservation and renewable energy projects on campus; supporting campus departments and students in their efforts to become more sustainable; acting as a single point of contact for on- and off-campus inquiries; referring questions to proper campus experts in education, research, and Extension;
representing OSU administration in sustainability endeavors;
and networking disconnected stakeholders. The sustainability office is therefore actively engaged in a multitude of sustainability related issues at OSU and within the community.

The primary duties of the sustainability coordinator include managing communication about sustainability efforts, identifying - and obtaining funding for - conservation and efficiency projects, supporting student and academic sustainability efforts, and representing OSU to external audiences.