| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 76.41 |
| Liaison | Krista Bailey |
| Submission Date | Dec. 12, 2023 |
Pennsylvania State University
IN-47: Innovation A
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
0.50 / 0.50 |
Krista
Bailey Sustainable Campus Strategist Sustainability Institute |
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indicates that no data was submitted for this field
Name or title of the innovative policy, practice, program, or outcome:
Unit-level Sustainability Chairs, Councils, and Charters
A brief description of the innovative policy, practice, program, or outcome that outlines how credit criteria are met and any positive measurable outcomes associated with the innovation:
Penn State Sustainability which has been charged with integrating sustainability throughout Penn State's teaching, research, outreach, operations and co-curricular education, realized that accomplishing that mission would require that ownership of sustainability extend beyond the Institute and into individual colleges and support units, as well as throughout the Commonwealth Campus system. Penn State Sustainability began to encourage the leaders of each budgetary unit (= deans of the colleges, vice presidents/provosts of the support units, and chancellors of Commonwealth campuses) to designate a person within their unit as a sustainability chair to provide leadership. That person should have a recommended 0.25FTE dedicated to sustainability, with the buy-out of time provided by the unit, in some cases subsidized by Penn State Sustainability. The designated chair in turn should form a multi-stakeholder council within their unit (including faculty, staff, and students where applicable), and the council should in turn create a charter defining strategic sustainability goals and strategies for that unit, consistent with the University's sustainability goals.
As of Fall 2022, the CCC structure has been adopted by 12 of 13 University Park colleges, the University Libraries, and Hershey Medical School. There is a separate Sustainable Operations Council that convenes facilities staff. Councils have been established on 16 of the 23 Commonwealth campuses as well.
This structure helps accomplish several goals. It creates peer networks for the units (for example, the college chairs meet with each other bi-monthly, convened by Penn State Sustainability staff); it creates a network through which the SI can disseminate relevant information; and, perhaps most importantly, it unleashes the creativity of each unit, and allows them to define how their unit can best advance sustainability, and thereby take ownership. It is not one size fits all.
As of Fall 2022, the CCC structure has been adopted by 12 of 13 University Park colleges, the University Libraries, and Hershey Medical School. There is a separate Sustainable Operations Council that convenes facilities staff. Councils have been established on 16 of the 23 Commonwealth campuses as well.
This structure helps accomplish several goals. It creates peer networks for the units (for example, the college chairs meet with each other bi-monthly, convened by Penn State Sustainability staff); it creates a network through which the SI can disseminate relevant information; and, perhaps most importantly, it unleashes the creativity of each unit, and allows them to define how their unit can best advance sustainability, and thereby take ownership. It is not one size fits all.
Optional Fields
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None
The website URL where information about the innovation is available :
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
New to this credit is the establishment of Sustainability Councils across 17 of the 24 campuses (one of which is the online campus, World Campus).
See https://sustainability.psu.edu/campus-efforts/sustainability-councils/commonwealth-campuses/ for information about these Councils.
See https://sustainability.psu.edu/campus-efforts/sustainability-councils/commonwealth-campuses/ for information about these Councils.
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.