Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 75.77
Liaison Daryl Pierson
Submission Date March 1, 2022

STARS v2.2

Portland State University
PRE-2: Points of Distinction

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete N/A Amanda Wolf
Program + Assessment Coordinator
Campus Sustainability Office
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Name of the institution’s featured sustainability program, initiative, or accomplishment:
PSU Sustainability Dashboard

A brief description of the institution’s featured program, initiative, or accomplishment:

The Sustainability Dashboard was first launched in 2019 with electricity, gas, and water data. With the 2020 update, we have expanded on that foundation. Specifically, the updated Dashboard was designed to include:

-new data modules, including energy efficiency, energy use intensity, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
-utility data from several additional years, which helps to show trends in campus operations;
-new types of visualizations, including benchmarking and progress tracking comparing utility usage and GHG emissions overtime as compared with PSU’s baseline data;

Transparency and accountability are essential for continual improvements to reach sustainability goal, helping to uncover new insights, support decision-making, and encourage engagement from the campus community. The dashboard features visualization s of PSU's data allowing our community to track our progress toward our sustainability goals.


Which of the following impact areas does the featured program, initiative, or accomplishment most closely relate to?:
Curriculum
Campus Engagement
Air & Climate
Buildings
Energy

Website URL where more information about the accomplishment may be found:
STARS credit in which the featured program, initiative, or accomplishment is reported (if applicable):
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A photograph or document associated with the featured program, initiative, or accomplishment:
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Name of a second highlighted sustainability program/initiative/accomplishment:
Sustainability Mentorship Program

A brief description of the second program/initiative/accomplishment:

The Sustainability Mentorship Program offers all PSU students an opportunity to connect with professionals in a variety of sustainability-related fields. There is one cohort a year, with applications opening during the Fall term, and the program running from Winter through the end of Spring term.

It’s a mutually beneficial relationship. Sustainability Mentors have the opportunity to share their professional experiences with students, hone their leadership skills, gain new perspectives from their mentee’s interests and enthusiasm, learn about barriers facing entry-level professionals today, and support the up-and-coming wave of sustainability professionals.

This program has been supported through grant funding that will no longer be available at the end of this academic year. The students and mentors have found so much value in this experience and we are happy to announce that the Student Fee Committee has decided to institutionalize this program and provide student funding to ensure the program continues.


Which impact areas does the second program/initiative/accomplishment most closely relate to?:
Campus Engagement

Website URL where more information about the second program/initiative/accomplishment may be found:
STARS credit in which the second program/initiative/accomplishment is reported (if applicable):
EN-3: Student Life

A photograph or document associated with the second program/initiative/accomplishment:
Name of a third highlighted program/initiative/accomplishment:
PSU Basic Needs Hub

A brief description of the third program/initiative/accomplishment:

The Basic Needs Hub provides students with one place to stop for all concerns related to providing for basic needs support. The mission is to connect PSU students to resources in the moment of need so students can focus on academics, career goals, and interpersonal relationships.

The hub provides food assistance resources ranging from the free food market and food pantry to helping students apply for food stamps. Additionally, there are several resources for housing services such as emergency short-term housing (1-3 days of free housing) and the PSU Landing, a partnership with the First United Methodist Church homeless shelter that provides up to 8 students a place to sleep, shower, store personal belongings, and study.


Which impact areas does the third program/initiative/accomplishment most closely relate to?:
Campus Engagement
Diversity & Affordability

Website URL where more information about the third program/initiative/accomplishment may be found:
STARS credit in which the third program/initiative/accomplishment is reported (if applicable):
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A photograph or document associated with the third program/initiative/accomplishment:
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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.