Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 49.02
Liaison Carolyn Shafer
Submission Date March 6, 2020

STARS v2.2

Pratt Institute
AC-8: Campus as a Living Laboratory

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.40 / 4.00 Carolyn Shafer
Director
Center for Sustainable Design Strategies
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Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Campus Engagement?:
Yes

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Campus Engagement:

The Center for Sustainable Design Strategies (CSDS) serves as a physical and virtual hub for Pratt’s commitment to educate environmentally responsible citizens. CSDS encourages the use of Pratt’s campus as a living laboratory linking the classroom to campus initiatives. The CSDS houses a materials research center that supports faculty, students and alumni in the integration of sustainability into their professional lives. CSDS supports and critiques studio work in Architecture, Design, and Fine Arts each semester; projects that relate specifically to campus sustainability include efforts to eliminate single-use plastic water bottles (the Ban the Bottle campaign), repurpose discarded art and design supplies (the Give/Take program), and reduce the use of toxic materials in painting and design studios.


Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Public Engagement?:
No

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Public Engagement:
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Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Air & Climate?:
No

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Air & Climate:

AIR & CLIMATE - SES 634-B Sustainability Indicators
Sustainability indicators measure progress toward a sustainable economy, society and environment. The Ecological Footprint Analysis is a type of sustainability indicator that measures how much biologically productive land and water area an individual, a city, a country, or a region requires to produce the resources it consumes and to absorb the waste it regenerates. This course introduces the principles underlying sustainability indicators, including Ecological Footprint Analysis, and will offer students hands-on experience with these tools.


Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Buildings?:
Yes

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Buildings:

The undergraduate course SUST 401 Power, Pollution, and Profit (developed as an interdisciplinary seminar as part of the Sustainability Studies minor) has a formal collaboration with Pratt's facilities department (including having been taught by Director of Administrative Sustainability Anthony Gelber). Pratt's campus represents change and continuity in the history of energy regimes, and students examine the relationship between buildings and energy from the nineteenth century (with site visits to Pratt's American Society of Mechanical Engineers-landmarked steam plant) to the twenty-first century (with the LEED-Gold certified administration building Myrtle Hall). Students develop individual or team projects to recommend best practices based upon the sites they survey. Final projects include student papers on using Life-Cycle Assessments to optimize building performance, and evaluating how well LEED certified building addresses current campus environmental issues.


Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Energy?:
Yes

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Energy:

The undergraduate course SUST 401 Power, Pollution, and Profit (developed as an interdisciplinary seminar as part of the Sustainability Studies minor) has a formal collaboration with Pratt's facilities department (including having been taught by Director of Administrative Sustainability Anthony Gelber). Pratt's campus represents change and continuity in the history of energy regimes, and students examine the relationship between buildings and energy from the nineteenth century (with site visits to Pratt's American Society of Mechanical Engineers-landmarked steam plant) to the twenty-first century (with the LEED-Gold certified administration building Myrtle Hall). Students develop individual or team projects to recommend best practices based upon the sites they survey. Final projects include student papers on using Life-Cycle Assessments to optimize building performance (including energy issues), and considering how application of Passive retrofitting standards would affect campus energy consumption.


Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Food & Dining?:
Yes

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Food & Dining:

In the SES-635A 1-credit course in the M.Sc. in Sustainable Environmental Systems, Solid Waste Management, students often use the school cafeteria, and food and dining services as a case study for investigations on food waste reduction, composting, packaging and single use container reduction and other waste management strategies. Example (Spring 2019): Waste management plan: It’s a compost time at Pratt Cafeteria, by a student team. This is a study of the waste management practices of the main cafeteria located at Pratt Institute’s Brooklyn campus. Where Sustainable recommendations are proposed at the end to better manage the waste generated.


Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Grounds?:
No

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Grounds:
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Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Purchasing?:
No

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Purchasing:
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Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Transportation?:
No

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Transportation:
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Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Waste?:
Yes

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Waste:

In the SES-635A 1-credit course in the M.Sc. in Sustainable Environmental Systems, Solid Waste Management, students often use the school campus - specifically Higgins Hall, home of the School of Architecture - as a case study of waste management systems, and a testing ground for proposed policy, management, and infrastructural improvements. Example (Spring 2019): Architecture School Waste project by a student team. A study of the waste management practices in Pratt's School of Architecture, specifically waste produced by the School's faculty.


Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Water?:
Yes

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Water:

Pratt’s Sustainable Environmental Systems program is a leader in innovative efforts to research, design, and implement Green Infrastructure in New York City. Managing stormwater runoff and water pollution in a sustainable and equitable way is one of the city’s major environmental challenges. Pratt is participating by constructing green infrastructure on campus by retrofitting the Cannoneer Court Parking Lot and installing a green roof on North Hall. The Sustainable Environmental System’s Green Infrastructure Design Build Studio provides students with the skills to design green infrastructure in a variety of settings. These initiatives, along with several ongoing faculty and student research projects, bring together students, faculty, alumni and professionals across the city to holistically tackle this pressing environmental issue.

https://www.pratt.edu/academics/architecture/sustainable-environmental-systems/green-infrastructure/


Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Coordination & Planning?:
No

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Coordination & Planning:
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Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Diversity & Affordability?:
No

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Diversity & Affordability:
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Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Investment & Finance?:
No

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Investment & Finance:
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Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Wellbeing & Work?:
No

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Wellbeing & Work:
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Website URL where information about the institution’s living laboratory program is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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