Overall Rating Silver
Overall Score 61.51
Liaison Karen Eckert, Ph.D.
Submission Date March 5, 2021
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Principia College
EN-10: Community Partnerships

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.00 / 3.00 Karen Eckert, Ph.D.
Professor and Director
Center for Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Name of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability :
Climate Protection and Energy Efficiency Committee (city of Alton, IL)

Does the institution provide financial or material support for the partnership? :
No

Which of the following best describes the partnership timeframe?:
Multi-year or ongoing

Which of the following best describes the partnership’s sustainability focus?:
The partnership simultaneously supports social equity and wellbeing, economic prosperity, and ecological health

Are underrepresented groups and/or vulnerable populations engaged as equal partners in strategic planning, decision-making, implementation and review? (Yes, No, or Not Sure):
Yes

A brief description of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability, including website URL (if available) and information to support each affirmative response above:

https://cityofaltonil.com/climate-protection-and-energy-efficiency-committee-coolcities/

"The Climate Protection and Energy Efficiency Committee shall establish its own schedule of meetings, organize and appoint such subcommittees as may be deemed necessary, and conduct its business in such a manner as to progressively approach the goals of climate protection and energy efficiency within the government and jurisdiction of the City of Alton."

Recent accomplishments: (i) The Committee successfully eliminated expensive and time-consuming rooftop solar permitting laws, paving the way for renewable energy investments in the city; (ii) The Committee has guided the city in signing a 40 MW solar array deal, located on the old city landfill, with a solar developer!


Name of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability (2nd partnership):
Saturday Cafe (First Presbyterian Church, Alton, IL)

Does the institution provide financial or material support for the partnership? (2nd partnership):
Yes

Which of the following best describes the partnership timeframe? (2nd partnership):
Multi-year or ongoing

Which of the following best describes the partnership’s sustainability focus? (2nd partnership):
The partnership simultaneously supports social equity and wellbeing, economic prosperity, and ecological health

Are underrepresented groups and/or vulnerable populations engaged as equal partners in strategic planning, decision-making, implementation and review? (2nd partnership) (Yes, No, or Not Sure):
Yes

A brief description of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability, including website URL (if available) and information to support each affirmative response above (2nd partnership):

http://www.fpcalton.com/class_gallery.cfm?gallery_id=63443

Recent accomplishments: In addition to volunteering on the hot food line (and preparing gift/toiletry bags) for underserved and vulnerable populations in nearby Alton, IL, students designed a program to collect their peers' meal plan "points" at the end of the year and use them to purchase durable goods from campus Dining Services; these items were then donated to the Cafe (including nutrition bars, cereal, peanut butter, and packaged snacks).

The partnership contributes across the Triple Bottom Line - not only for the obvious social justice and socio-economic aspects, but because the college also contributes surplus food to this urban hot meal program, thus avoiding food waste and the ecological implications associated with that.


Name of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability (3rd partnership):
Mississippi River Clean-up (Alton, IL)

Does the institution provide financial or material support for the partnership? (3rd partnership):
Yes

Which of the following best describes the partnership timeframe? (3rd partnership):
Multi-year or ongoing

Which of the following best describes the partnership’s sustainability focus? (3rd partnership):
The partnership supports at least one, but not all three, dimensions of sustainability

Are underrepresented groups and/or vulnerable populations engaged as equal partners in strategic planning, decision-making, implementation and review? (3rd partnership) (Yes, No, or Unknown):
Not Sure

A brief description of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability, including website URL (if available) and information to support each affirmative response above (3rd partnership):

https://downtownalton.com/events/mississippi-earthtones-festival/
https://www.greenwaynetwork.org/participate/national-public-lands-day-registration/

Recent accomplishments: "Over 43 tons of trash have been removed from the Mississippi River during MEF clean-ups to date, with more than 2,600 volunteer hours contributed."


A brief description of the institution’s other community partnerships to advance sustainability:

More than 1,000 service hours are donated by Principia College students every year. Many of these initiatives advance sustainability targets; e.g., community care and wellbeing (food banks, women's shelters, youth prisons), ecological care (river clean-ups, community gardens), and sustainable business (student-led research for AltonWorks on economic development issues, recommendations for biophilic design to enhance wellbeing and productivity).


The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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