Overall Rating Bronze - expired
Overall Score 40.54
Liaison Rebecca Quesnell
Submission Date Dec. 18, 2015
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

Roosevelt University
EN-14: Participation in Public Policy

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.00 / 2.00 Maria Cancilla
STARS Intern
Physical Resources
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution advocate for national, state/provincial, or local public policies that support campus sustainability or that otherwise advance sustainability?:
Yes

A brief description of how the institution engages in public policy advocacy for sustainability, including the issues, legislation, and ordinances for or against which the institution has advocated:

As a member of the Chicago Energy Benchmarking Working Group, Roosevelt University partnered with the Illinois Chapter of the United States Green Building Council (USGBC-IL), Natural Resources Defense Council, other leaders in green buildings and energy use reductions, as well as utility companies, to create and advocate for the Chicago’s Building Energy Use Benchmarking Ordinance. Additionally, the RU Auditorium Building was featured in the 2014 City of Chicago Building Energy Benchmarking Report (page 22).

The initial phase requires buildings over 250,000 square feet to comply by using the EPA’s ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager tool to measure, verify and report their energy use. The second phase (by 2016) will include all buildings over 50,000 square feet.

Mayors Quote from the report:
“Energy benchmarking engaged the real estate and energy communities to increase transparency of building energy use and has uncovered tens of millions of dollars in potential savings. Delivering those savings will increase competitiveness as we work toward a brighter economic and environmental future for our city.”

http://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/progs/env/building-energy-benchmarking---transparency.html

http://www.cityofchicago.org/content/dam/city/progs/env/EnergyBenchmark/2014_Benchmarking_Report_Final.pdf


A brief description of other political positions the institution has taken during the previous three years:

RU Faculty/Student representation in Schaumburg Bikeways Planning Committee: Determined that increasing the use of the Bikeways network could be accomplished by implementing a series of recommended modifications to municipal code and procedures:

• Update street design policy
• Update bicycle parking ordinance
• Update off-street bicycle facilities ordinance

• Protecting access to bike lanes
• Allowing cyclists access to all Bikeways
• Reduce speed limits to promote safety
• Establish traffic calming goal

(Taken from the “Schaumburg Bikeways Plan,” published by the Active Transportation Alliance.” Feb., 2012)

https://futureofschaumburg.wordpress.com/2012/03/30/will-schaumburg-become-a-bicycle-friendly-community-its-in-the-works/

https://futureofschaumburg.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/schaumburg-bicycle-plan-2-low-res-27-jan-2012.pdf


Roosevelt University’s Sustainability Studies Program hosted a meeting of universities (Fall 2012) that was part of the Transit Future project. Led by the Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT), Transit Future works with the Cook County Board of Commissioners to develop policy to fund the Chicago and Cook County transit system, which ultimately saves commuters time and money, creates jobs and improves the economy of the region.

http://transitfuture.org/


A brief description of political donations the institution made during the previous three years (if applicable):

U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC):
While RU does not make donations directly to political campaigns, the institution is a member of the USGBC and has contributed to this organization through which said donations may be used towards policy.


The website URL where information about the institution’s advocacy efforts is available:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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