Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 55.41
Liaison Kristin Larson
Submission Date March 2, 2018
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

San Diego State University
EN-3: Student Life

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.00 / 2.00 Travis Freeman
Intern
Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution have one or more active student groups focused on sustainability?:
Yes

A brief description of active student groups focused on sustainability:

GreenFest, presented by SDSU's Associated Students and SDSU's Enviro-Business Society, is a series of events and initiatives, which encourage, celebrate, and advocate for sustainability, SDSU Pride, and diversity. The purpose of GreenFest is to engage the campus community through social and interactive programs in an effort to educate them on the importance of living a sustainable lifestyle and to promote sustainable practices.

The Enviro-Business Society is a non-profit environmental advocacy organization at San Diego State University. They strive to empower students to make a positive environmental impact on campus, in the community, in the business world, and everyday life through the principles of ecology, ethics, and economics (the 3 e's).

They accept all majors to create a beneficial way to enact real change through special projects and event. This currently includes running a weekly farmers' market on campus, regulating the bike line, holding weekly meetings with various local speakers, and planning the annual Earth Day celebration!

The San Diego Chapter of The Association of Environmental Professionals is committed to supporting students preparing for careers in the environmental field. The Student Chapter offers student-specific programs, awards annual scholarships, encourages internship placement, and hosts networking events for local undergraduate and graduate students. The goal of the Student Chapter is to create and provide a better network between students and the environmental professional community.


The website URL where information about the student groups is available (optional):
Does the institution have gardens, farms, community supported agriculture (CSA) or fishery programs, and/or urban agriculture projects where students are able to gain experience in organic agriculture and sustainable food systems?:
Yes

A brief description of the gardens, farms, community supported agriculture (CSA) or fishery programs, and/or urban agriculture projects:

Associated Students is a partner of the College Area Community Garden, by the Children’s Center. Anyone can rent plots; Aztec Shops, GreenLove, and the Enviro-Business Society all have plots. A small pilot composting facility is hosted by the Community Garden. Compostables from the Children’s Center and certain Associated Student events end up turning into compost right on campus.


The website URL where information about the gardens, farms or agriculture projects is available (optional):
Does the institution have student-run enterprises that include sustainability as part of their mission statements or stated purposes (e.g. cafés through which students gain sustainable business skills)?:
Yes

A brief description of the student-run enterprises:

BrightSide provides a service that increases the accessibility, availability, and affordability of fresh fruits and vegetables by serving as a produce distributor for food insecure customers in low-income communities and the university community.

The funding model for BrightSide relies on the proceeds from deliveries of produce on the SDSU campus to fund deliveries to BrightSide stores in underserved communities. By utilizing idle resources, employing university students and volunteers, and servicing multiple food insecure communities, BrightSide provides a sustainable, long-term solution for distribution that can be scalable to more communities as the venture grows.

Food Insecurity impacts approximately 16% of the population of San Diego. 494,439 people in San Diego County are food insecure. That’s 330,302 adults and 164,137 children (San Diego Hunger Coalition).


The website URL where information about the student-run enterprises is available (optional):
Does the institution have sustainable investment funds, green revolving funds or sustainable microfinance initiatives through which students can develop socially, environmentally and fiscally responsible investment and financial skills?:
Yes

A brief description of the sustainable investment funds, green revolving funds or sustainable microfinance initiatives:

Students are responsible for the GreenFest and larger GreenLove budget. They also participate in budgeting energy projects for Associated Students.


The website URL where information about the sustainable investment funds, green revolving funds or sustainable microfinance initiatives is available (optional):
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Does the institution have conferences, speaker series, symposia or similar events related to sustainability that have students as the intended audience?:
Yes

A brief description of the conferences, speaker series, symposia or similar events related to sustainability:

Greenlove's Green Lunch Bag Series - The GLBS is a sustainability minded event held in the Student Union theater every month to raise awareness and stimulate conversation about various topics in sustainability. The events consist of various guest speakers, interactive activities, and documentaries. Free Oggi's pizza is usually provided with options for vegetarians and vegans as well!

Bi-weekly Enviro-Business Society meetings host local sustainability leaders in today's work force and industry.


The website URL where information about the conferences, speaker series, symposia or similar events related to sustainability is available (optional):
Does the institution have cultural arts events, installations or performances related to sustainability that have students as the intended audience?:
Yes

A brief description of the cultural arts events, installations or performances related to sustainability:

Every year SDSU's Greenfest hosts a concert that is based on sustainability, which also features recycled art.


The website URL where information about the cultural arts events, installations or performances is available (optional):
Does the institution have wilderness or outdoors programs (e.g. that organize hiking, backpacking, kayaking, or other outings for students) that follow Leave No Trace principles?:
Yes

A brief description of the wilderness or outdoors programs that follow Leave No Trace principles:

AZTEC ADVENTURES provides the SDSU community with opportunities to experience outdoor challenges that aim to promote personal growth, health and wellness, leadership, relationship building and environmental responsibility.


The website URL where information about the wilderness or outdoors programs is available (optional):
Does the institution have sustainability-related themes chosen for themed semesters, years, or first-year experiences (e.g. choosing a sustainability-related book for common reading)?:
No

A brief description of the sustainability-related themes chosen for themed semesters, years, or first-year experiences:
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The website URL where information about the sustainability-related themes is available (optional):
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Does the institution have programs through which students can learn sustainable life skills?:
Yes

A brief description of the programs through which students can learn sustainable life skills:

Yes there are multiple green clubs on campus that teach multiple life skills relating to sustainability.


The website URL where information about the sustainable life skills programs is available (optional):
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Does the institution offer sustainability-focused student employment opportunities?:
Yes

A brief description of the sustainability-focused student employment opportunities offered by the institution:

There are multiple internships offered at SDSU including recycling interns, energy analysts, and marketing for SDSU sustainability


The website URL where information about the student employment opportunities is available:
Does the institution have graduation pledges through which students pledge to consider social and environmental responsibility in future job and other decisions?:
No

A brief description of the graduation pledges:
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The website URL where information about the graduation pledges is available (optional):
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Does the institution have other co-curricular sustainability programs and initiatives?:
No

A brief description of the other co-curricular sustainability programs and initiatives:
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The website URL where information about other co-curricular sustainability programs and initiatives is available (optional):
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Estimated percentage of students (full-time and part-time) that participate annually in sustainability-focused co-curricular education and outreach programs (0-100):
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
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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.