Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 58.92
Liaison Caitlin Steele
Submission Date June 8, 2018
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

San Francisco State University
EN-14: Participation in Public Policy

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.00 / 2.00 Nick Kordesch
Sustainability Coordinator
Office of Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution advocate for public policies that support campus sustainability or that otherwise advance sustainability at the municipal/local level?:
Yes

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

SF State works with our surrounding city and county agencies to collaborate on sustainability policies like Climate Action and Resilience Plans, General Plan updates, and CEQA. The campus also engages with the city planning department and transportation authorities during Master Plan or General Plan updates. The campus also works with local administrative law agencies like local Air Pollution Control Districts and Sanitary/Waste districts.


Does the institution advocate for public policies that support campus sustainability or that otherwise advance sustainability at the state/provincial/regional level?:
Yes

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

The CSU’s Advocacy and State Relations (ASR) team monitors all sustainability legislation that impacts the CSU specifically. It also participates in state-wide advocacy on issues like climate change policy, energy efficiency, water resources and other utility issues that impact the operation and physical facilities. ASR and the Chancellor’s Office also work with the Governor’s Office Sustainability Task Force and are members of the Direct Access Customer Coalition and the Alliance for Retail Markets advocacy groups to advocate in the best interest of the CSU on energy and sustainability efforts.

Examples of legislation that the CSU provided input on in 2015 include:
• SB 350 (De Leon) which established targets to increase renewable electricity to 50% by 2030. CSU had a WATCH position.

• SB 286 (Hertzberg) increases direct access services across the state, including the CSU. CSU has a SUPPORT position on SB 286.

• AB 1150 (Levine) authorized public owned utilities to expands Energy Efficiency Partnership Programs to include the CSU and UC. The CSU had a SUPPORT position and ASR worked with UC to advocate for this expansion.

The CSU also partners with the University of California and community colleges to advocate for energy efficiency programs.

The CSU Chancellor’s office collaborates with administrative law agencies like Utilities Commission, Energy Commission, Air Resources Board, Strategic Growth Council, Office of Planning and Research, Cal-Fire, etc. Much of the sustainability advocacy action happens at the agency administrative law level and the CSU Chancellor’s Office provides comment on many of their sustainability-related policies.

In addition the campus is also in the process of passing AB 2222 (Holden) Greenhouse Gas Reduction bill/ Transit Pass program for Students. AB 2222 is expected to go into effect Fall 2017.


Does the institution advocate for public policies that support campus sustainability or that otherwise advance sustainability at the national level?:
Yes

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

In 2017 SF State signed the "We Are Still In" pledge to express support for the Paris Climate Agreement when the President of the United States withdrew national support. https://www.wearestillin.com/colleges-universities


Does the institution advocate for public policies that support campus sustainability or that otherwise advance sustainability at the international level?:
No

A brief description of how the institution engages in public policy advocacy for sustainability at the international level, including the issues, legislation, and ordinances for or against which the institution has advocated:
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A brief description of other political positions the institution has taken during the previous three years (if applicable):
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A brief description of political donations the institution made during the previous three years (if applicable):
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The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

Had help with collecting data from Noriko Shinzato, Associate Director of Government & Community Relations


Had help with collecting data from Noriko Shinzato, Associate Director of Government & Community Relations

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.