Overall Rating Platinum - expired
Overall Score 88.00
Liaison Sam Lubow
Submission Date Feb. 22, 2019
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Stanford University
PA-1: Sustainability Coordination

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 1.00 Moira Hafer
Sustainability Specialist
Office of Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution have at least one sustainability committee?:
Yes

The charter or mission statement of the committee(s) or a brief description of each committee's purview and activities:

Administrators, faculty, staff, and students throughout the university are working to research and implement sustainability. The Office of Sustainability connects campus organizations and entities and works collaboratively with them to steer sustainability initiatives to fulfill Stanford's vision that sustainability will be a core value in everything it does. The Office works on long-range sustainability analysis and planning, evaluations and reporting, communication and outreach, academic integration, conservation behavior and training, sustainability governance strategy, and business systems. The key dimensions of the collaborative governance model for sustainability at Stanford are listed below.

PROVOST'S COMMITTEE ON SUSTAINABILITY (established in 2012)
The Provost's Committee on Sustainability, an executive committee of deans, institute leads and senior campus leadership, began formally convening starting in the 2012-13 academic year. The committee facilitates collaboration across schools, institutes, the Office of Sustainability, and students; exerts leadership across campus; brings campus-wide sustainability issues to the attention of the Provost and the President; and implements leadership recommendations. Formation of the Provost's Committee is the outcome of one of the many key recommendations derived from the year-long strategic exercise, Sustainability 3.0, unveiled in May 2012.

SUSTAINABILITY WORKING GROUP (established in 2006)
The Sustainability Working Group (SWG) prepares policy and program recommendations to advance and implement sustainability practices on campus. Goals include:

(1) Continuously improve Stanford’s leadership in demonstrating environmental sustainability in campus operations.
(2) Use faculty, staff and student expertise in the evolving field of sustainability.
(3) Advance opportunities for hands-on sustainability-related learning and service in the campus community.

SWG, chaired by the director of the Office of Sustainability, meets on the first Thursday of every month and involves representatives from all parts of the university.

SUSTAINABILITY DESIGN TEAM for Stanford’s Long Range Planning (temporary for 2018, 2019)
Stanford embarked on a long-range planning effort in 2017 organized around key conceptual categories: education, research, our community, and beyond Stanford. The long-range planning effort began with the solicitation of proposals from all campus community members--including students, staff and faculty--between April and June 2017. More information on the planning effort can be found here: https://planning.stanford.edu/. A total of 2,800 ideas were submitted, which were analyzed by area steering groups and synthesized into white papers in particular topic areas. The white paper on sustainability can be found here: https://planning.stanford.edu/papers/joint-paper-sustainability. Various design teams are now active, including one for Sustainability, and the outcomes will lead to future work. Two tangible goals that are already released are: 80 percent carbon-free by 2025 (this will be achieved in 2021 under current operational plans) and zero waste by 2030 (planning actively being led by Office of Sustainability).


Members of each committee, including affiliations and role (e.g. staff, student, or faculty):

The membership of Stanford's Provost's Committee on Sustainability and Sustainability Working Group are too numerous to list here, but include faculty, staff, students, and key senior administrators.Contact information for the chairs of each committee can be found on the Sustainable Stanford website at http://sustainable.stanford.edu/governance. The membership of Stanford's Sustainability Design Team (2018 -2019) can be found online here: https://ourvision.stanford.edu/vision-initiatives/research, which includes faculty and staff.


Does the institution have at least one sustainability office that includes more than 1 full-time equivalent (FTE) employee?:
Yes

A brief description of each sustainability office:

Sustainability and Energy Management (SEM), a department within Land, Buildings & Real Estate (LBRE), leads initiatives in campus infrastructure and programs in energy and climate, water, green buildings, and sustainable information technology, as well as various special initiatives. All of SEM's 93 employees and projects are centered around the long-term sustainability of the campus, and many of the employees within each of SEM's various groups focus exclusively on sustainability as part of their daily work.
The central Office of Sustainability (11 full time FTE) is housed in this department of SEM. Formed in 2008, Stanford’s Office of Sustainability (OOS) serves as the hub of sustainability programs for infrastructure planning as well as campus community engagement, so the programs collectively reduce the university’s environmental footprint in a coordinated way. Key areas of work include infrastructure planning, assessment and evaluations, building sustainability programs, metrics and business systems, engagement and outreach, conservation campaigns, and zero waste planning. A full list of areas of work can be found here: http://sustainable.stanford.edu/about/areas-work.

Please note, SEM employs nearly 93 staff members, including 11 who work in the Office of Sustainability; the number listed below represents current SEM employees, which is also illustrated on the attached org chart. Additionally, there are hundreds of other professionals throughout the Stanford community involved with sustainability projects in their daily work, so these figures are not truly representative of all sustainability employees on campus.


Full-time equivalent (FTE) of people employed in the sustainability office(s):
93

Does the institution have at least one sustainability officer?:
Yes

Name and title of each sustainability officer:
Joseph Stagner, Executive Director of Sustainability and Energy Management; Fahmida Ahmed Bangert, Director of Sustainability and SEM Business Services; Gerry Hamilton, Director of Facilities Energy Management.

Does the institution have a mechanism for broad sustainability coordination for the entire institution (e.g. a campus-wide committee or an officer/office responsible for the entire campus)?:
Yes

A brief description of the activities and substantive accomplishments of the institution-wide coordinating body or officer during the previous three years:

Details on the campus-wide governance model for sustainability at Stanford are provided above and available at http://sustainable.stanford.edu/governance. There have been numerous activities and substantive accomplishments from Stanford's various sustainability committees. A sample of major achievements is provided below, and a record of SWG meeting agendas can be found at the link provided above.

SUSTAINABILITY 3.0 STRATEGIC PLAN (2012-2017)
A group of faculty, staff, and student leaders initiated Sustainability 3.0 in June 2011 with the plan to deliver a strategic blueprint for the future of sustainability at Stanford. The Sustainability 3.0 process sought to identify and map a shared and actionable vision for sustainability at Stanford over the subsequent ten years, building on the Initiative on Environment and Sustainability that launched in October 2003 and the formalization of Sustainable Stanford that began in 2007. Major goals stemming from the Sustainability 3.0 effort include leading sustainability by example by offering sustainability trainings to the campus community and maintaining a global influence through sustainability in research, education, and operations. To achieve these goals, the planning committee unveiled four key strategies:

(1) Ensure that sustainability is a top and lasting priority for Stanford University in research, teaching, and action.
(2) Establish clear policies for implementing sustainability in every part of campus: implement, monitor, and achieve.
(3) Educate and train the Stanford community to work towards sustainability goals and build a fully committed and engaged community.
(4) Reach beyond Stanford. Influence sustainability research, education, and action beyond the university.

An update of the details to meet these goals was also completed in 2015. For more information, please visit the following websites:

http://sustainable.stanford.edu/sites/sustainable.stanford.edu/files/documents/Sustainability3.0_Summary_2012.pdf

https://stars.aashe.org/media/secure/293/7/679/6090/Sustainability%203%200%20Plan_2015-16%20update.pdf

Metrics and accomplishments published in this STARS submission are outcomes of these strategic planning and implementation efforts.

A Stanford Report article detailing sustainability accomplishments at Stanford (narrated by Pam Matson, former Dean of the School of Earth, Energy and Environmental Sciences and Co-Chair of the Provost's Committee on Sustainability) is available at the following link: http://news.stanford.edu/2017/04/06/sustainability-conversation-stanford-earth-dean-pamela-matson/


Job title of the sustainability officer position:
Joseph Stagner, Executive Director of Sustainability and Energy Management (SEM), Land, Buildings and Real Estate

Job description for the sustainability officer position:
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Job description for the sustainability officer position:

Joe has served as Executive Director of Sustainability and Energy Management at Stanford University since 2007, where he is responsible for advancing sustainability in campus operations through direct leadership of the university’s Office of Sustainability, Facilities Energy Management, Utilities, and Parking & Transportation departments.


Job title of the sustainability officer position (2nd position):
Fahmida Ahmed Bangert, Director of Sustainability and SEM Business Services

Job description for the sustainability officer position (2nd position):
---

Job description for the sustainability officer position (2nd position):

Fahmida leads a team of 10 sustainability professionals in Sustainability and SEM Business Services within Sustainability and Energy Management (SEM), Land, Buildings and Real Estate. Fahmida supports the department’s long-term energy infrastructure planning; designs, implements, and directs assessment and outreach for sustainability programs; oversees business systems and analytics initiatives; co-chairs Provost’s Committee on Sustainability; and steers academic integration to aid program implementation. Fahmida is also the Director of the Sustainability Working Group. Additionally, the Sustainability 3.0 Strategic Plan implementation was coordinated by co-chair Fahmida from 2012-2017.


Job title of the sustainability officer position (3rd position):
Gerry Hamilton, Director of Facilities Energy Management

Job description for the sustainability officer position (3rd position):
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Job description for the sustainability officer position (3rd position):

Gerry directs the activities of the Facilities Energy Management (FEM) team, which includes the operation of campus energy management and control systems and management of the university's energy retrofit programs. Gerry and his team ensure that buildings and associated processes are operated efficiently and that new facilities incorporate best practices for energy use.


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

Current SEM departmental leads: http://sustainable.stanford.edu/program_staff
Governance coordination: http://sustainable.stanford.edu/governance


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.