| Overall Rating | Platinum |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 85.88 |
| Liaison | Sam Lubow |
| Submission Date | March 3, 2022 |
Stanford University
PA-1: Sustainability Coordination
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.00 / 1.00 |
Melissa
Maigler Sustainability Coordinator Sustainability & Energy Management |
Does the institution have at least one sustainability committee?:
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.
IDEAL STAFF ADVISORY COMMITTEE (established 2020/2021)
The Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access in a Learning Environment (IDEAL) Staff Advisory Committee, a university-wide committee, solely focuses on advancing the university’s DEI commitments for staff and ensuring the consistent application of DEI strategies for the workforce. One recent outcome of the committee was the development of a strategic framework to identify a roadmap for transformational change. The committee is focusing its work on five areas: diversity and leadership, HR policies and procedures, engagement and culture, learning and development and community engagement. See more details on their recent work here: https://news.stanford.edu/report/2021/04/12/ideal-staff-advisory-committee-seeks-enhance-staff-experience-related-diversity-equity-inclusion/
SCOPE 3 EMISSIONS WORKING GROUP (established 2020)
The Scope 3 Emissions Working Group was launched to oversee the new Scope 3 Emissions Program. This working group will advise on emissions quantification methods, mitigation strategies, and internal and external partnerships, including living laboratory opportunities with the new sustainability school launching in fall 2022. The Working Group is initially comprised of 6 faculty, 4 staff, 1 undergraduate student, and 1 graduate student, and is staffed by the Scope 3 Emissions Program Manager.
PROVOST'S COMMITTEE ON SUSTAINABILITY (established 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 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, typically meets once a month and involves representatives from all parts of the university. Meetings have been more intermittent in 2020 and 2021 due to impacts from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Members of each committee, including affiliations and role:
The membership of the IDEAL Staff Advisory Committee membership includes staff from nearly all major divisions of the university. Full membership may be found here: https://cardinalatwork.stanford.edu/engage/ideal-staff/community-groups/ideal-staff-advisory-committee
The membership of the Scope 3 Emissions Working Group includes staff, faculty, and students. More information on the group may be found here: https://sustainable.stanford.edu/campus-action/energy/stanford-energy-system-innovations-sesi/emissions-inventory/scope-3-emissions
The membership of Stanford's Provost's Committee on Sustainability and Sustainability Working Group are too numerous to list here, but also include faculty, staff, students, and key senior administrators. Contact information for the chairs of each committee can be found here: http://sustainable.stanford.edu/governance
Does the institution have at least one sustainability office that includes more than 1 full-time equivalent employee?:
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, waste, green buildings, and sustainable information technology, as well as various special initiatives. All of SEM's 101 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 (9 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, 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 of people employed in the sustainability office(s):
Does the institution have at least one sustainability officer?:
Name and title of each sustainability officer:
Does the institution have a mechanism for broad sustainability coordination for the entire institution?:
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:
https://sustainable.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/resource-attachments/E_C_Plan_2015.pdf
Job title of the sustainability officer position:
Job description for the sustainability officer position:
Job description for the sustainability officer position:
Job title of the sustainability officer position (2nd position):
Job description for the sustainability officer position (2nd position):
Job description for the sustainability officer position (2nd position):
Job title of the sustainability officer position (3rd position):
Job description for the sustainability officer position (3rd position):
Job description for the sustainability officer position (3rd position):
Website URL where information about the institution’s sustainability coordination is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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.