State University of New York at Cortland
PAE-2: Strategic Plan

Sustainability is included in Priorities 3 (Well-being) and 4 (Maximize Resources) of the institutional strategic plan. In addition, sustainability is significantly included in the College's Middle States Institutional Self-Study, Chapter 10--Maximize Resources. The SUNY Cortland Climate Action Plan, submitted to ACUPCC Presidents' Climate Commitment initiative, details the commitment of the College to sustainability, energy conservation and carbon neutrality.

The following is taken from the Middle States 2012 Decennial Self-Study: Research Question #9.5: What steps are being taken by the College to promote and enhance the environmental stewardship among the campus community to support goals for well-being? SUNY Cortland has a long track record of focusing on environmental stewardship and of integrating environmental issues into curricular and extra-curricular activities. For example, the College has nearly a dozen majors, one minor, fifty individual courses, and four student clubs or organizations that focus on environmental and sustainability issues or where such topics are a major theme. In addition, the College began a major focus on energy conservation in the early 1990s and has made significant reductions in the overall energy intensity of the campus. In April 2007, the College took a major step forward in advancing its focus on sustainability when President Bitterbaum signed the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment, committing the College to achieving climate neutrality by 2050. A Carbon Neutrality Committee was formed and charged with developing a Climate Action Plan that would move the College towards carbon neutrality by 2050. To measure the College’s progress towards meeting the Climate Commitment goals, the campus has enrolled in Sustainability Tracking Assessment and Rating System (STARS) by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). STARS categorizes sustainability efforts in three distinct areas, which are used to summarize the College’s actions to date: Education and Research; Operations; and, Planning, Administration and Engagement. In Spring 2011, a part-time Sustainability Coordinator was hired. Most recently, in Fall 2011 the College hired a full-time Energy Manager to provide guidance in energy use reduction on campus. Table 9-7 summarizes efforts and outcomes in each of these three areas, and detailed information is provided in Appendix 9-5: Sustainability. A part-time Sustainability Coordinator, hired in 2011, is tasked with helping to monitor and implement the newly developed Sustainability Master Plan. Additionally, a full-time professional position as Energy Manager was created within Facilities Management to oversee the Operation segment of the plan. Table 9-7 Sustainability efforts measured in STARS Education and Research Operations • Cortaca Climate Challenge • Green Reps • Earth Day programming • Sustainability Week • Community Bike Project • Courses pertaining to sustainability • Research pertaining to sustainability • New construction designed per LEED Silver requirements • “Watt Can You Do to Save Energy” program (won the Governor’s Work Force Champions award in 2006) • Green Building Collaborative Committee • NYSERDA/American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding in 2009 ( $175,000) • Re-commissioning old buildings • De-centralizing campus heating • Installed solar hot water heaters • Low mow and no mow landscaping programs • Green purchasing guidelines and routinely recycle materials • Exploring regional transit system and carpooling • Assist with Sustainability Track of Cortland Counts • Purchased three propane buses • Auxiliary Services (ASC) implemented a number of sustainability initiatives, including the purchase of local foods, the donation of used cooking oil to a local farmer for fuel use, and the composting of waste from one dining hall • Planning Administration & Engagement • Hired a consultant to develop a Climate Action Plan • Two recommendations were identified: o Adopt 2007 as basis for carbon foot print and 2050 as the goal date for carbon neutrality o Hire a Sustainability Coordinator to consolidate the efforts (hired in spring 2011) www.2.cortland.edu/about/sustainability/PDFs/CortlandClimateActionPlan.pdf

Sustainability start-up costs and eventual savings are detailed in the SUNY Cortland Climate Action Plan. A timeframe for achieving campus-wide carbon neutrality is also provided. www.2.cortland.edu/about/sustainability/PDFs/CortlandClimateActionPlan.pdf