Overall Rating Silver
Overall Score 50.74
Liaison Rachel Kornhauser
Submission Date Feb. 17, 2023

STARS v2.2

State University of New York at Oneonta
AC-8: Campus as a Living Laboratory

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 4.00 / 4.00 Rachel Kornhauser
Sustainability Coordinator
Finance and Administration
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Campus Engagement

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Campus Engagement?:
Yes

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Campus Engagement:
Sustainability campaigns focused on getting students more engaged in campus and off campus sustainability are regularly included in several Communication and Media courses. These campaigns are viewed by the Sustainability Coordinator and considered for future on campus campaigns.

Public Engagement 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Public Engagement?:
Yes

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Public Engagement:
A student intern, supervised by the Sustainability Coordinator, is hired each semester to focus on outreach and engagement. This student plans how to use the Office of Sustainability social media channels to share relevant information including events, initiatives and sustainability related metrics. The student intern uses skills learned in Environmental Communication classes to attract new students to the site, and creates content that is easy to understand for students of all backgrounds. There are regular check ins and informal assessments between the student intern and the Sustainability Coordinator.

Air & Climate 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Air & Climate?:
Yes

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Air & Climate:
A student majoring in Environmental Sustainability completed their senior project by updating the Scope 3 Greenhouse Gas emissions inventory for campus data. This student presented their data with the campus community at the Student Research and Creative Activity Day. This was the first comprehensive calculation of scope 3 emissions the campus completed.

Buildings  

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Buildings?:
Yes

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Buildings:
In Environmental Ethics course there is a unit that assigns students to chose a building on campus and research it's sustainable features. The class then goes on a "field trip" touring campus so the students may present their finding to the class while standing in front of or in the building being presented about.

Energy 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Energy?:
No

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Energy:
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Food & Dining 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Food & Dining?:
Yes

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Food & Dining:
Sustainability interns are typically hired by Sodexo to lead food waste audits in the dining hall and plan sustainability themed meals during Earth Day celebrations. Last year a student created a local menu to be highlighted at an Earth Day event.

Grounds 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Grounds?:
Yes

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Grounds:
Students hired by the Facilities Planning office have been updating a campus tree map that identifies and maps all campus trees. Ultimately the map will help with the creation of a campus Arboretum.

A student project has resulted in pollinator and native species planted in two areas of campus. These test sites will help determine what native and pollinator species survive the heavy deer grazing our campus grounds experiences.

Purchasing 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Purchasing?:
Yes

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Purchasing:
A student intern identified commonly purchased office items and identified more sustainable alternatives. This list was sent to office assistants who typically make the purchases. This initiative helped our staff understand how office purchasing impacts sustainability efforts.

Transportation 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Transportation?:
No

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Transportation:
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Waste 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Waste?:
Yes

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Waste:
In partnership with Sodexo, the Office of Sustainability annually coordinates student led food waste audits in the dining halls and give prizes to members of the "clean plate club." The data collected from these audits helps us further educate the campus on the amount of post consumer food waste is produced on our campus.

Water 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Water?:
No

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Water:
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Coordination & Planning 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Coordination & Planning?:
Yes

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Coordination & Planning:
Students are part of the President's Advisory Council on Sustainability and participate in campus coordination and planning.

Diversity & Affordability 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Diversity & Affordability?:
No

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Diversity & Affordability:
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Investment & Finance 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Investment & Finance?:
No

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Investment & Finance:
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Wellbeing & Work 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Wellbeing & Work?:
Yes

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Wellbeing & Work:
The Oneonta Mindfulness Initiative was launched to provide a space and programming to aid in mindfulness on campus. Students have helped create free guided meditations to support good health and well being of the campus community.

Optional Fields 

Website URL where information about the institution’s living laboratory program is available:
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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.