Overall Rating Reporter - expired
Overall Score
Liaison Mark Bremer
Submission Date March 30, 2021
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

State University of New York Polytechnic Institute
AC-8: Campus as a Living Laboratory

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete Reporter Mark Bremer
Lecturer & Green Team Chair
Arts & Sciences
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Air & Climate 

Is the institution utilizing its campus as a living laboratory for multidisciplinary student learning and applied research in relation to Air & Climate?:
Yes

A brief description of the student/faculty projects and how they contribute to understanding campus sustainability challenges or advancing sustainability on campus in relation to Air & Climate:
In the Fall 2017 semester, students in the BIO 300 laboratory conducted a forest carbon inventory. This service learning project led to the creation of a Tree Team committee and formal adoption of a Campus Tree Care Plan. In 2018, SUNY Poly was recognized as a Tree Campus USA due to these efforts to quantify our campus carbon sink and protect it for future research and educational purposes. A co-authored study on the forest carbon inventory was recently published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Sustainability Education (Vol. 24, December 2020).

Buildings  

Is the institution utilizing its campus as a living laboratory for multidisciplinary student learning and applied research in relation to Buildings?:
Yes

A brief description of the student/faculty projects and how they contribute to understanding campus sustainability challenges or advancing sustainability on campus in relation to Buildings:
With the Green Building Experiential Learning Collaborative students at SUNY Poly have the opportunity to take classes that go through the process of certifying a building to the LEED Operations and Maintenance v4.1 standard. Building performance metrics are analyzed and reported in five categories: Transportation, Water, Energy, Waste, and Indoor Environmental Quality. Students also have the opportunity to earn personal LEED Green Associate credentials.

Energy 

Is the institution utilizing its campus as a living laboratory for multidisciplinary student learning and applied research in relation to Energy?:
Yes

A brief description of the student/faculty projects and how they contribute to understanding campus sustainability challenges or advancing sustainability on campus in relation to Energy:
Students in two courses (CE/ME 448 Green Building Strategies: LEED Lab and IDS 251 Principles of Green Buildings) uploaded and analyzed campus building energy data to the Arcskoru performance benchmarking platform in support of green building certification projects.

Food & Dining 

Is the institution utilizing its campus as a living laboratory for multidisciplinary student learning and applied research in relation to Food & Dining?:
Yes

A brief description of the student/faculty projects and how they contribute to understanding campus sustainability challenges or advancing sustainability on campus in relation to Food & Dining:
IDS 103 Science, Technology, and Human Values class uses a biology plant cart to explore sustainability via DIY food production for various target communities. This year the biology plant cart was used for the Thea Bowman house summer gardening program and the SUNY Poly Pantry.

Grounds 

Is the institution utilizing its campus as a living laboratory for multidisciplinary student learning and applied research in relation to Grounds?:
Yes

A brief description of the student/faculty projects and how they contribute to understanding campus sustainability challenges or advancing sustainability on campus in relation to Grounds:
In the Fall 2017 and Fall 2018 semesters, students in the Bio 300 laboratory participated in a lab that involved using the soil from the grounds of the campus. They also conducted a forest carbon inventory that led to a co-authored publication in the peer-reviewed Journal of Sustainability Education (Vol. 24, December 2020) and Poly being recognized as a Tree Campus USA.

Purchasing 

Is the institution utilizing its campus as a living laboratory for multidisciplinary student learning and applied research in relation to Purchasing?:
No

A brief description of the student/faculty projects and how they contribute to understanding campus sustainability challenges or advancing sustainability on campus in relation to Purchasing:
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Transportation 

Is the institution utilizing its campus as a living laboratory for multidisciplinary student learning and applied research in relation to Transportation?:
Yes

A brief description of the student/faculty projects and how they contribute to understanding campus sustainability challenges or advancing sustainability on campus in relation to Transportation:
Students in CE/ME 448 Green Building Strategies: LEED Lab participated in conducting and analyzing a building occupant transportation survey for LEED v4.1 Operations and Maintenance certification.

Waste 

Is the institution utilizing its campus as a living laboratory for multidisciplinary student learning and applied research in relation to Waste?:
Yes

A brief description of the student/faculty projects and how they contribute to understanding campus sustainability challenges or advancing sustainability on campus in relation to Waste:
In the Spring 2019 semester, students in BIO 106 conducted a whole-building waste audit of Kunsela Hall in coordination with the local waste authority. Data gathered informed the level of success of our waste diversion activities. Students in CE/ME 448 Green Building Strategies: LEED Lab also conducted waste audits of campus buildings in support of LEED v4.1 Operations and Maintenance certification. In addition, a new organics collection program was initiated in 2019 through a collaboration with our food service provider Sodexo, the local waste authority, and student government. The Food2Energy pilot program feeds an anaerobic digester at the county wastewater treatment plant.

Water 

Is the institution utilizing its campus as a living laboratory for multidisciplinary student learning and applied research in relation to Water?:
Yes

A brief description of the student/faculty projects and how they contribute to understanding campus sustainability challenges or advancing sustainability on campus in relation to Water:
In the Fall 2017 and Fall 2018 semesters, students in the BIO 300 laboratory conducted a lab in which the studied aquatic environments. During the lab, the students collect samples outside and study the water sources on campus. Students in CE/ME 448 Green Building Strategies: LEED Lab upload and analyzed building water use to the Arcskoru performance benchmarking platform for LEED v4.1 Operations and Maintenance certification.

Coordination & Planning 

Is the institution utilizing its campus as a living laboratory for multidisciplinary student learning and applied research in relation to Coordination & Planning?:
No

A brief description of the student/faculty projects and how they contribute to understanding campus sustainability challenges or advancing sustainability on campus in relation to Coordination & Planning:
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Diversity & Affordability 

Is the institution utilizing its campus as a living laboratory for multidisciplinary student learning and applied research in relation to Diversity & Affordability?:
No

A brief description of the student/faculty projects and how they contribute to understanding campus sustainability challenges or advancing sustainability on campus in relation to Diversity & Affordability:
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Investment & Finance 

Is the institution utilizing its campus as a living laboratory for multidisciplinary student learning and applied research in relation to Investment & Finance?:
No

A brief description of the student/faculty projects and how they contribute to understanding campus sustainability challenges or advancing sustainability on campus in relation to Investment & Finance:
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Public Engagement 

Is the institution utilizing its campus as a living laboratory for multidisciplinary student learning and applied research in relation to Public Engagement?:
Yes

A brief description of the student/faculty projects and how they contribute to understanding campus sustainability challenges or advancing sustainability on campus in relation to Public Engagement:
Students took part the Innovation Challenge workshop “Harnessing the DIY spirit to build community, economic, and cultural sustainability in the Mohawk Valley” (Fall 2017).

Wellbeing & Work 

Is the institution utilizing its campus as a living laboratory for multidisciplinary student learning and applied research in relation to Wellbeing & Work?:
No

A brief description of the student/faculty projects and how they contribute to understanding campus sustainability challenges or advancing sustainability on campus in relation to Wellbeing & Work:
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Other Impact Areas 

Is the institution utilizing its campus as a living laboratory for multidisciplinary student learning and applied research in relation to other areas (e.g. arts & culture or technology)?:
No

A brief description of the student/faculty projects and how they contribute to understanding campus sustainability challenges or advancing sustainability on campus in relation to other areas:
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Optional Fields 

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
https://sunypoly.edu/gbelc.html

Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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