Stonehill College
PA-1: Sustainability Coordination
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
Reporter |
Jessa
Gagne Energy Manager Operations & Finance |
Sustainability committee(s)
The charter or mission statement of the committee(s) or a brief description of each committee's purview and activities:
The Environmental Stewardship Council (ESC) Mission:
The mission of the council is to foster proactive, environmentally sustainable policies, approaches, and practices by the campus community that are consistent with Stonehill's mission, guiding principles, and student learning goals and outcomes.
THE ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP COUNCIL SHALL:
Develop and maintain a plan of environmentally sustainable goals, objectives, and action plans based on approved policies and practices and consistent with the College's mission, guiding principles, and policies.
Formulate, review, and recommend environmentally sustainable and fiscally sound policies and practices.
Define instructional space on campus that must remain in its natural state for teaching and research purposes.
Promote environmentally conscious activities on- and off-campus.
Oversee the Green Fund and award funding to qualified candidates.
Members of each committee, including affiliations and role:
The Environmental Stewardship Council:
The council includes two faculty members, two students, including the president of Students for Environmental Action (SEA), and at least one representative from each administrative division of the college. The council currently consists of:
Membership:
Maddie Loftin, Res. Life
Bruce Boyer, Facilities
Kim Cordeiro, Mission
Laurie Mooney, The Farm & Academic Faculty
Cheryl Schnitzer (Chair), Academic Faculty
Greg Wolfe, Purchasing
Craig Binney, Finance and Operations
Jessa Gagne, Operations
Luis Carrion Garcia, Building Services
Colin Spencer, Marketing
Jeremy Weaver, Dining Services
Katie Walo, Registrar
Lee Ann Damore, Advancement
Pau Ricci, Grounds
Rob Rodgers, Academic Faculty
Fr. Tim Mouton CSC, Academic Affairs
Caitlin Henderson, Student '26
Chanel Mazzone, Alumna
Devin Mahon, , Student '26
Emma Arca, , Student '27
Emma Worster, , Student '25
Sustainability office(s)
A brief description of each sustainability office:
The Department of Operations provides the Stonehill College community with superior services, safe and modern facilities, and a healthy environment through a commitment to efficiency, sustainability, and excellence on the part of each of our employees. The Department strives to provide the optimal environment for the College to achieve the highest standards of excellence in teaching, research, and public service activities.
Sustainability is part of the Operations Office of the College which employs an Energy Manager and Sustainability Intern, tracks all utility usage, and is actively involved in the activities of the Environmental Stewardship Council.
The Department is a full service organization comprised of Facilities Management, Energy & Sustainability, Purchasing, Conference & Event Services and Auxiliary Services. Each of these areas provides services to the campus community in support of the overall mission of the College.
The Department of Operations is part of the Finance Division and falls under the responsibility of the Associate Vice President for Finance and Operations.
Full-time equivalent of people employed in the sustainability office(s):
Sustainability officer(s)
Name and title of each sustainability officer:
Institution-wide coordination
A brief description of the activities and substantive accomplishments of the institution-wide coordinating body or officer during the previous three years:
In each monthly meeting of the Environmental Stewardship Council (ESC), updates on sustainability programs, events and initiative on campus are shared. Below are just a few of the successful outcomes of the ESC.
The College launched the “green” reusable container program for food on the go, called Green2Go, in fall 2014. The College provided reusable containers to incoming students from 2014-2020; in exchange for a used container, students would get a carabiner clip that they could exchange again for a clean container when they got food to-go. With Green2Go, the College succeeded in reducing single-use disposables by almost 90%. However, the problem was that students were only returning 2/3 of the reusable containers. Stonehill was reducing, but not reusing—in spite of ESC’s efforts, we would find green containers in the trash and generally had no idea to where 1/3 disappeared.
Subsequently, in late fall 2021, Stonehill Chemistry Professor Cheryl Schnitzer and Chair of the ESC created an app with the Computer Science Capstone students to track green containers using unique QR codes, like a library book system. The Choose2Reuse app was a huge success, closing the green container loop by getting nearly 100% of the reusable to-go containers returned and reused! Read more about this journey here: https://www.stonehill.edu/news/details/climate-champs-choose2reuse/.
Seeing the Choose2Reuse app’s effectiveness to reduce single-use disposables and reuse green containers, Professor Schnitzer set out to work with professional app/website developers and rebranded the program to Reuzzi (www.reuzzi.com). Reuzzi has made a significant impact in furthering environmental and financial sustainability. It ensures accountability because of the Reuzzi Pass. Reuzzi Student Ambassadors, administrators, faculty, and staff teach the campus about how to use the Reuzzi app, how to reduce waste from single-use disposables and why. We stress that for every ton of waste generated, 70 tons are created upstream by mining, manufacturing and distribution. Post-COVID, during Reuzzi’s inaugural year, the ESC is proud to say that thanks to Reuzzi’s tracking capability and data-driven science, Stonehill has reduced single-use disposables by 76%, has a 98% green container return rate, and saved $70,000 by reducing and reusing.
Optional Fields
Job description (1st position)
Job description for the sustainability officer position:
Job description for the sustainability officer position:
Job description (2nd position)
Job description for the sustainability officer position (2nd position):
Job description for the sustainability officer position (2nd position):
Job description (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.