Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 66.57
Liaison Rebecca Collins
Submission Date Dec. 14, 2023

STARS v2.2

Temple University
AC-8: Campus as a Living Laboratory

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 4.00 / 4.00 Caroline Burkholder
Senior Sustainability Manager
Office of Sustainability
"---" 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:
An honors student developed their own independent study and project to translate learning outcomes from an Environmental Health course to an institutional action toolkit, and presented a campus advocacy campaign, specifically addressing health impacts of single use plastics on campus.

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:
Students from a Community Arts Practices course designed and hosted an original, interactive pop-up event to support campus awareness and climate justice literacy related to the Trust for Public Land/Amber Arts ongoing Fairhill community project Heat Response.

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:
Students from an urban environment course designed engagement campaigns and programming to create and strengthen a community assisted technology initiative, Act on Air, which distributes and stewards low-cost air monitors in local North Philadelphia communities and on Temple's campuses.

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:
Students from a Facilities management methods course analyzed the latest Sustainability Annual Report and developed and pitched a new facilities-focused sustainability initiative such as assessing the feasibility of on-site solar on Main Campus.

Energy 

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

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Energy:
Students from an environmental engineering senior design course investigated potential energy savings from the installation of a green roof on Klein Hall, the building that houses the Beasley School of Law.

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:
Supply chain management students served on a Dining Services Student Committee alongside Temple's Aramark staff and performed a gap analysis on existing purchasing policies and menus to identify opportunities to better incorporate plant-based and low carbon foods in on-campus culinary services.

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:
The Integrative Ecology Lab at the Center for Biodiversity in the Biology Department includes graduate student researchers who are performing a long-term study on the impacts of the invasive spotted lantern fly on the plant species on campus.

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:
The Office of Sustainability collaborated with Sports Tourism and Hospitality Management faculty member, Christine Cleaver, for a project-based learning assignment for a higher-level sustainable events STHM course, resulting in a co-produced Green Events 101 workshop hosted as part of the Office’s Stories of Sustainability series.

Transportation 

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

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Transportation:
As part of a Sustainable Cities course students performed walk audits in a group on High Injury Network Corridors immediately adjacent to campus, within the Police Boundary. They related observations to course themes and created a narrative around walking in sustainable cities, making recommendations for improvements and advocating for pedestrian safety.

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:
Engineering students won a research grant to perform a waste audit of outdoor trash and recycling receptacles in hot spot outdoor dining locations to learn more about diversion performance and student behavior. They also did an analysis of the single use plastic waste types and identified two types that could be ground down and reused in aggregate for a filustruder and future 3-D printing projects in the lab.

Water 

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

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Water:
Each year, the Dance Department and the Center for Sustainable Communities partner for the Water Dances, a week of multidisciplinary teaching and learning opportunity in celebration of World Water Day, including choreography workshops, led by Dance faculty and live performances by dance MFA students.

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:
The Sustainability-in-Action Sustainability Certificate capstone course analyzes Temple University’s Climate Action Plan and the ways in which it impacts Temple University’s community, the City of Philadelphia, and the greater climate movement; reviews Temple’s sustainable operations and systems; analyzes Temple’s engagement with local communities; and builds connections between understanding of sustainability and Temple's Climate Commitment through a culminating project, wherein the student proposes a "sustainability in action initiative" for Temple, addressing an on-campus challenge with a novel real-world intervention.

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?:
Yes

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Diversity & Affordability:
As part of the College of Liberal Arts' Community Scholars program, a student created Project C.L.O.S.E.T (Community-Led Outfitters Supporting Ease of Transition) as their final assignment. Project C.L.O.S.E.T's mission is to ease some of the financial burdens for transitioning individuals by providing access to update their wardrobes at no cost. The price of legally and/or medically transitioning is costly and many transgender people are unable to update their wardrobe quickly and affordably. C.L.O.S.E.T provides free, gender-affirming clothing to Temple and Philadelphia's transgender, nonbinary and gender non-conforming (GNC) community.

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:
Two undergraduates business students in a social entrepreneurship course "Doing Well by Doing Good" and completing their minor in Corporate Social Responsibility hosted the keynote Q&A for Temple's Social Impact Summit and Changemaker Challenge Pitch Competition, “Beyond Triple Bottom Line: Profits with A Purpose” with a local businessperson who sits on the board of the Sustainable Business Network of Greater Philadelphia.

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:
Select students were invited to participate in a focus group for Temple's JED Campus Feedback Report as part of the institution's participation in JED Campus, a signature program of The Jed Foundation (JED) designed to guide schools through a collaborative process of comprehensive systems, program and policy development with customized support to build upon existing student mental health, substance use and suicide prevention efforts.

Students studying environmental engineering, environmental studies, and environmental science were asked to participate as advocates of environmental wellness to instigate the prioritization of eco-anxiety and climate grief in large scale public health strategies to improve the mental health of students living on campus.

Optional Fields 

Website URL where information about the institution’s living laboratory program is available:
https://sustainability.temple.edu/plans-reports-and-resources

Additional documentation to support the submission:
---

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
There are case studies and featured Annual Report highlights about these student projects at the URL provided: https://sustainability.temple.edu/plans-reports-and-resources

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.