The American College of Greece
PA-1: Sustainability Coordination

Committee for Sustainable Development
Established in January 2015, the Committee for Sustainable Development aims at coordinating and monitoring strategic decisions and plans related to ACG sustainable development practices. The committee, which meets on a regular basis, comprises of representatives of all three ACG divisions. Fellow faculty, administration or staff members and students are used as resource persons at select meetings, as needed.

2.C.E.RE.S
Established in 2013, the ALBA’s hub for Business Ethics, Social Responsibility and Sustainability (C.E.RE.S) visions to be a national and international actor, point of reference and think tank for issues relating to Business Ethics, Social Responsibility and Sustainability. Mission

· To engage in activities independently or in cooperation with key stakeholders aiming to enhance knowledge and awareness on relevant topics.

· To further enhance and report the ALBA Business Ethics, Social Responsibility and Sustainability Initiatives, as outlined by our five (5) pillars

· To enhance and promote Business Ethics, Social Responsibility and Sustainability to the Business Community and Society at large, by organizing events and activities

· To further engage with other key stakeholders and key organizations for the enhancement of Business Ethics, Social Responsibility and Sustainability, nationally and internationally

· To provide the platform for the creation and utilization of active, national and international networks of key stakeholders

· To further develop training platforms, educational programs and modules on Business Ethics, Social Responsibility and Sustainability

· To undertake and contribute to theoretical and applied research on Business Ethics, Social Responsibility and Sustainability related topics

· The regular members of the CSD are:

Claudia Carydis, VP Public Affairs, chair Iliana Lazana, VP for Human Resources and Campus Services, Rania Assariotaki, Sustainability Manager, Office of Public Affairs, Stella Mariou, Quality & Accreditations Director – ALBA at ACG, Pavlos A. Vlachos, Associate Professor of Marketing, Academic Director of MBA Program, Associate Editor, Frontiers in Organizational Psychology, ALBA at The American College of Greece,

The regular members of the C.E.R.E.S are:

Pavlos A. Vlachos, Associate Professor of Marketing, Academic Director of MBA Program, Associate Editor, Frontiers in Organizational Psychology, ALBA at The American College of Greece, Stella Mariou, Quality & Accreditations Director, Zoe Kourounakou, International Affairs Director, Maria Doukaki, Marketing & Communications Director, Antonina Kalkavoura, Corporate Affairs Director, Marina Gryllaki, Executive Development Director

The Center aims to:

Scientifically support and coordinate sustainability initiatives on campus;
build bridges between educational activities on the one hand and sustainable operation initiatives on campus on the other, promoting experiential learning;
facilitate collaboration between disciplines and between faculty, staff and students;
promote environmental awareness on campus; promote sustainability research;
connect and collaborate with other social actors – universities, local community, Non-Governmental Organizations, etc. – in order to promote sustainable practices.

Office of Public Affairs, Sustainability Management
The office of Public Affairs leads all sustainability-related activity and oversees the operation of the Committee for Sustainable Development (CSD) as well as the Center of Excellence for Sustainable Development.

Here is a list of our accomplishments in the last three years (2017 – 2019):

- Following the STARS Silver Rating achievement in 2017, ACG is further recognized for its sustainability efforts and best practices and made for the first time the SIERRA Magazine “Cool Schools” list for 2018, aka the “greenest” colleges list! Similarly, ACG was included in the 2019 “Cool Schools” list.

- The American College of Greece (ACG) was recognized as one of the most environmentally responsible colleges according to the Princeton Review. Specifically, ACG was included in the ninth (2018) and tenth (2019) annual “Princeton Review’s Guide to Green Colleges.”

- ACG has been recognized as a top performer in the 2019 Sustainable Campus Index, achieving the top spot in the area of Wellbeing & Work, tying for third place in the area of Grounds, and ranking fifth in Food & Dining. ACG has been a top performer in AASHE’s Sustainable Campus Index (SCI) consecutively since 2016.

- As of May 31st 2017 The American College of Greece serves as a member of the UN Academic Impact. In Greece, ACG is the fifth academic institution to be a member and the first and only one private.

- As of 2018 The American College of Greece serves as a member of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) joining institutions and organizations, including universities, research institutions, foundations, civil society, in a unique network of problem solvers aiming at contributing to practical solutions for sustainable development. In the context of our membership, we co-organized and hosted the first Symposium on Climate Change at ACG on April 3, 2019.

- As of March 2018, ACG has become an official Member Organization of SDSN Youth.

- As of January 2019, ACG has become a member of the CSR Hellas Network. CSR Hellas is a non-for-profit business association based in Athens, founded in June 2000 by a group of 3 business organizations and 13 companies, numbering more than 130 members today. In the context of our membership, we co-organized and hosted the first Summer School on Corporate Sustainability & Responsibility at ACG from September 23-27, 2019.

- As of January 2019, ACG has become a member of the UN Global Compact, a voluntary initiative based on CEO commitments to implement universal sustainability principles and to take steps to support UN goals.

- As of November 2018, ACG has signed a MoU with the NGO Boroume. Boroume is a non-profit organization whose mission to reduce food waste and to fight malnutrition in Greece aligns perfectly with the ACG sustainability efforts in terms of social responsibility and community engagement. In the context of our collaboration, we have adopted a farmers’ market – the ACG Farmers’ Market – where we volunteer on a weekly basis, every Monday, since November 2018.

- As of September 2019, ACG has signed a MoU with the NGO HOPEGenesis. HOPEGenesis is a non-profit organization in the field of medicine that addresses the issue of low birth rates in Greece. Its mission is to provide comprehensive medical care and treatment for women who become pregnant until the day they give birth. The organization focuses mainly on women who live in remote rural areas or isolated islands in Greece. In the context of this collaboration and as a launching event, HOPEgenesis was an active participant at the Mind Body Spirit Fest 2019, from October 8-12, with a presentation and an information booth.

- STARS – Silver rating: The Office of Public Affairs and the ACG Center of Excellence for Sustainability (CES), worked on and submitted the second STARS report in December 2017. The ACG Sustainability Manager and the CES Director, collected and provided all the information about the academic aspects, provided information regarding also technical works that contributed to sustainability on campus (as the CES had been collecting such information in the past), and contributed to the whole task. ACG’s sustainability efforts were recognized with the Silver rating. Previously, we had submitted our first report in 2015 and awarded the Bronze rating.

- Waste monitoring at Deree recycling points continued on a weekly basis by CES student assistants and ACG Sustainability Leaders. As part of this ongoing waste monitoring project, a marked 5.6-fold increase in the quality of recycled material (lowest recorded proportion: from 11% correctly recycled masses in December 2017 to 62% in December 2018) was recorded for general recyclables (Blue recycling bins) and a 1.7-fold increase (39% in December 2017 to 67% in December 2018) for paper recyclables (Yellow bins).

-To enhance the College’s commitment towards sustainability and the ACG President’s 2025 Vision, the Center of Excellence for Sustainability (CES) at the Office of Public Affairs, launched the Sustainable Events Guidelines in 2018, in an effort to further support sustainable development across all of its divisions. The overall goal of these guidelines is to help reduce the environmental and financial cost of an ACG event, while maintaining quality and ensuring that the event caters to cultural and social diversities. The guidelines include key performance indicators (KPI’s) which are focusing on policy, materials and waste, catering, and energy.

- ACG celebrated the World Environment Day on June 2, 2017 at ACG Campus. The day started with the presentation of Anastasia Ioannidis- Educational Consultant Volunteer Work and Actions, who informed us about the importance of volunteering and the difference in can make in a community. The audience was then separated in small groups and were asked to create their very own volunteering action plan, regarding a subject of their interest. Then, WWF Hellas organized an interactive event where Prof. Konstantinos Stergiou, Director of the Institute of Marine Biological Resources and Island Waters- Hellenic of Marine Research and George Paximadis, Marine Office- WWF Hellas informed the participants about the importance of fisheries and the problems that arise from their over-exploitation. A subsequent workshop rose awareness on how you should choose fish to eat in order to support sustainable seas. An educational game was played with the use of an interactive WWF mobile-based application on fish consumption. Prizes were given to the winners and gifts to the participants. Approximately 60 people attended the presentations and 40 the workshop.

- Another World Environment Day was celebrated on June 12, 2018, with a series of fun, interactive, educational activities. The Environmental Studies (ES) Society with the support of the Center of Excellence for Sustainability – Office of Public Affairs, put together a variety of activities, including a treasure hunt game and a very creative board game.
In the treasure hunt game, small groups of students were asked to find areas and classrooms with a sustainability component. The top three groups received a gift based on their time performance and the clues they discovered. The ECOquiz board game, an ES Society creation, drew many people’s attention as students, faculty, and staff were eager to test their knowledge on sustainability-related issues.
The event also included a presentation on the connection and effect that poverty has on the environment and vice versa. Lastly, participants had the opportunity to discover both their ecological and water footprints and see how many planet resources they are currently using. Many participants saw this as an opportunity to take the ACG Sustainability Pledge and commit to daily individual actions for a more sustainable lifestyle.

- On June 10, 2019, the World Environment Day was celebrated in conjunction with the first “ACG Plastic Free Day”, organized in the context of the #ACGGoesPlasticFree Campaign. This day, organized by the Office of Public Affairs and the ACG Center of Excellence for Sustainability was fully dedicated to raising awareness about the impact of plastic pollution and encouraging our community to be plastic-free for a day on campus by bringing their own reusable items (e.g. coffee cup, lunch box, water bottle) when ordering at all on campus vendors and refusing the straw.
The Environmental Studies Society in collaboration with the Fashion Club, organized a multitude of activities in the context of WED 2019. Participants had the opportunity to learn about the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) a treasure hunt, the ECOquiz board game on the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs), and gave participants the opportunity to calculate their ecological, water, and plastic footprints.
In parallel and in collaboration with the NGO Institute Team For The World, community members were also encouraged to donate gently used sneakers and sports equipment, thus giving them a second life and helping out our fellow citizens who need them.

- The Yalova Ecosystem Experience Workshop & Field Trip 2018
In May 2018, the ACG Center of Excellence for Sustainability (CES), in collaboration with the Navarino Environmental Observatory (NEO -a synergy between the University of Stockholm, the Academy of Athens and Costa Navarino) and with the support of the Deree Environmental Studies program, organized the first ever-interdepartmental academic field trip, held at both the ACG Aghia Paraskevi campus and the Yalova Lagoon in Messinia.
This five-day workshop was an immersive and experiential learning project that gave a group of Deree students from different majors the opportunity to conduct and combine environmental measurements with social research. Participants gained hands-on experience by engaging in lab and field activities while simultaneously enjoying every aspect of this opportunity.

- Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!: Waste Reduction & Recycling Campaign
Celebrating the placement of the new ACG branded recycling bins, as well as, the “International Campus Sustainability Month” in October 2017, the ACG – Center of Excellence for Sustainability at the Office of Public Affairs initiated a Waste Reduction and Recycling Campaign, in an effort to raise awareness and guide the ACG community towards successful waste reduction and recycling daily practices. The Waste Reduction and Recycling campaign is implemented in collaboration with the ACG Offices of Operations and Technical Services, Adjunct Preceptor of Environmental Studies, Maria Vitoraki, the Environmental Studies Program, the Environmental Studies Society, the Deree Student Government, and the Pierce Student Governments.
In the context of the campaign, on Friday, October 27, 2017, students, faculty, and staff, gathered at the Deree Main Corridor to put their recycling skills to the test and up their expertise, in a fun atmosphere. This day was purposefully chosen as the kick-off event of the ‘Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!: Waste Reduction and Recycling Campaign in conjunction with the International Campus Sustainability Month. Participants learned about recycling best practices on the spot through an interactive recycling exercise and signed the ACG Sustainability Pledge. The activity was organized by the Center of Excellence for Sustainability at the Office of Public Affairs, in collaboration with: the ACG Offices of Operations and Technical Services, the Adjunct Preceptor of Environmental Studies, Maria Vitoraki, the Environmental Studies Program, the Environmental Studies Society, and the Deree Student Government.
In addition, a Reuse Week was organized from February 26 to March 2, 2018, in order to o spread the message that everything is a valuable resource and to show how we can reuse and repurpose materials that we would otherwise throw away. The activities included a week-long book and board games drive to gather materials for donation to the Navarino Environmental Observatory Library and the SOS Children’s Villages, and a day with sustainable workshops centered on the theme of ‘Reusing/Repurposing’. Participants learned how to make their own soap with cooking oil and how to transform t-shirts into reusable bags.
The weekly waste monitoring project is also in the context of this campaign in order to measure its effectiveness on the recycling practices of the ACG community.
A dedicated webpage is also available in the context of this campaign in order to further increase our Community’s awareness on the issue and provide them with all the necessary tools. The campaign is ongoing.

- #ACGGoesPlasticFree Campaign
Based on our commitment to enhance our sustainability efforts as a community and in order to establish a sustainability culture on campus, the Office of Public Affairs and the Center of Excellence for Sustainability launched the #ACGgoesplasticfree campaign in the previous academic year (2018 – 2019).
The official kick-off of the campaign happening during the Mind Body Spirit Fest 2018, from 9-13 October. The Director of the Center of Excellence for Sustainability at the Office of Public Affairs, gave am interactive and captivating speech. In addition, there was a week-long display at the Main Corridor, which included a ‘Blind Water Tasting’ activity, where over forty ACG community members sampled water from various sources in order to “Find the Tap Water!” Participants learned more about why going plastic-free is now more important than ever, signed the Sustainability Pledge, and obtained the ACG-branded reusable water bottle to help minimize their plastic footprint both on and off campus.
Renewing our commitment to raising awareness about the harmful consequences of single-use plastics and to reducing them both on campus and beyond, we are continuing our #ACGGoesPlasticFree Campaign in the academic year 2019 – 2020.
The following activities and initiatives have been organized so far: (1) launch of the ACG reusable water bottle, (2) installation of new, top-notch, hydration stations on campus, (3) policy banning plastic cups at all ACG offices and replacing them with biodegradable ones, (4) the first “ACG Plastic Free Challenge” to encourage our community to replace single-use plastic everyday times with reusable ones, (5) upcycling of old ACG banners in collaboration with the local NGO ‘Institute Team Run for the World’, (6) use of upcycled gifts during the Deree Business Week 2019, (7) signs placed at all ACG vendors to encourage use of reusable items (coffee cup, lunch box, etc.) when ordering, (8) the Pierce Open House followed, for the first time, plastic-free practices (single-use plastic straws, cutlery, glasses, and plates were replaced with eco-friendly alternatives, there were less printed programs compared to previous years), and (9) the first “ACG Plastic Free Day” to encourage our community to go plastic-free on campus for a day.
Since July 2018, following the launch of the ACG Reusable Water Bottle, we were also able to help seven local philanthropic organizations through the ACG reusable water bottle sales.

- Smoke-free Campus Campaign
ACG launched a smoke-free awareness campaign as of September 1, 2019, reiterating its commitment to staying tobacco free, as provided for in the anti-smoking law in effect since 2009. The awareness campaign is spearheaded by the Office of Public Affairs and the ACG Institute of Public Health (IPH). Professor Panagiotis Behrakis, Director of the Institute of Public Health is also heading the council of experts steering the Greek government’s anti-smoking campaign.
The purpose of the campaign is two-fold: to remind all ACG community—from students, to faculty, to staff and employees­­, to parents, to alumni and guests across all divisions and campuses —to keep our indoor and outdoor areas smoke-free and to convince those engaged in this unhealthy habit to make a fresh start and choose life instead.
In the context of the Mind Body Spirit Fest 2019, from 8 – 12 October, the Office of Public Affairs, the ACG Center of Excellence for Sustainability, the ACG Sustainability Leaders and a representative from the ACG Institute of Public Health operated a booth during the entire week in order to raise awareness about the ongoing Smoke-free Campus Campaign, the anti-smoking law in Greece, the harmful consequences of smoking and ways to seek help quitting at ACG.

- Sustainability @ Commencement
For the first time in ACG history, the Deree Commencement 2019 followed the ACG Sustainable Events Guidelines, reducing the amount of hardcopy invitations, encouraging recycling best practices, minimizing waste during the post-commencement reception, etc.
Additionally, graduates had the opportunity to sign the “ACG Graduation Sustainability Pledge” prior to the ceremony and carry a green ribbon on their gowns signifying that they have signed/taken the pledge. This will now be incorporated into every Deree Commencement.

- In March 2019 and in the context of the collaboration between the ACG Center of Excellence for Sustainability and the International Honors Program course HNS 2285 – Greening the Campus, the first ACG BioBlitz event took place on campus. A BioBlitz is an event that focuses on finding and identifying as many species as possible in a specific area over a short period of time, encouraging citizen science and community involvement in environmental conservation issues. This project helped in mapping the ACG campus ecosystem.

- CES Herbs Garden Interdisciplinary Project
In the academic year 2018 – 2019 the Marketing and Environmental Studies Academic Societies collaborated in an interdisciplinary project involving the CES garden, using the campus as a Living Laboratory. Each Society contributed their expertise and skills, from the conception of the idea, the hands on work, the business plan, execution and promotion, leading to the launch of the innovative SPES Herbs kit to the ACG community in May 2019. The proceeds from the SPES Herbs kit are donated to philanthropic organizations.

- On March 20, 2018, students from the Deree Environmental Studies (ES) program and other majors, Study Abroad students, and Pierce IB students gathered at the JSB Upper Level Library for the ‘Green Careers: Graduate Studies and Job Opportunities’ event. The event was divided into two panel discussions, one on education and the other on career prospects, where experts from related fields presented the options available to students in the field of ‘Green’- and sustainability-related continuing studies and careers.

- ACGMUN is a three-day conference conducted in English and open to secondary school students (ages 14-18). Our conference serves as a simulation of the United Nations and provides students the chance to stand for issues that matter in our volatile and troubling world today. Through participation in the conference, delegates increase their knowledge of diplomacy, develop their skills of critical analysis, practice public speaking and negotiation, and develop friendships beyond their community. The conference will have four General Assembly Committees (Disarmament and International Security, Social and Humanitarian, Special Political and Decolonization, and Legal), and six Specialized Committees, including the Security Council, ECOSOC, the World Health Organization, the Environmental Commission, the International Court of Justice and one to be announced. The conference is organized annually and the first was organized in 2018.

- ASPnet UNESCO Gymnasium Symposium
Pierce – The American College of Greece is a member of the UNESCO Associated Schools Network (ASPnet), which focuses on raising awareness and educating student on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and especially on SDG4 (Quality Education). In 2018 and 2019, Pierce participated in the national Symposium in Greece.

- On October 31, 2018, Ms. Thea Emmerling, Head of Cross-border Health Care and Tobacco Control work, DG SANTE of the European Commission, recently visited Athens after being invited by the Institute of Public Health and the Office of Public Affairs. Ms. Emmerling was the guest speaker of the “Tobacco Control in E.U. and Greece” event that took place at the ACG Campus, in collaboration with the SmokefreeGreece Initiative, Center of Excellence for Sustainability (CES), Office of Student Affairs and the Health & Wellness Center.
Dr. Panagiotis Behrakis, Director of the ACG Institute of Public Health, also gave a lecture on “Smoke-free Greece – Smoke-free Campus” in the context of this event.

- Women in Diplomacy: Challenges and Opportunities for Women in Public Life
On December 4, 2018, the Institute of Global Affairs and the NGO Women Act organized an event with four Women Ambassadors (UK, Sweden, India, and Australia) serving at the Hellenic Republic on campus. The Ambassadors shared their personal stories and advocated the case for diversity and gender-balanced diplomacy.

- Symposium on Climate Change: Threats, Challenges, Solutions for Greece
On Wednesday, April 3, 2019, a half-day Symposium, addressing one of the most challenging issues of our time, was hosted at Deree – The American College of Greece.
The “Symposium on Climate Change: Threats, Challenges, Solutions for Greece” successfully managed to bring together for the first time in a private higher education institution, academics and specialists from different fields, politicians, representatives from NGOs and businesses, university students and citizens in an effort to address the ‘hot’ topic of Climate Change. The alarming latest findings on Climate Change were analysed and thoroughly discussed by the distinguished speakers and participants in an effort to present the real dimension of Climate Change and indicate mitigation actions and options.
Keynote speaker, Mr. Governor Yannis Stournaras, Bank of Greece, presented the efforts of the Bank of Greece in analyzing Climate Change impact and the related economic consequences, by referencing the Report on the Economic of Climate Change issued in June 2018.
The Symposium was co-organized as a result of synergies between the Center of Excellence for Sustainability, Office of Public Affairs, at the American College of Greece (ACG), the Deree-ACG Environmental Studies Program, the UNSDSN Greece, the Climate KIC Greece & Affiliated partners, supported by ATHENA Research Centre and under the auspices of the Bank of Greece.

- Summer School on Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability
On September 23-27, ACG hosted and co-organized the first Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Summer School, in collaboration with CSR Hellas and the University of Crete.
This five-day workshop welcomed over 30 participants (high executives, CEOs, etc.) from well-known Greek and multinational companies (APIVITA S.A., Coca Cola, TITAN Group, etc.) who learned about sustainability and corporate responsibility from world-class experts and worked on real-case scenarios, while earning a professional certificate of 10 ECTS credits from the University of Crete.

- Students of the Environmental Studies Program won the 1st prize at the Athens Climathon 2018, organized by the Athens Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, the Climate KIC Greece, Organization Earth and the Municipality of Athens, on 26-27 October 2018.
Climathon is a global movement dedicated to solving city climate challenges and it is hosted by 113 cities worldwide. The Environmental Studies Team shared and contributed thoughts and ideas, while working non-stop for 24-hrs to provide a holistic approach and an integrated model that enables Tree Identification & Mapping. The LoveTree Model and Application has been presented at the Vice-Mayor of Greenery and at a working group within the Municipality of Athens to identify potential synergies.

- On October 14 and 15, 2019, the WINDMission Conference & Exhibition, a conference about the Greek wind energy market, was hosted at ACG. Among the speakers were H.E. Geoffrey R. Pyatt, U.S. Ambassador to the Hellenic Republic and H.E. Frode Overland Andersen, Norwegian Ambassador to Greece. Also, through the Office of Public Affairs, Prof. Odysseas Katsaitis, Head of the Department of Economics, Deree – The American College of Greece, delivered a keynote speech on the future of the Greek wind energy market. The conference was organized by Parity Platform and The Voice of Renewables and under the auspices of the Hellenic Wind Energy Association ELETAEN / HWEA.

- On October 18, 2019, the Center of Excellence for Sustainability and the Office of Public Affairs, in collaboration with the Andreas G. Papandreou Foundation, welcomed Prof. Jeffrey Sachs at ACG. Prof. Sachs, Director of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network & Director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University, gave a speech on “Entrepreneurship & Sustainable Development.”

- ACG Community Service Days
Spring 2017
On 11 April, 2017, a Community Service day was organized with the participation of students from both Deree and Pierce, faculty and staff in order to revamp the Melina Merkouri Square in Kontopefko, Ag. Paraskevi. Actions like painting, restoring benches, replacement of wooden boards, planting, and clean up took place. More than 50 students, faculty, staff, and alumni participated.

Spring 2019
On Sunday, March 17, 2019, over eighty ACG community members – Deree and Pierce students, staff, faculty, alumni, and parents – gathered for the reforestation efforts of part of Mount Hymettus at Ilioupoli and planted 200 trees in under 2 hours. The Center of Excellence for Sustainability (CES) and the ACG Marketing & Communication Department, in collaboration with S.P.A.Y. (Σύνδεσμος Προστασίας Ανάπτυξης Υμηττού) organized this volunteer initiative to help regenerate one of the areas that were burned in the 2015 fires, in the context of the ACG Spring Community Service Day 2019.

Fall 2019
On Wednesday, November 27, 2019, over forty ACG volunteers visited the Loulis Mills Greek Baking School in the context of the Fall 2019 ACG Community Service Day, organized by the Office of Public Affairs and the ACG Center of Excellence for Sustainability. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, A’ Gymnasium Pierce students with their teachers, Deree students from the International Honors Program, ACG Sustainability Leaders, faculty, and staff members baked and packaged treats under the direction of professional pastry chefs. A total of 364 treats were baked and packaged by the volunteers. The treats were directly donated to families in need via the local NGO Boroume (‘We Can’), with which ACG has an ongoing Memorandum of Understanding.

- 'ACG Farmers’ Market’
In November 2018, the ACG & ‘Boroume’ (We Can)* ongoing collaboration was launched. The Center of Excellence for Sustainability (CES) through the Office of Public Affairs has ‘adopted’ a farmers market at Holargos. An MOU between ACG and ‘Boroume’ has also been signed.
Every Monday, a small group of volunteer (students, faculty, and staff) help gather surplus produce and other goods from the market. This volunteer initiative is tackling the environmental and the social aspects simultaneously, by eliminating food waste and contributing to the local community, supporting the philanthropic activities of Ieros Naos Faneromenis at Neo Psychiko. So far, we have gathered 4.903 kg of fruits and vegetables and have offered 302 hours of community service.
*Boroume is a non-profit organization whose mission to reduce food waste and to fight malnutrition in Greece aligns perfectly with the ACG sustainability efforts in terms of social responsibility and community engagement.

- Sustainability@ACG Social media:
2011-2019
In Fall 2017, a new communication strategy was implemented. This strategy heavily focused on the expansion of our reach on social media in order to engage the ACG and the broader community on sustainability-related issues and ACG initiatives.
Facebook: Used as one of our main outlets of digital communication in order to disseminate information about all sustainability-related events, initiatives, and campaigns organized by the ACG Center of Excellence for Sustainability, as well as, promotion sustainability initiatives organized by other ACG bodies in all ACG divisions. Currently, our Facebook page has 822 likes and a 5-star rating. The page has been operating since 2011.
Instagram: Used as one of our main outlets of digital communication in order to disseminate information about all sustainability-related events, initiatives, and campaigns organized by the ACG Center of Excellence for Sustainability, as well as, promotion sustainability initiatives organized by other ACG bodies in all ACG divisions. Currently, our Instagram page has 509 followers and it has been operating since 2017.
Twitter: Used a complementary platform, mainly to monitor sustainability news, innovations and other universities/colleges who are sustainability-oriented, in order to stay up-to-date and in touch with other, mainly US, educational institutions. Currently, we have 224 followers and the profile has been operating since 2012.
Pinterest: Used a complementary platform, in order to share sustainability tips, best practices, and hacks to a wider, more global audience. Currently, our profile receives approximately 100 unique views per month. It has been operating since 2018.
YouTube: This is where we upload videos from all sustainability lectures, symposia, and conferences, sustainability-related events, campaign video material (e.g. #ACGGoesPlasticFree Campaign). Our channel has been operating since 2018.

- The ACG Center of Excellence for Sustainability, Office of Public Affairs, has submitted a proposal for a minor on Sustainable Finance and Investments to the School of Business and Economics for approval. The proposal was submitted in early 2019.

- In September 2018, the ACG Sustainability Leaders student organization was launched. The ACG Sustainability Leaders group is a team of student volunteers who participate in diverse activities and events aimed at motivating, inspiring and raising awareness towards a culture of Sustainability both on and off the ACG campus. Sustainability Leadersparticipate in activities, such as the ACG Community Service Days, awareness raising campaigns (e.g. #ACGgoesplasticfree and Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!: Waste Reduction and Recycling), reforestation of Mount Hymettus, etc.

- The ACG Sustainability Manager was invited to speak at the 12th CSR Conference on July 5, 2019, in Cyprus, on “The Role of Higher Education Institutions in Addressing the SDGs” and the case of The American College of Greece.

- In February 2019, the ACG Sustainability Manager participated as a speaker in the 2019 CSR Conference, presenting ‘Sustainability@ACG’ and the social impact initiatives to a wide audience and representatives of major companies, organizations, and NGOs.

- The Technical Services, in collaboration with the ACG Center of Excellence for Sustainability, Office of Public Affairs, launched the Energy Awareness Campaign in Fall 2019. The campaign aims at raising awareness among the ACG members on energy efficiency best practices on campus (offices, classrooms, etc.).

- The Technical Services, in collaboration with the ACG Center of Excellence for Sustainability, Office of Public Affairs, installed the Airly air quality sensor on campus in order to measure the CO2 emissions in the atmosphere, humidity levels, pressure, temperature, pollution levels, using the CAQI index (an international measurement system used to determine the levels of air pollution) in Fall 2019. The sensor presents real-time data through an application. We are the first institution in Greece to have installed such a sensor. ACG members have real-time access to the data through the application.