Overall Rating Silver
Overall Score 47.16
Liaison Ryan Chabot
Submission Date March 5, 2021

STARS v2.2

University of Central Florida
PA-1: Sustainability Coordination

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 1.00 Yara Watson Colon
Sustainability Specialist II
Sustainability Initiatives
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution have at least one sustainability committee?:
Yes

The charter or mission statement of the committee(s) or a brief description of each committee's purview and activities:

Endorsed by the Office of the President, the Sustainability Advisory Committee (SAC) holds the purpose of advocating and facilitating collegial efforts to advance environmental stewardship, economic vitality, and social justice. The Sustainability Working Advisory Teams (SWAT) support each initiative through their respective affiliations, research, and resources. The Committee at large shall serve as a connection for students, faculty, staff, and community to collaborate in order to engage in the values, educational material, policies, practices, and projects that strengthen the campus-wide commitment to sustainability.


Members of each committee, including affiliations and role:

Sustainability Advisory Committee (SAC) Faculty Members & Affiliations

Claire Knox, Dr. – Faculty, Assistant Professor of Public Administration
Curtis Wade – Administration, Director of Utilities and Energy Services
David Norvell – Administration, Assistant Vice President of Sustainability Initiatives
Debra Reinhart, Dr. – Faculty, Pegasus Professor of Engineering, Assistant VP Office of Research and Commercialization
James Fenton, Dr. – Faculty, Professor of Engineering, Director of Florida Solar Energy Center
Melody A. Bowdon, Ph.D., Associate Vice Provost of the Division of Student Learning and Academic Success, Associate Dean of College of Undergraduate Studies
John Weishampel, Dr. – Faculty, Professor of Biology
Omer Tatari, Dr. – Faculty, Associate Professor of Engineering
Patrick Bohlen, Dr. – Faculty, Professor of Biology, Director of Landscape and Natural Resources
Peter Jacques, Dr. – Faculty, Associate Professor of Political Science
Yara Watson – Sustainability Specialist II, Sustainability & Outreach


Does the institution have at least one sustainability office that includes more than 1 full-time equivalent employee?:
Yes

A brief description of each sustainability office:

Housed within the Administration and Finance division of the University, the office of Sustainability Initiatives oversees the planning and implementation of sustainability-related initiatives within the university. The office includes two full-time, permanent positions, seven paid student intern part-time positions, and a host of unpaid student volunteers.


Full-time equivalent of people employed in the sustainability office(s):
5.50

Does the institution have at least one sustainability officer?:
Yes

Name and title of each sustainability officer:
David Norvell, Director, Sustainability Initiatives

Does the institution have a mechanism for broad sustainability coordination for the entire institution?:
Yes

A brief description of the activities and substantive accomplishments of the institution-wide coordinating body or officer during the previous three years:

Sustainability initiatives are coordinated throughout the institution through a series of committees with various focus areas. At the highest level, there is the executive advisory committee composed of leaders from teaching, research, administration and operations. There are also five (5) Sustainability Working Action Teams (SWAT's), each focused on the strategic areas identified. Finally, there is the Student Sustainability Advisory Committee which interacts with SWATS monthly.


Job title of the sustainability officer position:
Director, Sustainability Initiatives

Job description for the sustainability officer position:
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Job description for the sustainability officer position:

Facilities Professionals plan, design, manage and/or perform activities related to the maintenance, construction and/or installation of facilities, infrastructure and grounds.
Sustainability/Recycling Professionals are responsible for developing and implementing sustainability plans at the University by assessing current initiatives, implementing improvements, and determining resource allocations.

Summary:
This position serves as the leader and subject matter expert for sustainability. Provides executive guidance and strategic direction to the university on sustainability initiatives. Convenes an Advisory Committee to review research, academic offerings, and operational initiatives. Creates sustainability vision, encompassing environmental, social and economic components.

Duties:
• Provides executive guidance and strategic direction to the university on sustainability initiatives
• Convenes an Advisory Committee composed of faculty, staff, researchers and operational personnel
• Works to strengthen existing partnerships and relationships, as well as identify and initiate relationships that would benefit the university, both domestically and internationally
• Measures and monitors the university's current sustainability performance and identifies key sustainability issues
• Supports university educational and research interests


Job title of the sustainability officer position (2nd position):
Sustainability Specialist II

Job description for the sustainability officer position (2nd position):
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Job description for the sustainability officer position (2nd position):

The Sustainability Specialist will provide leadership and coordination to the many distinct sustainability efforts on campus and develop a consistent plan to reach long and short-range program goals. Primary responsibilities include fostering a culture of sustainability among students, faculty, and staff; identifying and prioritizing areas for institutional sustainability efforts; planning and developing long- and short-range programs; and engaging with institutional leaders to foster sustainability broadly across campus units. The coordinator will also assist the Asst. VP, Sustainability Initiatives in securing the adoption and implementation of the University’s President’s Climate Action Plan, and stands to achieve sustainability within the University of Central Florida. This position will have a functional title of Coordinator, Sustainability and Outreach.

Develop, plan, coordinate and implement activities including, but not limited to, seminars, conferences, workshops, short courses, clubs, shows, public events and other outreach programs related to sustainability at UCF that include all populations groups: university administration, faculty, staff, students and the community. Both the manner in which these activities are organized and the nature of their content should be geared towards achieving buy-in and habit transformation from student, faculty and staff community members.

Encourage and facilitate sustainability programs initiated by student, faculty and staff community members. Foster and coordinate new ideas and concepts for sustainability programming themes and identify materials and resources to supplement, expand or replace existing sustainability programming.

Assist the Asst. VP in defining short and long term goals; develop key performance indicators (KPI’s) for each of the 7 strategic focus areas including energy, water and wastewater, transportation, buildings and grounds, food and livability, waste and recycling, and finally academics and engagement for sustainability initiatives at UCF. Monitor and evaluate program effectiveness, document performance trends, and recommend and implement modifications to improve program effectiveness.

Compile and submit annual greenhouse gas inventory as required by the Second Nature Climate Leadership Commitment.

Conduct an annual survey of at least 3,000 respondents, within the UCF population, to assess the level of interest and competency relating to sustainability.

Represent UCF’s sustainability programs to the University; maintain liaison with groups, programs, offices and departments at UCF, to achieve sustainability objectives; serve on various campus, state and national committees.

Foster and coordinates new ideas and concepts and represent UCF’s sustainability programs to the public; attend professional meetings as appropriate; interface with external organizations to ensure cooperative efforts are enhanced and available resources are utilized. These requirements necessitate the ability to travel and meet regularly outside of business hours.

Develop and maintain an integrated marketing plan including means and methods of communications; coordinate and/or participate in public relations activities to include preparing and supervising the production of a website, social media outlets, brochures, newsletters and other promotional materials and/or publications, preparing press releases, designing ads and fliers, and responding to inquiries; develop plans and schedules for release of publicity materials

Research and maintain a working knowledge of best practices at peer institutions with regards to sustainability.
Responsible for high-level University quarterly and annual greenhouse gas reduction and emissions and energy savings reports, newsletters, constituent updates for administration, trustees, governors and applicable executive orders from US Department of Energy.

Assist in the preparation of budgets and grants; monitor, verify and reconcile expenditure of budgeted funds as appropriate.

Recruit, interview, hire and manage student interns performing research or work on sustainability projects with well-defined deliverables.

Advertise, solicit and screen applications for the grant funds. Oversee the execution of projects receiving grants. Publicize the results of granted projects.

Perform other related duties incidental to the work described herein.


Job title of the sustainability officer position (3rd position):
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Job description for the sustainability officer position (3rd position):
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Job description for the sustainability officer position (3rd position):
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Website URL where information about the institution’s sustainability coordination is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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