University of Colorado Colorado Springs
EN-9: Staff Professional Development and Training

Sustainability Summit is a half-day event to educate, connect, and celebrate others on campus, producing innovative and engaging projects and programs that are sustainability-focused or inclusive. Faculty, staff, and students share highlights of their efforts and successes through presentations with discussion on recommendations for further progress.

Representatives from all four campuses in the CU System created a sustainability training that covered environment, equity, and economics as core themes to provide a baseline understanding of sustainability principles and practices. This training is available to all UCCS employees through the Skillsoft portal. From Spring 2021 to Fall 2023, UCCS had 31 staff and three student staff complete the 30-minute training.

The Office of Sustainability partnered with Inconergy, our energy performance contractor, and Colorado State University's Institute for the Built Environment to host two sustainability workshops on STARS to mostly staff and faculty during the Fall of 2022 and Spring of 2023. The workshops aimed to initiate a dialogue about shared ownership of UCCS’ sustainability mission and initiatives. This was done through discussions about the connections between students, staff, and faculty members and the university’s overall sustainability strategy, how to build shared will to effectively collaborate on projects and reporting procedures, and what areas UCCS should focus on in its sustainability journey. The two-hour workshops included a catered lunch and facilitated discussions featuring Colorado State University's sustainability leadership. About 20 staff, faculty, and students participated in the two-hour workshops.

The Knapsack Institute. An intensive three-day summer institute focused on social justice pedagogy was held at the UCCS campus. It is open to all. There are usually several staff members for whom the University pays the training fee. Description: As our nation becomes increasingly diverse, it is imperative to have the understanding and resources to effectively navigate discussions about diversity and inequality in the classroom and workplace. The Knapsack Institute is designed for individuals at the beginning to intermediate stages of this journey and those seeking to refresh their approach and embrace intersectional strategies. The Institute is designed for all educators (k-12, higher education, workshop facilitators, etc.). The Sustainability Office presents on Climate Justice each year at the Institute.

The Excellence in Leadership Program (ELP) helps current leaders more effectively manage key challenges of a dynamic CU system. ELP brings together employees from across the four campuses and the CU System. Program participants attend monthly workshops focusing on different topics, including communication, fiscal management, and strategic thinking.

LinkedIn Learning is free and accessible to all UCCS employees. Supervisors are encouraged to integrate these opportunities into their employee’s work plans. This free resource has over 1,000 sustainability-related courses, videos, articles, and learning paths.

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory hosted a Colorado Net Zero Campus Forum at Colorado College in the Fall of 2023. The Colorado Energy Research Collaboratory, comprised of the Colorado School of Mines, Colorado State University, University of Colorado Boulder, and National Renewable Energy Laboratory, along with Colorado College, is bringing together the larger network of institutions across Colorado working to create a clean energy future through decarbonization of infrastructure and operations.

Facilities Services has a sustainability goal or objective as part of each employee’s annual Performance Management Plans (PMPs). See below for the exact language. This is roughly 185, or 9% of staff members out of the university's total 2,010 employees.

Goal or objective: Sustainability
Continues to support Campus sustainable principles and practices to align with sustainable landscape practices on campus. Incorporates and communicates practices daily to the workgroup.  Strives to improve operational performance by evaluating decisions using the sustainability "lens." Demonstrates effective working relationships with the Office of Sustainability through collaboration and programming support.

Measurement method:
Exceeds: Demonstrates and practices a very high level of support for implementing Sustainable principles and practices within the department. Display ownership of sustainable practices throughout the department. Created a plan to improve key operational segments to better align with industry practices. Promotes ongoing information and education and asks for feedback from staff to improve department engagement. Supports programming activities sponsored by the Office of Sustainability on the Campus.

Meets: Effectively integrates practices and principles into daily operations. Has made several changes within various areas to better align with sustainability objectives. Uses the sustainable “lens” to make important decisions. Supports programming activities scheduled by the Office of Sustainability.

Below: Limited progress demonstrated. No Sustainable practices and principles were demonstrated within the workgroup.

https://knapsack.uccs.edu/
https://sustain.uccs.edu/get-involved/sustainability-summit
https://www.cu.edu/employee-services/professional-growth-training/leadership/elp
https://gaf.uccs.edu/projects/projects-funded
https://staff.uccs.edu/employee-awards/seeds