Overall Rating Silver
Overall Score 63.89
Liaison Christa Rieck
Submission Date March 3, 2022

STARS v2.2

University of Houston
EN-14: Participation in Public Policy

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.33 / 2.00
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Local advocacy

Does the institution advocate for public policies that support campus sustainability or that otherwise advance sustainability at the municipal/local level?:
Yes

A brief description of how the institution engages in public policy advocacy for sustainability at the municipal/local level:
From 2019 to 2020 The University of Houston Office of Sustainability was appointed as official University liaison to Harris County Judge's Climate Justice Round table. During meetings, University experts helped shape the county level definition of Climate Justice for its incorporation into the county resiliency plan. Results of these meetings can be found here: https://cjo.harriscountytx.gov/Climate-Change-Protecting-our-Environment

Regional advocacy

Does the institution advocate for public policies that support campus sustainability or that otherwise advance sustainability at the state/provincial/regional level?:
Yes

A brief description of how the institution engages in public policy advocacy for sustainability at the state/provincial/regional level:
The University advocates for support and funding of exceptional items in Texas Legislative House Bill 1 and Senate Bill 1, specifically the funding for a Texas Carbon Management HUB housed at UH. Support specifically entails establishment of the UH Carbon Management HUB to promote rapid and transformative deployment of carbon capture utilization and storage technologies. This builds upon a recent Department of Energy/Southern States Energy Board Grant to the UH Center for Carbon Management. Support for this initiative will allow the university to develop testing and validation facilities needed to accelerate commercialization and project activation and to develop academic programming to train the skilled workforce needed for these new technologies.
https://uhsystem.edu/governmental-relations/documents/2021_uhs-legisagenda-v12.pdf

National advocacy

Does the institution advocate for public policies that support campus sustainability or that otherwise advance sustainability at the national level?:
No

A brief description of how the institution engages in public policy advocacy for sustainability at the national level:
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International advocacy

Does the institution advocate for public policies that support campus sustainability or that otherwise advance sustainability at the international level?:
No

A brief description of how the institution engages in public policy advocacy for sustainability at the international level:
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Optional Fields 

A brief description of other political positions the institution has taken during the previous three years (if applicable):
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None
A brief description of political donations the institution made during the previous three years (if applicable):
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Website URL where information about the institution’s sustainability advocacy efforts is available:
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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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.