Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 60.64
Liaison Eva Rocke
Submission Date June 30, 2021

STARS v2.2

University of Montana
PA-2: Sustainability Planning

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.00 / 4.00 Eva Rocke
Sustainability Director
Office of Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1. Measurable sustainability objectives 

Academics

Does the institution have a published plan or plans that include measurable sustainability objectives that address sustainability in curriculum and/or research?:
No

A list or sample of the measurable sustainability objectives related to academics and the plan(s) in which they are published:
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Engagement 

Does the institution have a published plan or plans that include measurable sustainability objectives that address student, employee, or community engagement for sustainability?:
Yes

A list or sample of the measurable sustainability objectives related to engagement and the plan(s) in which they are published:
UM's 2010 Climate Action Plan includes several goals to educate and engage university affiliates to reduce energy consumption, change commute behavior, and make different choices when it comes to class scheduling and field trip logistics, all with the goal of reducing emissions.

Energy Conservation - reduce emissions through energy conserving behaviors by 2570 MTeCO2
Commuting - Increase incentives to bike/walk to campus resulting in 90 MTeCO2 reduction per year;
https://www.umt.edu/sustainability/documents/CAPFinal.pdf

Operations

Does the institution have a published plan or plans that include measurable sustainability objectives that address sustainability in operations?:
Yes

A list or sample of the measurable sustainability objectives related to operations and the plan(s) in which they are published:
Parking Management changes - discontinue the use of semester-long or annual parking permits to shift behavior, resulting in 218 MTeCO2 reduced per year
- Develop more student housing within the urban core and close to campus that could result in 134 MTeCO2 per year
- Fleet vehicles emissions - Replace gas-burning fleet vehicles with EVs to the fullest extent possible, resulting in 24 MTeCO2 per year

Administration

Does the institution have a published plan or plans that include measurable sustainability objectives that address diversity, equity, and inclusion; sustainable investment/finance; or wellbeing?:
No

A list or sample of the measurable sustainability objectives related to administration and the plan(s) in which they are published:
UM is currently working on our first DEI plan for campus and should have it published by the end of calendar year 2021.

Part 2. Sustainability in institution’s highest guiding document

Does the institution have a published strategic plan or equivalent guiding document that includes sustainability at a high level? :
Yes

The institution’s highest guiding document (upload):
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Website URL where the institution’s highest guiding document is publicly available:
Which of the following best describes the inclusion of sustainability in the highest guiding document?:
Minor theme

Optional Fields

The institution's sustainability plan (upload):
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Website URL where the institution's sustainability plan is publicly available:
Does the institution have a formal statement in support of sustainability endorsed by its governing body?:
No

The formal statement in support of sustainability:
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The institution’s definition of sustainability:
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Is the institution an endorser or signatory of the following?:
Yes or No
The Earth Charter No
The Higher Education Sustainability Initiative (HESI) No
ISCN-GULF Sustainable Campus Charter No
Pan-Canadian Protocol for Sustainability No
SDG Accord No
Second Nature’s Carbon Commitment (formerly known as the ACUPCC), Resilience Commitment, and/or integrated Climate Commitment No
The Talloires Declaration (TD) Yes
UN Global Compact No
Other multi-dimensional sustainability commitments (please specify below) No

A brief description of the institution’s formal sustainability commitments, including the specific initiatives selected above:
UM is no longer a member of Second Nature. Our last annual membership expired in 2019.

Website URL where information about the institution’s sustainability planning efforts is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
In our last STARS report (submitted in 2017), UM leadership still used and supported a Strategic Plan in the traditional format for such a document. Our current president doesn't believe that strategic plans are the most effective tool for setting goals and measuring outcomes and so has driven collaborative work on campus to create the Priorities for Action and the University Design Team.

The Priorities for Action are 5 guiding principles and values that pertain to all campus affiliates and operations. https://www.umt.edu/president/strategicinitiatives/priorities-for-action.php

The University Design Team is tasked with envisioning what UM needs to pursue and become in order to be a competitive "university of the future." https://www.umt.edu/president/udt/default.php

These two documents taken together are the closest UM comes to a strategic plan in 2020 and beyond.

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.