Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 69.87
Liaison Cindy Shea
Submission Date Dec. 23, 2020

STARS v2.2

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
AC-8: Campus as a Living Laboratory

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 4.00 / 4.00 Cindy Shea
Sustainability Director
Sustainable Carolina
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Campus Engagement

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Campus Engagement?:
Yes

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Campus Engagement:
A student intern developed and coordinated a Battle of the Buildings, which pitted two first-year residence halls in a fierce competition to reduce energy use over the course of 4 weeks. The student worked with Energy Management to collect, analyze and report energy savings. He also created posters and on-line resources to teach residents how they could save energy and win the competition.

Public Engagement 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Public Engagement?:
No

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Public Engagement:
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Air & Climate 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Air & Climate?:
Yes

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Air & Climate:
A Psychology class conducted research in residence hall laundry rooms to determine how to encourage students to wash their laundry using cold, rather than warm, water. The class used their findings to develop new signage that has since been posted in campus laundry facilities.

Buildings  

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Buildings?:
Yes

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Buildings:
A capstone environmental studies course worked with Energy Management to determine “How much money can UNC save if each building on campus reduces its energy use to meet its EUI target?”. The group also developed an on-line dashboard to identify buildings with the highest potential for building-scale energy efficiency projects that have a high ROI.

Energy 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Energy?:
Yes

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Energy:
A Carolina Sustainability Consulting business school course worked with Athletics to analyze building and facility energy use and recommend projects with favorable ROIs.

Food & Dining 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Food & Dining?:
Yes

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Food & Dining:
A capstone course analyzed receipts from Carolina Dining Services to determine the percentage of food purchased that qualifies as “real food” as designated by the Real Food Calculator.

Grounds 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Grounds?:
Yes

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Grounds:
A student intern researched and created a Habitat Diversity and IPM Plan to make the campus more friendly to pollinators.

Purchasing 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Purchasing?:
Yes

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Purchasing:
A Carolina Sustainability Consulting business school course worked with the Surplus Store to develop a communications and marketing plan to increase sales.

Transportation 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Transportation?:
Yes

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Transportation:
A Carolina Sustainability Consulting business school course worked with Fleet Services to develop a business case and marketing plan for an EV Carshare program for employees in and around the Facilities Compound.

Waste 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Waste?:
Yes

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Waste:
An environmental studies capstone course worked with the Office of Waste Reduction and Recycling to conduct a survey to better understand student attitudes and proficiency around recycling.

Water 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Water?:
Yes

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Water:
A planning course worked with Stormwater Engineering and Grounds to develop and study a regenerative stormwater conveyance on campus.

Coordination & Planning 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Coordination & Planning?:
No

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Coordination & Planning:
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Diversity & Affordability 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Diversity & Affordability?:
Yes

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Diversity & Affordability:
An environmental studies capstone analyzed environmental justice and well water contamination in low income neighborhoods in the Northern Piedmont of North Carolina. Another capstone group used EnviroAtlas to uncover that an underserved community in the Triangle - Carrboro - is also underserved from an ecosystem services perspective.

Investment & Finance 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Investment & Finance?:
No

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Investment & Finance:
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Wellbeing & Work 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Wellbeing & Work?:
No

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Wellbeing & Work:
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Optional Fields 

Website URL where information about the institution’s living laboratory program is available:
https://ie.unc.edu/education/capstone/

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.