Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 70.90
Liaison Steve Mital
Submission Date Aug. 1, 2023

STARS v2.2

University of Oregon
EN-14: Participation in Public Policy

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.00 / 2.00 Sarah Stoeckl
Assistant Director
Office of Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

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:

The University of Oregon works directly with the City of Eugene to advocate for and support the City's climate action plan. Specifically, University of Oregon is one of several local "large lever" institutions that are working directly with the City to develop local emissions reduction goals, plans and timelines.

https://www.eugene-or.gov/3936/CAP20-Background


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:

1. Advocating for federal funding for a UO Center for Wildfire Smoke Research and Practice with the goal of supporting Oregon communities to become more resilience in the face of increasing wildfire smoke.

2. Advocating for federal funding that supports UO’s Sustainability City Year Program with a focus on supporting Oregon communities working on challenges related to climate change and social equity.

3. Advocating for expansion of the Disaster Resilient Universities: Oregon Campus Resilience Consortium.


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

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

Many of our efforts represent advocacy at federal levels. Recent examples include:
1. Advocating for federal funding for research focusing on the advancement of mass timber and structural wood products building solutions. In 2022 UO and OSU’s collaborative TallWood Design Institute was part of the Oregon Mass Timber Coalition that received federal Build Back Better Regional Challenge funds to build affordable housing prototypes with mass timber products.
2. Continuing to advocate for legislation that supports federal investment in an earthquake early warning system known as ShakeAlert.
2. Continuing to advocate for build-out of Alert Wildfire, a network of Pan-Tilt-Zoom fire cameras that can help public land managers, firefighters and first responders locate, monitor, and contain fires that negatively impact environmental ecosystems and infrastructure;
Note: All official advocacy at the federal level is vetted by UO's senior administration.


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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A brief description of other political positions the institution has taken during the previous three years (if applicable):
---

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:

Information comes Intergovernmental Relations office, part of Community and Government Relations, via Karen Hyatt, Director of Intergovernmental Relations.


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.