| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 70.13 |
| Liaison | John Alejandro |
| Submission Date | March 24, 2021 |
University of San Diego
EN-14: Participation in Public Policy
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.00 / 2.00 |
Trey
McDonald Director of Sustainability and Energy Manager Sustainability |
Does the institution advocate for public policies that support campus sustainability or that otherwise advance sustainability at the municipal/local level?:
A brief description of how the institution engages in public policy advocacy for sustainability at the municipal/local level:
USD is a founding member and sponsor of the San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative, a network for public agencies that serve the San Diego region. Members share expertise, leverage resources, and advance comprehensive solutions to facilitate climate change mitigation and resiliency planning. By partnering with academia, non-profit organizations, and business and community leaders, the Collaborative also works to raise the profile of regional leadership.
The Collaborative engages in the following:
-Supports and promotes comprehensive solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prepare for local climate change impacts.
-Communicates about the leadership of the Climate Collaborative and the San Diego region to local, state, and national leaders, peers, and funding institutions.
-Builds capacity within San Diego area public agencies and other local organizations through networking, training and partnerships with academic institutions, businesses, and non-profits.
Does the institution advocate for public policies that support campus sustainability or that otherwise advance sustainability at the state/provincial/regional level?:
A brief description of how the institution engages in public policy advocacy for sustainability at the state/provincial/regional level:
The USD Energy Policy Initiatives Center (EPIC) is a non-profit research center in the School of Law that studies energy policy issues affecting California and the San Diego region. EPIC’s mission is to increase awareness and understanding of energy- and climate-related policy issues by conducting research and analysis to inform decision makers and educating law students. EPIC advises local, regional, and state government entities on climate-related policy and helps cities and regions develop climate action plans, including greenhouse gas inventories, emission reduction measures and policies, cost-benefit analysis and ordinance development. EPIC has deep knowledge of the complex system of energy and climate laws, regulations and policies enacted at the state level affecting all levels of economic activity.
The Climate Education Partners (CEP) program is an interdisciplinary collaboration of representatives from the University of San Diego, California State University - San Marcos, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California - San Francisco, The San Diego Foundation, and The Steve Alexander Group. This team brought together experts in climate science, social psychology, law, policy, and communications to protect San Diego's natural beauty and quality of life from the changes in our climate that threaten the region. This partnership aims to educate regional leadership about climate change to help them make informed decisions about San Diego's future.
Does the institution advocate for public policies that support campus sustainability or that otherwise advance sustainability at the national level?:
A brief description of how the institution engages in public policy advocacy for sustainability at the national level:
In June 2018, USD signed on to the U.S. Catholic Climate Declaration (CCD). The CCD affirmed the commitment of US Catholic institutions (including college/universities) to stand by the Paris Agreement and help meet its goals.
The CCD complemented and expressed US Catholic solidarity with the We Are Still In Campaign, a large coalition of organizations across the country supporting climate action and a return of the US to the Paris Agreement.
Does the institution advocate for public policies that support campus sustainability or that otherwise advance sustainability at the international level?:
A brief description of how the institution engages in public policy advocacy for sustainability at the international level:
Impact:Peace, an initiative of USD’s Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice, leverages evidence to accelerate the most important change processes in peacebuilding and violence prevention by synthesizing the most rigorous research available, producing original research and developing innovative ways to connect that evidence to drive positive change.
Impact:Peace is a facilitator of Peace in Our Cities (PiOC), a global network of 20 cities and 30 organizations representing over 25 million people around the world who are working together to achieve a 50% reduction in urban violence by 2030. PiOC seeks to work with city leaders and partners to halve urban violence by 50% by creating concrete, participatory, and evidence-based platforms that make progress toward Sustainable Development Goal 16 (Peace, Justice & Strong Institutions), with an initial focus on SDG16.1 (to significantly reduce all forms of violence).
Further, in collaboration with the NYU Center on International Cooperation, Impact:Peace is working alongside the Pathfinders for Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies on the campaign to Halve Global Violence by 2030. The Pathfinders' Challenge is committed to creating an actionable agenda to unite policymakers around the strategies to halve global violence by 2030 and shaping a new consensus that violence is a preventable epidemic.
Another initiative from the Kroc Institute is the annual Women PeaceMakers Fellowship. This program brings together four women peacebuilders and leading international peacebuilding organizations. Over the course of 12 months, this cohort conducts applied research that builds mutual learning, more effective partnerships and strengthens peacebuilding practice and policy.
Finally, as the closest peace institute to the U.S.-Mexico border, the Kroc School seeks to build peace in Mexico and the border region through research grounded in a nuanced understanding of the challenges faced by border communities and in partnership with local scholars, practitioners and policymakers. The Trans-border Institute, founded in 1994 at USD to promote scholarship, studies, research, and activities related to Mexico and the United States-Mexico border, and to encourage an active role for the University in the cross-border community, is a part of the Kroc School of Peace Studies. TBI promotes sustainable peace in Mexico and the border region, through applied research, innovative pedagogy, and cross-border partnerships. For twenty years, TBI has been a leading source of information and outreach on pressing border issues and the broader relationship between Mexico and the United States.
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):
Website URL where information about the institution’s sustainability advocacy efforts is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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.