Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 57.98
Liaison Jay Price
Submission Date March 6, 2020
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

University of Tennessee at Knoxville
EN-11: Inter-Campus Collaboration

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.00 / 3.00 Jay Price
Sustainability Manager
Facilities Services
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Is the institution an active member of a national or international sustainability network?:
Yes

The name of the national or international sustainability network(s):

-The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE)
-National Wildlife Federation’s Campus Ecology program
-University Leaders for a Sustainable Future
-Center for Ultra-wide-area Resilient Electricity Energy Transmission Network (CURENT)
-The China-US Joint Research Center for Ecosystem and Environmental Change (JRCEEC)
-Second Nature Climate Action Plan Liaison Committee


Is the institution an active member of a regional, state/provincial or local sustainability network?:
Yes

The name of the regional, state/provincial or local sustainability network(s):

-The Tennessee Higher Education Sustainability Association (THESA)
-Southeast Sustainability Directors Network
-Tennessee Green Star Partnership (TGSP under TDEC)
---Partnering universities include Tufts University, University of Illinois, Texas A&M, Washington State University, North China Electric Power University, Tsingha University, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, University College Dublin, National Sun Yat Sen University, Northeastern, Rensselar, Tuskegee


Has the institution presented at a sustainability conference during the previous year? :
Yes

A list or brief description of the conference(s) and presentation(s):

The Office of Sustainability's Social Impact Coordinator, Leah McCord, presented at the 2019 AASHE conference on her work establishing the Grow Lab, UT's campus garden that serves to promote experiential and service-learning.


Has the institution submitted a case study during the previous year to a sustainability awards program that is inclusive of multiple campuses? :
Yes

A list or brief description of the awards program(s) and submission(s):

A new three-year study involving University of Tennessee-Oak Ridge National Laboratory Governor’s Chair for Environmental Biotechnology Terry Hazen will look at how aquatic microbial communities are impacted by biocides associated with hydraulic fracking.

Hazen’s team wants to clarify whether the use of biocides could lead to antibiotic-resistant strains of microbes, what the impact of the biocides is on the overall environment, and help pinpoint biocides that can continue to be used with greatest effect on equipment and the least impact on environment.


Has the institution had staff, students or faculty serving on a board or committee of a sustainability network or conference during the previous three years? :
Yes

A list or brief description of the board or committee appointment(s):

Former UT Sustainability Manager and former UT Energy Manager Preston Jacobson serves on the AASHE advisory council until December 2020.


Does the institution have an ongoing mentoring relationship with another institution through which it assists the institution with its sustainability reporting and/or the development of its sustainability program?:
Yes

A brief description of the mentoring relationship and activities:

The UT Office of Sustainability works with several neighboring institutions, such as Ball State University, East Tennessee State University (ETSU), the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC), and Pellissippi State Community College, to help with the formation or management of student green fees and green revolving funds. The Office of Sustainability is also a part of the Southeast Sustainability Director Network, which meets once monthly via phone conference and twice annually in person to discuss sustainability initiatives at the participating schools.


Has the institution had staff, faculty, or students serving as peer reviewers of another institution’s sustainability data (e.g. GHG emissions or course inventory) and/or STARS submission during the previous three years?:
No

A brief description of the peer review activities:
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Has the institution participated in other collaborative efforts around sustainability during the previous year, e.g. joint planning or resource sharing with other institutions? :
Yes

A brief description of other collaborative efforts around sustainability during the previous year:

Yes, as a member of the Tennessee chapter of APPA: Leadership in Educational Facilities (TNAPPA), the university provides best practices to the APPA Best Practice List.

http://curent.utk.edu/education/university-education/reu/


The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
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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.