| Overall Rating | Silver |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 57.01 |
| Liaison | Meghna Tare |
| Submission Date | April 3, 2022 |
University of Texas at Arlington
PA-1: Sustainability Coordination
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.00 / 1.00 |
Meghna
Tare Director Office of Sustainability |
"---"
indicates that no data was submitted for this field
Sustainability committee(s)
Yes
The charter or mission statement of the committee(s) or a brief description of each committee's purview and activities:
Sustainability is a path of continual improvement where our actions protect and enhance the human and natural resources needed for future generations to enjoy a quality of life equal to or greater than our own. As we continue down our path to becoming a sustainable campus, it is imperative that we have increased participation from the campus community to guarantee success.
The Sustainability Committee is charged with improving our sustainability performance in both education and operations. The committee will facilitate regular communication with the maverick community about sustainability programs on campus. It will also review and analyze best practices and opportunities, recommend improvements, and help implementation of new programs.
The mission of the Sustainability Committee is to cultivate a culture of environmental responsibility and stewardship. The committee will focus on advancing sustainability in several areas such as energy efficiency, waste management, transportation, education, outreach, community engagement, community garden, composting, student engagement, Office Green Team, and interdisciplinary and sustainability-focused curriculum. The committee will meet twice every semester.
Chair – Morgan Chivers, UTA Library
Co-Chair – Abeer Almughrabi, Department of Civil Engineering groups.
The Sustainability Committee is charged with improving our sustainability performance in both education and operations. The committee will facilitate regular communication with the maverick community about sustainability programs on campus. It will also review and analyze best practices and opportunities, recommend improvements, and help implementation of new programs.
The mission of the Sustainability Committee is to cultivate a culture of environmental responsibility and stewardship. The committee will focus on advancing sustainability in several areas such as energy efficiency, waste management, transportation, education, outreach, community engagement, community garden, composting, student engagement, Office Green Team, and interdisciplinary and sustainability-focused curriculum. The committee will meet twice every semester.
Chair – Morgan Chivers, UTA Library
Co-Chair – Abeer Almughrabi, Department of Civil Engineering groups.
Members of each committee, including affiliations and role:
Name Department/Office
Mari Duncan Apartment & Residence Life
Dax Kuykendall Campus Recreation
Douglas Klahr CAPPA Dean's Office
Amruta Sakalker CAPPA Student
Hanan Boukhaima CAPPA Student
Megan Hein Chartwells/Maverick Dining
Arpita Bhatt Civil Engineering
Bear Lunce Commons and University Center Operations
Susan Dequeant CRTLE/Center for Service Learning
Ramon Ruiz EH&S
Gautam Das Faculty- College of Engineering
Abeer AlMughrabi Faculty- Civil engineering
Andrew Milson Faculty- History
Christopher Morris Faculty- History
Peggy Semingson Faculty- Linguistics and TESOL
Ritu Gairola Khanduri Faculty- Sociology and Anthropology
Debbie Sandoval Inventory and Distribution Services
Morgan Chivers Library
Sean Armstrong Maverick Dining (Chartwells Higher Education)
Li-Ya Mar Faculty Modern Languages
Robb Chock Office of Facilities Management
Don Lange Office of Facilities Management
Lauren McLain Office of Facilities Management
Sharon Carey Office of Facilities Management
Jeff L. Johnson Office of Facilities Management
Adam Kaufman Parking & Transportation
Todd Smith Parking & Transportation
Charlie Brooks Procurement and Payment Services
Nick Paton Special Events Facilities
Amber Raley Student-College of Architecture
Stephanie Edgett UC Operations
David Albart UC Operations
Herb Booth University Advancement - Media relations
Bobby Childress University Analytics
Joanna Merritt University Analytics
Marsha Booker University Housing
David Locke UTA Police
Bryan Samuel VP DEI
Mari Duncan Apartment & Residence Life
Dax Kuykendall Campus Recreation
Douglas Klahr CAPPA Dean's Office
Amruta Sakalker CAPPA Student
Hanan Boukhaima CAPPA Student
Megan Hein Chartwells/Maverick Dining
Arpita Bhatt Civil Engineering
Bear Lunce Commons and University Center Operations
Susan Dequeant CRTLE/Center for Service Learning
Ramon Ruiz EH&S
Gautam Das Faculty- College of Engineering
Abeer AlMughrabi Faculty- Civil engineering
Andrew Milson Faculty- History
Christopher Morris Faculty- History
Peggy Semingson Faculty- Linguistics and TESOL
Ritu Gairola Khanduri Faculty- Sociology and Anthropology
Debbie Sandoval Inventory and Distribution Services
Morgan Chivers Library
Sean Armstrong Maverick Dining (Chartwells Higher Education)
Li-Ya Mar Faculty Modern Languages
Robb Chock Office of Facilities Management
Don Lange Office of Facilities Management
Lauren McLain Office of Facilities Management
Sharon Carey Office of Facilities Management
Jeff L. Johnson Office of Facilities Management
Adam Kaufman Parking & Transportation
Todd Smith Parking & Transportation
Charlie Brooks Procurement and Payment Services
Nick Paton Special Events Facilities
Amber Raley Student-College of Architecture
Stephanie Edgett UC Operations
David Albart UC Operations
Herb Booth University Advancement - Media relations
Bobby Childress University Analytics
Joanna Merritt University Analytics
Marsha Booker University Housing
David Locke UTA Police
Bryan Samuel VP DEI
Sustainability office(s)
Yes
A brief description of each sustainability office:
The Office of Sustainability at the University of Texas at Arlington aspires to provide the framework for environmental stewardship, natural resource conservation, emissions reductions, and sustainability. The office will act as a conduit to support and promote the University's environmental commitments and policies. In addition to promoting the University's environmental policy, the Office of Sustainability is committed to enhancing awareness and understanding of the principles of sustainability throughout the University community. This awareness will help UT Arlington students, staff, and faculty to incorporate green practices and procedures within all areas and aspects of the University. The Office of Sustainability is concerned with the health and safety of the University community as well as with the health of the environment. This office is focused on the continual implementation of programs and initiatives that not only create a sustainable campus, but improves the quality of campus life in general. The Office of Sustainability also helps to develop and promote academic programs, scholarship, research, service learning, and educational events focused on environmental and sustainability studies.
In addition to on campus activities, the Office of Sustainability at The University of Texas at Arlington remains steadfast in maintaining direct involvement within local, regional, national, and international organizations and programs which promote environmental sustainability. Beyond compliance with these sustainable agencies, the office actively pursues outreach opportunities to expand its impact beyond the physical boundaries of UT Arlington.
Aligned with the UT Arlington core values of academics, community, and social responsibility, the Office of Sustainability provides innovative initiatives, projects, programs, campaigns, educational services, group activities, and outreach opportunities. The various activities aspire to facilitate a culture of sustainability on campus, regionally and nationally that will position the university as a leader in sustainability.
In addition to on campus activities, the Office of Sustainability at The University of Texas at Arlington remains steadfast in maintaining direct involvement within local, regional, national, and international organizations and programs which promote environmental sustainability. Beyond compliance with these sustainable agencies, the office actively pursues outreach opportunities to expand its impact beyond the physical boundaries of UT Arlington.
Aligned with the UT Arlington core values of academics, community, and social responsibility, the Office of Sustainability provides innovative initiatives, projects, programs, campaigns, educational services, group activities, and outreach opportunities. The various activities aspire to facilitate a culture of sustainability on campus, regionally and nationally that will position the university as a leader in sustainability.
Full-time equivalent of people employed in the sustainability office(s):
2
Sustainability officer(s)
Yes
Name and title of each sustainability officer:
Meghna Tare, Chief Sustainability Officer; Bhargavi Jeyarajah, Sustainability Coordinator
Institution-wide coordination
Yes
A brief description of the activities and substantive accomplishments of the institution-wide coordinating body or officer during the previous three years:
Developing a GRI report
The University Sustainability Committee used two frameworks
to support the evaluation of UT Arlington’s key impacts and
to determine report topics: the GRI Reporting Framework,
the most widely used standard for sustainability reporting
worldwide; and AASHE’s Sustainability Tracking, Assessment
& Rating System™ (STARS), a transparent, self-reporting
framework for colleges and universities to measure their
sustainability performance. UT Arlington’s first STARS
submission in January 2011 received a bronze rating. STARS
submissions are available at https://stars.aashe.org.
The committee identified an initial set of goals that focus on
the University’s key environmental impacts and align with and
support the University’s Strategic Plan and the Campus Master
Plan, as described in the Managing Our Impacts section on page
18. The impacts, action plans, and performance in these areas are
the focus of this report. In addition, the committee performed
an initial review of economic and social aspects in relation to
University priorities and considered these aspects alongside
external feedback to determine the scope of topics in this report.
For future sustainability reports, we will incorporate a more
formal process for determining material sustainability topics.
The University Sustainability Committee used two frameworks
to support the evaluation of UT Arlington’s key impacts and
to determine report topics: the GRI Reporting Framework,
the most widely used standard for sustainability reporting
worldwide; and AASHE’s Sustainability Tracking, Assessment
& Rating System™ (STARS), a transparent, self-reporting
framework for colleges and universities to measure their
sustainability performance. UT Arlington’s first STARS
submission in January 2011 received a bronze rating. STARS
submissions are available at https://stars.aashe.org.
The committee identified an initial set of goals that focus on
the University’s key environmental impacts and align with and
support the University’s Strategic Plan and the Campus Master
Plan, as described in the Managing Our Impacts section on page
18. The impacts, action plans, and performance in these areas are
the focus of this report. In addition, the committee performed
an initial review of economic and social aspects in relation to
University priorities and considered these aspects alongside
external feedback to determine the scope of topics in this report.
For future sustainability reports, we will incorporate a more
formal process for determining material sustainability topics.
Optional Fields
Job description (1st position)
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Job description (2nd position)
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Website URL where information about the institution’s sustainability coordination is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
https://sustainability.uta.edu/about/sustainability-committee/
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.