Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 70.87
Liaison Daimon Eklund
Submission Date Dec. 23, 2021

STARS v2.2

University of Washington, Seattle
AC-8: Campus as a Living Laboratory

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 4.00 / 4.00
"---" 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:
The Winter 2020 Sustainability Studio class partnered with the UW College of the Environment’s Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion on developing a way to capture the ongoing discussions and methods in which Environmental Justice thrives within the UW community. This featured questions such as: How do we capture the essence of the UW student voice and portray that in an effective way at the conference? How can we give our input on the conference to ensure that it is not only engaging to the Environmental Justice community, but also the average student as well?
Students created short videos and a marketing plan to showcase them in conjunction with an on-campus Environmental Justice Conference.
https://envstudies.uw.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2021/01/ENVIR480_WINTER20_compressed.pdf

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 graduate student led an effort to survey UW faculty and staff regarding attitudes on professional air travel, a research project in support of the Sustainability Action Plan goal to reduce UW's greenhouse gas emissions associated with professional air travel.

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:
Green Futures Lab students and faculty used a Campus Sustainability Fund (CSF) grant to work with Facilities on revitalizing the Gould Hall Green Wall after an irrigation failure led to 100% mortality of the plantings. In addition to fixing the irrigation issue, the project is looking at ways to ensure long-term maintenance of the Green Wall.
https://csf.uw.edu/project/1059

In addition, students in the College of Built Environments and other departments are actively engaged in multiple green building and urban planning projects on campus and throughout the community.

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:
UW Solar is an interdisciplinary group of students, faculty, and staff that lead ongoing research and operation efforts to expand solar and other renewable energy on the UW campus. Many research projects, capstones, etc. result from this dynamic collaboration.

For one of the projects, UW Solar students worked with UW Facilities to develop a 30 year Solar Energy Plan for the UW Seattle campus which aims to maximize solar PV capacity on all viable buildings, reduce peak energy use, and provide grid resiliency while supporting opportunities for student research. UW Solar has assessed all buildings on campus for feasibility and will coordinate with appropriate departments, facilities, and capital planning and development to determine the criteria for selecting future solar PV projects.

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:
UW Farm; Spring 2020 Sustainability Studio
Students worked with the UW Farm to determine how best to create a second wash/pack facility for produce, eliminating the need to drive produce from one of the sites across campus to the existing facilities. Project goals included reducing fossil fuel use from transporting the produce, as well as finding ways to reuse the water for plant irrigation.
https://envstudies.uw.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2021/01/ENVIR480_SPRING20.pdf

In addition, there are many courses and student projects utilizing the UW Farm for ongoing education and research. Student-grown produce at the UW Farm is also sold to HFS for use in on-campus dining facilities.

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:
Students of the UW Chapter of the Society for Ecological Restoration regularly work with grounds on ecological restoration projects. SER has its own student-run, on-campus native plant nursery which propagates native plants that are then used in campus landscaping and restoration projects.
https://sites.uw.edu/seruw/

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:
Students are working with Purchasing to help achieve the equitable purchasing goal set out in our Sustainability Action Plan.
https://green.uw.edu/sustainability-plan/target-iv-comprehensive-equitable-purchasing-targets-2022

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:
There is a long tradition of students, faculty, and staff working together to create and implement innovative transportation planning and programs at UW.

Fall 2020 Sustainability Studio students worked with UW Transportation on projects including bike share feasibility and equity in transportation.
https://envstudies.uw.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2021/01/ENVIR480_AUTUMN20.pdf

Additionally, the student group UW Solar has worked with UW Transportation on a plan to electrify the University of Washington vehicle fleet, including an evaluation of all parking lots and parking garages on the Seattle Campus for their potential to support solar carports.

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:
Residence Hall students worked with HFS to implement a pilot program evaluating the use of reusable Ozzi containers to cut down on disposable items.
The Sustainability Studio course then analyzed the pilot program, and recommended ways to expand the program to reach more students and increase the waste diversion.
https://envstudies.uw.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2021/01/ENVIR480_AUTUMN19.pdf

Water 

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

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Water:
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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?:
Yes

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Coordination & Planning:
“Evaluating the Efficiency & Effectiveness of the Housing and Food Services Sustainability Committee”
UW’s Housing and Food Services (HFS) worked with students on a research project to evaluate their committee to see how they can improve their efforts and make even more of an impact.
https://envstudies.uw.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2021/01/ENVIR480_AUTUMN19.pdf

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:
The UW Office of Minority & Diversity Affairs maintains a robust list of active living laboratory projects. A few standout efforts that actively engage students include: the Diversity Research Institute that focuses on generating new, interdisciplinary knowledge about diversity, social justice, and institutional transformation; and the Indigenous Wellness Research Institute that supports the inherent rights of indigenous peoples to achieve full and complete health and wellness by collaborating in decolonizing research and knowledge building and sharing.

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?:
Yes

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Wellbeing & Work:
UW Civil & Environmental Engineering graduate students and faculty member Amy Kim worked with staff at the UW Tower administrative building to do research on the building’s health, and then worked with Tower staff to make the UW Tower the first-ever university building to gain Fitwel certification. Fitwel emphasizes occupant wellness, and was developed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and U.S. General Services Administration.
https://www.ce.washington.edu/news/article/2019-09-16/uw-tower-first-university-building-earn-fitwel-rating

Optional Fields 

Website URL where information about the institution’s living laboratory program is available:
https://green.uw.edu/research/living-laboratory

Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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