Vanderbilt University
PA-1: Sustainability Coordination
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
Reporter |
Chelsea
Hamilton Sustainability Outreach Program Manager Environmental Health, Safety, and Sustainability |
Does the institution have at least one sustainability committee?:
The charter or mission statement of the committee(s) or a brief description of each committee's purview and activities:
The Sustainability Advisory Council (SAC) was established to guide and support the university’s progress towards its comprehensive long-term sustainability strategy. The Council will apply diverse viewpoints, varied expertise and a collective mindset to support the university in reaching its sustainability goals, including Vanderbilt’s carbon neutrality pledge and commitment to achieve zero waste on campus by 2030. The Council will increase community engagement and inclusion as the university continues integrating and implementing the findings of its recent sustainability planning studies, such as the FutureVU study, BlueSky Energy Vision Study, the Large-Scale Renewable Energy Study and the Zero Waste Study.
The Environmental Advisory Committee (EAC) serves in an advisory capacity to the university administration in creating a comprehensive environmental management program for Vanderbilt University. The committee will advise, develop and promote practices and policies that maximize environmental performance for institutional operations, research, academics and patient care and will assist in complying with all relevant laws and regulations as well as promoting and integrating sustainability, stewardship and resource conservation into activities and services. The environmental management and sustainability program will include a comprehensive environmental management system which will assess environmental impacts, develop and track measures of our progress and consider and recommend campus-wide short and long-term environmental goals.
Members of each committee, including affiliations and role:
SAC:
• Robert Kell – student – Divinity Student Association
• Joshua Passantino – student – Graduate Student Council
• Lauren Lankenau – student – Vanderbilt Bar Association
• James Sears – student – Vanderbilt Post-Doctoral Association
• Sydney Juda – student – Students Promoting Environmental Awareness and Responsibility
• Martha McGee – student – Students Promoting Environmental Awareness and Responsibility
• Veer Shah – student – Vanderbilt Student Government
• Jennifer Coen – student – Vanderbilt Student Government
• Liyan Shen – student – Multicultural Leadership Council
• Maureen Ubani – student – Black Cultural Center AmbassaDore
• Dr. Dan Morgan – faculty – Arts and Sciences
• Dr. Joreg Rieger – faculty – Divinity
• Dr. Florence Sanchez – faculty – Engineering
• Dr. Yolanda McDonald – faculty – Peabody
• Dr. Kathy Gould – faculty – School of Medicine
• Dr. Tyler Nelson – faculty – Blair
• Dr. Mark Cohen – faculty – Owen Graduate School of Management
• Dr. JB Ruhl – faculty – Law School
• Dr. David Hess – faculty – Environmental and Sustainability Studies
• Dr. George Hornberger – faculty – Vanderbilt Institute of Energy and the Environment
• Dr. Andre Churchwell – staff – Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
• Steve Ertel– staff – Communications
• David Ter Kuille – staff –Business Services
• Eric Kopstain – staff – Division of Administration
• Mike Perez – staff – Facilities
• Kelli Fager – staff – Purchasing and Payment Services
• Geoff MacDonald – staff – Athletics
• Dr. Andrea George – staff – Assistant Vice Chancellor, Environmental Health, Safety, and Sustainability
EAC:
•
• Dr. Roger Chalkley – faculty – VUMC Molecular Physiology and Biophysics
• Dr. Kathy Friedman – faculty – Biological Sciences
• Dr. Steve Goodbred – faculty – Earth and Environmental Sciences
• Dr. Ron Schrimpf – faculty – Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences
• Dr. Douglas Fisher – faculty – Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences
• Dr. Joe Bandy – faculty – Sociology and Center for Teaching
• Steven Meranze – faculty – VUMC Department of Radiology
• Chris Vanags – faculty – School for Science and Math at Vanderbilt
• Dr. Andrea George – staff –Environmental Health, Safety, and Sustainability
• Steve Gild – staff – Environmental Health, Safety, and Sustainability
• Mike Perez – staff – VU AVC Facilities
• Eric Kopstain – staff – VU Vice Chancellor for Administration
Does the institution have at least one sustainability office that includes more than 1 full-time equivalent employee?:
A brief description of each sustainability office:
As part of the Division of Administration, FutureVU Sustainability was formed in January 2008. FutureVU Sustainability’s mission is to initiate, promote, coordinate, evaluate and encourage environmental management and sustainability initiatives that improve Vanderbilt’s impact on the community and environment.
The Mobility and Transportation Office was added more recently to focus support on the MoveVU strategic transportation and mobility plan that falls under the FutureVU comprehensive campus planning efforts. MoveVU goals align with FutureVU guiding principles to beautify the campus, preserve and enhance the park-like character people enjoy, create a walkable and sustainable campus and better connect areas of campus that feel disconnected. MoveVU calls for diversification of transportation options, reduction of the drive alone rate to campus that aligns with university goals to become carbon neutral, prioritization of pedestrian and micromobility, and improvement of accessibility.
The Wond’ry is Vanderbilt’s Innovation Center and facilitates transinstitutional collaboration between students, faculty, and staff from all schools, levels, and disciplines. The Social Innovation team at the Wond’ry prepares leaders to co-create opportunities for social change in their communities using the tools of equity-centered design and systems thinking and hosts many programs related to climate change and sustainability.
Full-time equivalent of people employed in the sustainability office(s):
Does the institution have at least one sustainability officer?:
Name and title of each sustainability officer:
Does the institution have a mechanism for broad sustainability coordination for the entire institution?:
A brief description of the activities and substantive accomplishments of the institution-wide coordinating body or officer during the previous three years:
The Sustainability Advisory Council (SAC) was established to guide and support the university’s progress towards its comprehensive long-term sustainability strategy. The Council will apply diverse viewpoints, varied expertise and a collective mindset to support the University in reaching its sustainability goals, including Vanderbilt’s carbon neutrality pledge and commitment to achieve zero waste on campus by 2030. The Council will increase community engagement and inclusion as the university continues integrating and implementing the findings of its recent sustainability planning studies, such as the FutureVU study, BlueSky Energy Vision Study, the Large-Scale Renewable Energy Study and the Zero Waste Study.
● Announced achievement of carbon neutrality in 2021.
● Announced carbon neutral and Net Positive + Resilience energy goals by 2050.
● Announced zero waste by 2030 goal
● Signed a landmark agreement with Tennessee Valley Authority and Nashville Electric Service to procure off-site large-scale renewable energy to help mitigate 100 % of scope 2 campus’ greenhouse gas emissions.
● Launched Sustainability Advisory Council in 2020.
● Vanderbilt University Vice Chancellor for Administration Eric Kopstain and Vanderbilt Law School lecturer Linda Breggin were named co-chairs of the Nashville Sustainability Advisory Committee. Multiple other Vanderbilt members were also represented in the various sub-committees, including SEMO Director Andrea George and David ter Kuile on the Waste Reduction subcommittee.
● Launched the new Sustainability Leaders Program which uses community engagement and peer mentoring to foster a sustainable campus culture, improve sustainability literacy, improve interaction with sustainability initiatives such as Net Zero Energy and Zero Waste, and encourage and enable positive behavior change within campus, student, departmental, administrative, professional, residential, and other VU communities. Sustainability Leaders support Vanderbilt’s carbon neutrality by 2050 goal through culture change, education, peer mentoring, and facilitation of actionable goals.
● Received the 2021 Governors Stewardship Award for our large scale renewable energy efforts.
● Ranked #7 on Princeton Review’s Green Colleges list in 2022
● Awarded a $4.5 million, three-year federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program (CMAQ) grant
● Certified 24 projects under the environmental requirements of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program;
● Invested $8 million in energy efficiency retrofits to existing buildings;
● Reduced overall greenhouse gas emissions by 23 between 2020 and 2021;
● Diverted 65% of waste from landfills in 2020;
● Composted 132 tons of landscaping and leaf waste annually, which is reused as mulch;
● Retrofitted 900 showerheads on campus to low-flow, high-performance models saving 28 million gallons of water per year and over 3,500 bathroom fixtures conserving another 50 million gallons annually
Job title of the sustainability officer position:
Job description for the sustainability officer position:
Job description for the sustainability officer position:
Job title of the sustainability officer position (2nd position):
Job description for the sustainability officer position (2nd position):
Job description for the sustainability officer position (2nd position):
Job title of the sustainability officer position (3rd position):
Job description for the sustainability officer position (3rd position):
Job description for the sustainability officer position (3rd position):
Website URL where information about the institution’s sustainability coordination is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
(*) Name and title of each sustainability officer
FutureVU Sustainability:
Andrea George – Assistant Vice Chancellor, Environmental Health, Safety, and Sustainability
Steve Gild – EMS Compliance Manager
Chelsea Hamilton – Sustainability Outreach Program Manager
MoveVU:
Michael Briggs – Director of Mobility
Lindsey Ganson – Assistant Director of Mobility
Miriam Leibowitz - Commute Concierge Manager
Matthew Cushing - Bicycle and Pedestrian Planner
Wond’ry:
Jaclyn Mothupi – Director of Social Innovation
Sarah Saeed – Program Manager of Climate Innovation
(*) Name and title of each sustainability officer
FutureVU Sustainability:
Andrea George – Assistant Vice Chancellor, Environmental Health, Safety, and Sustainability
Steve Gild – EMS Compliance Manager
Chelsea Hamilton – Sustainability Outreach Program Manager
MoveVU:
Michael Briggs – Director of Mobility
Lindsey Ganson – Assistant Director of Mobility
Miriam Leibowitz - Commute Concierge Manager
Matthew Cushing - Bicycle and Pedestrian Planner
Wond’ry:
Jaclyn Mothupi – Director of Social Innovation
Sarah Saeed – Program Manager of Climate Innovation
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.