| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 66.39 |
| Liaison | Michelle Patterson |
| Submission Date | March 4, 2022 |
Washington University in St. Louis
EN-10: Community Partnerships
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
3.00 / 3.00 |
Cassandra
Hage Sustainability Manager Office of Sustainability |
"---"
indicates that no data was submitted for this field
1st Partnership
Midwest Climate Collaborative
Does the institution provide financial or material support for the partnership? :
Yes
Which of the following best describes the partnership timeframe?:
Multi-year or ongoing
Which of the following best describes the partnership?:
Sustainability-focused
Are underrepresented groups and/or vulnerable populations engaged as equal partners? :
Yes
A brief description of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability:
In fall 2020, Washington University in St. Louis led the charge in planning and convening the Midwest Climate Summit. The summit and its accompanying think tank session were cross-sector, high-level discussions involving a key group of organizations with a shared commitment to advancing climate ambition in the Midwest.
In the year and a half since, several similar think tank sessions followed, with many members networking with one another in between meetings to pursue further climate work. It became clear that there was a strong interest in long-term collaboration to advance climate action.
Those efforts culminated Jan. 28 with the launch of the newly formed Midwest Climate Collaborative (MCC) during a virtual summit. Washington University is among 30 founding members of the collaborative, as well as one of the lead organizers.
The Midwest Climate Collaborative has a mission to facilitate the development of a coherent Midwestern response to the climate crisis through acceleration of climate action, knowledge and leader development led by a cross-sector collaboration of key organizations throughout the Midwest.
The initiative has four key aims:
- Leveraging science and research to address climate issues
- Shaping public understanding and policy
- Accelerating climate solutions
- Developing future leaders
The Collaborative is currently physically housed within Washington University in St. Louis and the director works with members on several key strategic projects. One of these projects is the annual Midwest Climate Summit whose keynote speakers included Gina McCarthy, White House National Climate Advisor and Aimee Witteman, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Intergovernmental Affairs with the U.S. Department of Energy. Other projects include the Midwest Climate Research Agenda, an asset map and interactive database of climate work, a climate ambassadors program, an educator community of practice, and a student-led climate systems conference.
More information: https://midwestclimatecollaborative.wustl.edu/
In the year and a half since, several similar think tank sessions followed, with many members networking with one another in between meetings to pursue further climate work. It became clear that there was a strong interest in long-term collaboration to advance climate action.
Those efforts culminated Jan. 28 with the launch of the newly formed Midwest Climate Collaborative (MCC) during a virtual summit. Washington University is among 30 founding members of the collaborative, as well as one of the lead organizers.
The Midwest Climate Collaborative has a mission to facilitate the development of a coherent Midwestern response to the climate crisis through acceleration of climate action, knowledge and leader development led by a cross-sector collaboration of key organizations throughout the Midwest.
The initiative has four key aims:
- Leveraging science and research to address climate issues
- Shaping public understanding and policy
- Accelerating climate solutions
- Developing future leaders
The Collaborative is currently physically housed within Washington University in St. Louis and the director works with members on several key strategic projects. One of these projects is the annual Midwest Climate Summit whose keynote speakers included Gina McCarthy, White House National Climate Advisor and Aimee Witteman, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Intergovernmental Affairs with the U.S. Department of Energy. Other projects include the Midwest Climate Research Agenda, an asset map and interactive database of climate work, a climate ambassadors program, an educator community of practice, and a student-led climate systems conference.
More information: https://midwestclimatecollaborative.wustl.edu/
2nd Partnership
Building Energy Exchange – St. Louis
Does the institution provide financial or material support for the partnership? (2nd partnership):
Yes
Which of the following best describes the partnership timeframe? (2nd partnership):
Multi-year or ongoing
Which of the following best describes the partnership’s sustainability focus? (2nd partnership):
Sustainability-focused
Are underrepresented groups and/or vulnerable populations engaged as equal partners? (2nd partnership):
Yes
A brief description of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability (2nd partnership):
St. Louis was the fourth jurisdiction in the country to adopt a building energy performance standard (BEPS) policy. In the spring of 2021, the City of St. Louis announced new BEPS targets that building owners will be required to meet. WashU provided a full time staff member who offered critical data analysis and data visualization expertise throughout the process.
The success of this project led to the formation of the Building Energy Exchange – St. Louis (BE-Ex STL). WashU is a founding sponsor of the BE-Ex STL, which is administered by an external non-profit organization, and provides a dedicated paid student intern to support the director of BE-Ex STL.
More information: https://www.usgbc-mogateway.org/about-us/be-exstl/
https://sustainability.wustl.edu/climate-solutions-st-louis-sets-new-building-energy-performance-standards/
The success of this project led to the formation of the Building Energy Exchange – St. Louis (BE-Ex STL). WashU is a founding sponsor of the BE-Ex STL, which is administered by an external non-profit organization, and provides a dedicated paid student intern to support the director of BE-Ex STL.
More information: https://www.usgbc-mogateway.org/about-us/be-exstl/
https://sustainability.wustl.edu/climate-solutions-st-louis-sets-new-building-energy-performance-standards/
3rd Partnership
Grow Solar STL
Does the institution provide financial or material support for the partnership? (3rd partnership):
Yes
Which of the following best describes the partnership timeframe? (3rd partnership):
Multi-year or ongoing
Which of the following best describes the partnership? (3rd partnership):
Sustainability-focused
Are underrepresented groups and/or vulnerable populations engaged as equal partners? (3rd partnership):
Yes
A brief description of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability (3rd partnership):
In 2019-2021, WashU partnered with the Missouri Botanical Garden’s EarthWays Center and Midwest Renewable Energy Association to launch Grow Solar St. Louis. Grow Solar is a solar education and group-buy program that makes it easier and less expensive for homeowners and businesses to install solar. As part of the program, attendance of one of the education sessions called “Power Hours” is required to be eligible for the group discount.
The goal of Grow Solar STL is to accelerate the residential solar market in the St. Louis region. Building permit data from the City of St. Louis prior to and after the launch of the program show a more than 250% increase in residential solar installations. During the same time period, other major drivers of solar deployment such as policy and solar incentives were unchanged, which suggests significant success of the Grow Solar program.
Washington University provided financial support to program partners to both launch Grow Solar STL and to expand the geographic reach of the program.
More information: https://www.growsolar.org/stl/
https://sustainability.wustl.edu/the-grow-solar-program-returns/
The goal of Grow Solar STL is to accelerate the residential solar market in the St. Louis region. Building permit data from the City of St. Louis prior to and after the launch of the program show a more than 250% increase in residential solar installations. During the same time period, other major drivers of solar deployment such as policy and solar incentives were unchanged, which suggests significant success of the Grow Solar program.
Washington University provided financial support to program partners to both launch Grow Solar STL and to expand the geographic reach of the program.
More information: https://www.growsolar.org/stl/
https://sustainability.wustl.edu/the-grow-solar-program-returns/
Optional Fields
Impact Internships
The Environmental Studies Program coordinates and funds internship positions placing paid student interns in hosting non-profit organizations and businesses at no cost to the partner. Positions directly support organizations working on social and environmental causes. Examples of internship positions include: Foodways Outreach Intern (Bulrush Restaurant), Grassroots Organizer (Sierra Club), Metropolitan Congregations United Environmental Justice Intern, and Renewable Energy and Affordable Housing Intern (Idleburg Consultants).
The Environmental Studies Program coordinates and funds internship positions placing paid student interns in hosting non-profit organizations and businesses at no cost to the partner. Positions directly support organizations working on social and environmental causes. Examples of internship positions include: Foodways Outreach Intern (Bulrush Restaurant), Grassroots Organizer (Sierra Club), Metropolitan Congregations United Environmental Justice Intern, and Renewable Energy and Affordable Housing Intern (Idleburg Consultants).
Website URL where information about the institution’s community partnerships to advance sustainability is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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