STARS Case Study

1. STARS Case Study Kevin Gilford Sustainability Office Coordinator

2. Agenda UCCS Profile Sustainability at UCCS Scope of STARS at UCCS Management of STARS project Results of STARS at UCCS Challenges of STARS Benefits of STARS

3. Campus Profile • Founded in 1965 • 8000+ students, ~900 faculty and staff • Over 900 students live on campus • Medium Masters Level Institution • 85% commute, most single-occupancy vehicles • 520 acre campus, 400+ acres not yet developed • Aggressive growth plan • Fastest growing elective university in Colorado • Up to 15,000 students by 2021; 30,000 by ?

4. Sustainability Vision To be a recognized leader in sustainability, integrating social, economic and ecological values into institutional policies, programs and practices.

5. Sustainability Organizations • Students for Environmental Awareness and Sustainability (SEAS) Club Office of Sustainability Sustainability Council Sustainability Committee

6. Goal: Become a Sustainable Campus Strategies: • Provide leadership, knowledge, and communication • Create a living laboratory for sustainability • Support campus innovations leading to sustainability

7. Project Scope • 104 credits, 253 points, 104+ data items • Policies, Programs, Practices: qualitative & quantitative data • Involves all departments on campus: buildings, energy, food services, transportation, recycling, investment, administrative policy, diversity, educational curriculum, academic research, … • Public Institution: Part of CU and state system • STARS: Pilot vs. V1.0 7

8. Project Management • 3 Major Sections: Administration & Finance, Education & Research, Operations Student managed Size of staff (5-6 people) Student employees: part-time, classes, breaks  continuity Numerous collaborators: administration, staff, faculty, vendors Long-term: 7 months • Ensure that project can be completed annually Documentation Institutionalizing STARS 8

9. Process Flow Start Not Started Research Credit In Progress Data? Outside Contact No Yes Supporting Documents Write-Up Credit Ready for Review Review Credit In Revision OK? Revise Credit No Yes Ready for Submission Final Review Submit Credit 9 Submitted Finish

10. Tracking and Auditing 10

11. 7 months and 400 work-hours later… now what? • Organize, summarize and communicate STARS data sustainability knowledge • Audience: Leadership team, department faculty and staff, students Goal: Improve and institutionalize campus sustainability

12. First Step: Classify Credits Classification of findings: • Green: credit achieved • Yellow: close to achieving/near additional points • Red: difficult or expensive to achieve • Gray: not possible to achieve or not relevant to UCCS’ policies, programs and practices

13. Education and Research Results

14. Next Step: Evaluate/Report Results • Cost • Short-term vs. long term • Relation to university vision, strategic plans • In-house vs. external resources • Value to students, potential students • Qualitative, symbolic benefits • Report to leadership

15. Challenges of Participation A lot of work! Data not collected or not in the form needed Collaborators are busy – different priorities Sustainability covers everything: Each student became an “expert” in their section – difficult to transfer duties/ help each other out

16. Benefits of Participation • Collect and analyze real data -- measure hard-to-define sustainability concepts • AASHE brand increases cooperation • Greater awareness of sustainability - Sustainability issues, strengths and weaknesses on campus - Office of Sustainability on campus and within CU System • Living sustainability laboratory Real world sustainability education for student employees, faculty, and staff

17. Questions? www.uccs.edu/sustain or sustain@uccs.edu