Campus Voices: Deliberation on Campus Sustainability DoCS Connections to the University of Alberta s Sustainability Plan

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1 Campus Voices: Deliberation on Campus Sustainability DoCS Connections to the University of Alberta s Sustainability Plan The Deliberation on Campus Sustainability (DoCS) began with University of Alberta students Logan McIntosh and Jeff Savage. They approached the Office of Sustainability pitching the idea of using the theories of deliberative democracy to explore sustainability topics on campus. The Office of Sustainability has a mandate to encourage our campus community to think about and make progress on sustainability. We welcome individuals and groups with sustainability ideas to connect with us for help and support in framing programs and reporting their results. We were happy to collaborate on the Deliberation on Campus Sustainability (DoCS) project with student leaders looking for an opportunity to put their new knowledge into practice. DoCS was a collaborative project that gave students, staff, and faculty an opportunity to participate in a series of conversations or dialogues, focused on collectively learning how to create a more sustainable campus. Approximately 200 students, staff and faculty participated by attending a series of events where their opinions were heard, discussion was encouraged and suggestions for improving campus sustainability were offered. Twenty four suggestions for improving sustainability at the University of Alberta emerged during the process, twelve opportunities for quick wins and twelve opportunities for deep change. Reporting back to participants about how their suggestions were considered is an important element of the process of deliberative democratic processes. This document was developed by the Office of Sustainability to help show DoCS participants and other readers how the suggestions raised during DoCS are being actioned currently, or incorporated into University of Alberta s sustainability plan which was released in February The following table lists the issue area, sub theme and suggestions provided in the DoCS Campus Voices Executive Summary. The last column contains information about current activities under way on campus. Sections of the sustainability plan with the strongest connection to the DoCS suggestion are reprinted in italics. Comments are included for some suggestions to provide additional explanation about how an item was addressed.

2 A. Opportunities for deep change Energy & Building Infrastructure Renewable Energy 1. Increase on campus energy production to reduce demand on fossil fuels (by using renewable sources) in 5 years. Section Develop a strategy and plan for further renewable energy implementation on campus, including: o o o Piloting renewable energy implementation on the Chemical Materials Engineering Building and the Physical Activity and Wellness Centre Increasing the capacity for renewable energy generation on campus Pursuing renewable energy implementation in South Campus development Building & Infrastructure 2. Create a policy for all new and existing buildings to reach Gold standard LEED certification. Section Seek a minimum Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED ) Silver certification or equivalent for new buildings, and where feasible, on major renewal projects. Work with the provincial government in assessing additional green building rating systems (such as Green Globes) in order to gather a suite of rating system tools, which may be adapted to the specific needs of each project. Expand the implementation of the Building Owners and Managers Association, Building and Environmental Standards (BOMA BESt) program to enhance the energy and environmental performance of existing facilities. Page 1 of 12

3 Outreach & Engagement Build Connections 3. Form a council of sustainability representatives from all decision making and governance bodies (i.e. AASUA, SU, NASA, GSA, NAIT, TWWG) 1 on and offcampus that meets frequently to implement the campus sustainability plan with spending authority. Section Maintain existing sustainability committees through the Office of Sustainability (Academic Advisory Committee, Sustainability Advisory Committee, and Facilities and Operations Committees representation from students, faculty and staff), Augustana Campus (Green Campus Committee) and Campus Saint Jean (Le développement durable au Campus Saint Jean). Note: These committees provide advice to guide our campuses sustainability efforts and they include a range of student, faculty and staff membership. Each committee works to make decisions that influence priority areas of focus and spending. 1 Respectively, Association of Academic Staff University of Alberta, Student s Union (Undergraduate), Non Academic Staff Association, Graduate Student s Association, Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, and The Way We Green. Page 2 of 12

4 Internal & External Collaboration 4. Create a sustainability Code of Conduct that sets protocol and policy for campus activities and provides planning tools for sustainable best practices. At this point in time we are not pursuing a formal Code of Conduct as guidelines, protocols and best practices are embedded throughout the Sustainability Plan and existing practices. A few examples are included below: Section Review our current Design Guidelines and Commissioning protocols, and update as required, to ensure we maintain green performance standards for new, renovated, and retrofitted university buildings, which incorporate high levels of energy efficiency performance. Formalize and further develop Sustainable Operations and Maintenance Guidelines and Procedures that expand upon existing green operational practices. Section Work with Supply Management Services and Academic Information and Computer Technologies to incorporate standards and guidelines regarding equipment purchases to ensure highly efficient equipment, which is Energy Star rated. Section Develop and upgrade current specifications and guidelines to incorporate a standard for water efficient systems for all major renovations, new construction projects, and facility upgrades. Section Expand education and outreach program to raise awareness and use of green procurement principles with staff, faculty and suppliers. Page 3 of 12

5 Academics Curriculum & Practice 5. Develop a university wide strategy for encouraging faculty to include sustainability in their classes and to improve accountability of the sustainability operating practices to staff and students. The Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS ) is our tool for tracking and reporting our progress on sustainability in the curriculum. Databases of sustainability focused and related courses and research can be found online. Section has many strategies in addition to the one provided below that addresses this item: Enable all departments and faculties to implement courses related to sustainability and to integrate sustainability into existing courses for degree and non degree learners. Note: The Office of Sustainability will be delivering a faculty development workshop in June 2012 to make progress on this item. Research 6. Support the campus community in identifying research that respond to needs of campus sustainability and develop a university directed mechanism for the dissemination of that research to the surrounding community. Section Grow incentive programs to encourage students and faculty to research Section Support research in all faculties to further knowledge of sustainability and related matters. Strengthen and develop research on society and culture to advance the understanding and resolution of complex issues that underpin many of Alberta s socioeconomic challenges and those of Canada and the international community. Section Encourage the campus community to identify research needs related to campus sustainability and to promote these programs throughout the campus community through vehicles like the Undergraduate Research Initiative. Seek opportunities to assist faculty members and departments conducting research into sustainability. Grow incentive programs to encourage students and faculty to research Page 4 of 12

6 Accountability & Transparency Collaborative Governance 7. Implement policy that requires collaborative decision making when there are a certain number of stakeholders involved. various aspects of sustainability. Develop additional outreach and engagement programs to promote awareness and engagement in sustainability related research and associated funding opportunities. Section Facilitate campus wide dialogue on sustainability by generating microgrants that support deliberative dialogues, workshops, colloquia, seminars, conferences, and speaker series. Section Facilitate collaboration and knowledge sharing between university staff working in services and operations, and instructors and researchers working on sustainability. Reporting & Evaluation 8. Create internal/external and bi directional (top down and bottom up) evaluation mechanisms. Food Procurement 9. Partner with local food organizations and suppliers and make purchasing arrangements to drive demand for more local and sustainable products. The Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS ) is our system for tracking and reporting on our sustainability progress. Almost 100 students, faculty and staff are involved in identifying and reviewing content for this tool. In addition, individual units will incorporate elements of the Sustainability Plan into their operations and activities. Progress on the sustainability plan will also be measured periodically to help inform the next iteration of the plan. Section Work within the context of the University s Dining Services Agreement and procurement of contract services to advance sustainability in campus food systems. Create a multidisciplinary working group to develop an institution wide Sustainable Food Systems strategy at the University of Alberta. Conduct a sustainability audit to identify opportunities for reducing the impact of University Dining Services operations. Define sustainable food on campus, and work to identify and achieve procurement targets over time for food that meets the selected criteria. Create a voluntary Green Dining Commitment for all food service vendors Page 5 of 12

7 Affordability 10. Implement a pilot project to provide one healthy, well rounded, local, organic and sustainable meal available per day that is subsidized, making it comparatively affordable to other meals on campus. on campus. Increase the proportion of organic waste diverted from university dining facilities. Develop an outreach and engagement program to promote sustainable food choices to students, staff and faculty. Develop outreach programs that support healthy, sustainable food choices. See #9 above. Student groups like the Health and Wellness Movement and the Sustainable Food Initiative are also doing work to advance this suggestion. Waste & Resource Efficiency Waste as a Resource 11. Increase the use of recycled storm water and waste on campus. Section Goal: Expand waste reduction initiatives across all campuses and increase the amount of waste diverted from the University of Alberta s North Campus to 50% by Section Explore different options for increasing increase the use of captured rain or grey water. Page 6 of 12

8 Green Procurement 12. Set up a multi stakeholder council to develop a green procurement policy/plan and provide an ongoing consulting service to departments and units. The Office of Sustainability and Supply Management Services partnered on the development of green procurement principles in 2011 and have already began rolling out presentations and outreach programs to support the implementation phase of this initiative. The principles can be found here. Section Expand education and outreach program to raise awareness and use of green procurement principles with staff, faculty and suppliers. Incorporate sustainability into competitive bidding requests for proposals. Explore opportunities to build product take back programs into new contracts and contracts that come up for renewal. Work with preferred suppliers to improve the visibility and number of environmentally preferred products available. B. Opportunities for quick wins Issue area Sub theme Recommendation Sustainability Plan Energy & Building Infrastructure Renewable Energy 1. Implement green power purchasing from green energy providers. In each of 2009 and 2010, the University of Alberta purchased 230,000 kwh of EcoLogo Certified Renewable Energy Certificates for renewable energy produced in Alberta. These credits were held to offset the energy needs of the LEED Gold Triffo Hall building. This is an element of the university s energy management program. Section Goal. Continue to reduce the University of Alberta's greenhouse gas emissions through continued action on energy efficiency and conservation and through implementation of renewable and alternative energy on campus. Policy 2. Install visible metering The Faculty of Engineering was recently awarded a grant through the Page 7 of 12

9 Issue area Sub theme Recommendation Sustainability Plan Outreach & Engagement Transparency Internal and &External Collaboration Engage Stakeholders systems at campus buildings to inform building users and publish carbon footprint information online (ex. Power source, GHG emissions, how it s generated, consumption trends). 3. Access sustainability knowledge of internal and external groups to innovate and incorporate best practices (distilling best practices). 4. Ensure that public outreach done by the university upper administration and President consistently includes specific mention of sustainability. Academics Curriculum 5. Include a unified and coherent definition of sustainability in the Academic Plan not just a supplementary document. Practice 6. Increase awareness, support and accessibility for existing services, initiatives, and groups that allow students to put into Sustainability Enhancement Fund to incorporate digital dashboards into some of their labs. Given the cost this program is being explored as a pilot from which we can learn about the potential benefits of application in other buidings. Section Facilitate collaboration and knowledge sharing between university staff working in services and operations, and instructors and researchers working on sustainability. A sustainability literacy assessment is under development by a class delivered by the Department of Resource Economy & Environmental Sociology, Faculty of ALES. The Office of Sustainability is a hub for public outreach related to sustainability on campus. The Office works with University Relations to identify and share opportunities to profile sustainability initiatives. A working definition for sustainability was developed by student, staff and faculty members of the Office of Sustainability Academic Advisory Committee in The next opportunity to explore this issue is when the new version of the Academic Plan is developed in 2016 which is beyond the timeframe of the current Sustainability Plan. Section Enable students to become more involved in sustainability by offering community service learning, co curricular activities, and access to a sustainability fund. Develop additional outreach and engagement programs to promote Page 8 of 12

10 Issue area Sub theme Recommendation Sustainability Plan Accountability & Transparency Reporting & Evaluation Monitoring Feedback & Food Procurement 9. Define local, organic, and sustainable with regards to procurement and set short and long term goals for measurable improvement in these categories. practice their education in sustainability. awareness and engagement in sustainability related services, initiatives and groups. 7. Provide clear criteria and Section benchmarks about the Honour the University s existing commitment to sustainability by advancing university s performance our overall standing in the Sustainability Endowments Institute s College related to sustainability that Sustainability Report Card and the Association for the Advancement of people can access easily. Sustainability in Higher Education Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System. 8. Provide clear and varied The Office of Sustainability provides a variety of ways for people to access ways for the campus information about sustainability on campus. Our primary source for community to access performance information is through our STARS submission. Two way information (such as communication is accomplished through campus sustainability volunteers, through presentations, events, presentations, newsletters, website content and social media updates. online forums, etc.) while Feedback is welcome at any event. The Green Box is also an online tool for additionally providing easy providing ideas and feedback. ways to give meaningful and effective feedback. Section Facilitate campus wide dialogue on sustainability by generating microgrants that support deliberative dialogues, workshops, colloquia, seminars, conferences, and speaker series. See Deep Change #12 for Green Procurement efforts. Section Work within the context of the University s Dining Services Agreement and procurement of contract services to advance sustainability in campus food systems. Create a multidisciplinary working group to develop an institution wide Sustainable Food Systems strategy at the University of Alberta. Conduct a sustainability audit to identify opportunities for reducing the impact of University Dining Services operations. Define sustainable food on campus, and work to identify and achieve procurement targets over time for food that meets the selected criteria. Page 9 of 12

11 Issue area Sub theme Recommendation Sustainability Plan Waste & Resource Efficiency Food Service Operations Awareness & Prevention 10. Provide incentives for food vendors to increase sustainable operations and make it easier for the campus community to make sustainable choices. 11. Implement a mandatory educational session on sustainable student lifestyles and a mandatory campus sustainability tour during new student orientation. Create a voluntary Green Dining Commitment for all food service vendors on campus. Increase the proportion of organic waste diverted from university dining facilities. Develop an outreach and engagement program to promote sustainable food choices to students, staff and faculty. Develop outreach programs that support healthy, sustainable food choices. See #9 above. Sustainability has been incorporated into education and practices in the 2010 and 2011 new student orientation and the Students Union s Week of Welcome. The Office of Sustainability will seek to build on successes experienced during these events. Section Grow the inclusion of sustainability in orientation activities and programs. Awareness & Behaviour 12. Ban disposable food packaging and bottled water while providing reusable alternatives and develop infrastructure to offset these changes (i.e. water fountains locations and water bottle refill stations). Section Conduct a sustainability audit to identify opportunities for reducing the impact of University Dining Services operations. Increase the proportion of organic waste diverted from university dining facilities. Section Work with Supply Management Services to develop a strategy for reducing packaging waste on campus. Develop specific programs to improve waste diversion in residence and ancillary service buildings, and during move in and move out periods. Page 10 of 12

12 Issue area Sub theme Recommendation Sustainability Plan Explore ways to reduce use of polystyrene packaging and food containers. Page 11 of 12