Intro: Nils Klinkenberg
-Thank you all for coming...
-Event is sponsored by Grassroots... Outline of presentation:
We will:
-Discuss what we mean by the word "sustainability", and its environmental, social, and economic components
-talk about how this concept is important to the University on many levels, from our motto, to various stated goals, to many programs and activities that reflect values of sustainability that are already in place here
-Tell you about a draft policy being written in Facilities, relating to the physical end of environmental sustainability at the university
-Discuss WHY we want to extend that type of formalized commitment to other aspects of the U of R; and some ideas for HOW
-Finally, and perhaps most importantly, we want your input - and if you're interested, support - for these ideas
We've invited representatives from many areas of the university community... Many faculty members, since one of our main interests in promoting a 'culture' of sustainability is what this means for the academic side, or really the academic center, of the university.
No less important are the individuals representing various physical and administrative aspects of running the university, including Facilities, Dining and Aramark, the College, and other areas. The success of a sustainability initiative at UR will depend on the participation of constituencies across the campuses, so we felt it appropriate to include as many as we could at this initial meeting. It is doubtful that any member of the community would disagree that UR should conduct itself to best ensure the long-term success of the university. The difficulties lie in figuring out specifics, organization, time frame, and in working around politics and disagreements toward a common end.
Presentation: Andrew Hall
What we are here today to do is to take a look at the university from a new perspective, one that aligns with many of our current values, but one that also opens new possibilities for us to challenge ourselves and to uphold our motto: Meliora … Always Better.
As students we are coming to you because we see possibilities to better our university, to better our community, to better our environment, and to better the world that we are entering into.
We are going to specifically outline two ideas: one, a university sustainability policy, to be written by you and a committee of your peers; and two, a supporting framework, tool, and resource in the form of an elaborate website that will put us on the map of universities who are sharing their experiences in looking at our future through the modern lens of sustainability.
I’d like to start first by addressing what sustainability is since it is evidently fairly central to this whole discussion. As you saw in your invitations the formal, oft-quoted definition is “meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” A logical, obvious philosophy for anyone who is interested in the permanence of their institution, culture, or species, but one that we know is too often not given heed. Today, 120 years from the beginning of the industrial revolution there are four times as many people on the planet, resources are being strained and exhausted, economic disparity is growing in many places including our country, and violence is inhibiting the prospering of too many cultures. When it would take the resources of four planet earths to support the world population at the same standard of living (as it is currently expressed) as North Americans, we are on a decidedly unsustainable path.
As an institution whose purpose it is to send the next generation of leaders off into our future the university is obviously implicated in this challenge. We have a responsibility to equip students with knowledge and awareness as well as a responsibility to become a living example of what it means to address sustainability. We need to consider three areas. One, our proactive message; the one we verbally and actively give our students and the world. Two, our subliminal message; the one we give by example here on campus. Three, our internal operations; the things we do that few people know about, but are just the right thing to do. The path to accomplishing these goals is to do so organically. We’re not talking micro-management, but a broad set of guidelines and a reporting system that awards those who are excelling and have excelled in the past. The Sustainability Policy:
The sustainability policy. I want to read you an excerpt from George Washington University’s sustainability policy.
“The mission of the Green University Initiative at The George Washington University is to commit our resources and expertise in the service of creating an environmentally sustainable future. The University intends to infuse a strong, positive environmental ethic into all of its activities. This ethic is to be fully integrated into the University's education, training and outreach; research, and services activities -- including health care. It is also to be incorporated into all of George Washington University's management and operations activities -- including procurement/acquisition and contractor provided support services. In addition, the University intends to develop its campuses and its facilities into preeminent showcases for environmental management and models for sustainable development.
In accomplishing this mission, the University's ethic will be guided by a set of seven principles that are at the core of this strategic plan. These principles are congruent with those of a major Green University Initiative partner, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.”
Those seven principles are: ecosystem protection, environmental justice, pollution prevention, strong science and data, partnerships, reinventing GW's environmental management and operations, and environmental accountability.
This is one of over 100 such policies that exist at universities throughout the world.
What we propose is a policy that pushes the boundaries a little bit, one that takes heed of an alternative definition of sustainability. Sustainability means to pay heed to a triple bottom line of environmental, societal, and economic performance. (visual) There are plenty of university policies addressing the environment, or purchasing, or local community, but we want to be one of the first saying all three of these components must come together. That means the cogeneration project that’s digging up our campus, that means Wilson Days and the RED program, and that means responsible finance and investment. We picture a simple reporting process that will annually highlight the achievements and commitments of every department in the university. Yes, it’s a big job, but it is of monumental importance. And no it will not be fulfilled by the sole efforts of volunteer students like ourselves.
We are prepared and eager to catalyze a committee charged with the task of writing a sustainability policy and defining how our campus will, for longevity, play a leading role in creating our sustainable future. You all received an invitation to become further involved when you entered the room. If you would fill it out along with the level you feel you could become involved we’ll be in the strongest position to understand how this concept can move forward.
It should be clear that at this point we have no official commitment from the university. We’re here today to capture and quantify your support. With your blessings we will be able to go before the President and the Provost and ask that our proposition be endorsed.
I’d like to turn to Paul Tankel now, the university architect who has been assigned the task of drafting a sustainability policy within the confines of the River Campus facilities operations. He will explain his experience working with other universities and the vitality of the world community supporting this evolution.
Paul Tankel- described his experience in pursuing LEED standards for the optics/BME building and emphasized the financial and logistic ease with which sustainability can be pursued by simply thinking in a different mindset. He also explained his success in incorporating the experience and insights of other universities in the LEED process.
The Website:
And now I’d like to turn quickly to the notion of a website that I referenced earlier. As Paul has made clear, communication is undeniably important in what we are doing. We must remember that even though the cogeneration project is going to save thousands of dollars in fuel annually, that is not even a drop in the bucket when compared to the 20 million barrels of oil our country consumes every day. We graduate around 3000 students annually, but hundreds of thousands graduate worldwide. We can do our small part here in this corner of the world, but it doesn’t mean anything unless we can convince others to do their small part in their corner.
I want to quickly show you the sites of a couple universities. And then I’d like to show you the skeleton of what will hopefully become our own.
http://sa.rochester.edu/grassroots/sustainability/
Remember the only reason we’re looking at these institutions is because they’ve put themselves out there. If the university is not out there, then we’re losing half the reason we’re doing what we’re doing.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, we are proposing that we invent the light bulb. Electricity and electric lights gave architects a new way of approaching building design, low ceilings and fewer windows (Paul, could you make this more accurate). We approach sustainability in the same mindset. With an innovative tool we can shine new light on so many of the initiatives already being pursued within the walls of the university, recognize our inherent commitment to sustainability, and on a new measure ask ourselves are we truly being the best we can be.
Thank you
Becca will lead the promised discussion
Discussion: Rebecca Neville
Our goal here tonight was to inform you of key concepts and actions being taken concerning environmental sustainability—to widen the circle of awareness and involvement in the development of environmental sustainability policy (how issues should be addressed on the U of R campus and broader community)
We realize that addressing issues concerning sustainability are a process and ongoing endeavor.
We are now looking to you for not only your support, but also your wisdom.
As Andrew discussed, we are hoping to present [our idea of the creation of an all-encompassing environmental sustainability policy] to the President/Provost in the upcoming weeks.
-We would like to be as informed and realistic as possible in our approach in future presentations,
-We would like to make sure that your ideas, concerns and enthusiasm are represented.
-and, outside of this meeting, We also hope to spur ripples of discussion and debate concerning how you, as members of an institution of Higher Education and of the U of R community, envision instituting environmental sustainability in each of your domains
Response:
Professor Fehn- Reinforced two points: One, the importance of internalizing the policy writing experiences of other universities in the composition of our own. Two, the importance of the initiative becoming institutionalized so as not to fade with the passing of proactive students.
Professor Ebenhack-
Jody Asbury and Professor Gamm-
-Encouraged students to be more specific in their examples of how such a policy would express itself in terms of actual university functions.
-Compared this initiative to past efforts for handicap accessibility of campus, referencing the importance of the backing and logistic support of upper administration in accomplishing a university wide goal
-Students reinforced the fact that these ideas were in the forefront of their mind and that the evening was intended to give a broad overview and that specifics would come out in more interpersonal venues.
The following information was referenced in one form or another.
Several Declarations and Collective Policies already exist:
TALLOIRES DECLARATION
In October 1990 twenty university presidents, rectors and vice chancellors of universities from all regions of the world publicized their concerns about the unprecedented scale and speed of environmental pollution and degradation, and the depletion of natural resources. These environmental changes they said threaten the survival of humans and thousands of other living species, the integrity of the earth and its biodiversity, the security of nations, and the heritage of future generations. The Talloires Declaration, as it is called from the Tufts University European campus in Talloires, France, then stated in the simplest and starkest of terms: We believe that urgent actions are needed to address these fundamental problems and reverse the trends. [D. Johnston]
-outlines a 10 point action plan:
1) Increase awareness concerning environmental sustainable development
2) create institutional CULTURE of sustainability
3) Educate for Environmentally Responsible Citizenship (environmental literate, have awareness and understanding to be ecologically responsible citizens)
4) foster environmental literacy for all
5) Practice institutional ecology—set an example with policies and practices
6) Involve all stakeholders
7) Collaborate for interdisciplinary approaches (faculty, students, administrators) to find solutions to problems
8) Enhance capacity of primary and secondary schools (establish partnerships)
9) Broaden service and outreach—nationally and internationally
10) Maintain a movement
-Aug 2004, more than 300 universities/colleges signed
EARTH CHARTER
-“Declaration of the fundamental principles for building a just, sustainable, peaceful, global society in the 21st century”
-inspire a new sense of global interconnectedness and SHARED RESPONSIBILITY
-unfinished business of UNCED
-1994= new EC initiative
-1997= EC commission to oversee and EC secretariat established (Costa Rico)
-2000= Commission approved final version
-MISSION = est. sound ethical foundation for emerging global society
=help build sustainable world based on respect for nature, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, economic justice and a culture of peace
CRE Copernicus Charter
The University Charter for Sustainable Development is an instrument created by Copernicus, an inter-university co-operation programme on the environment, established by the Association of European Universities (CRE). The Charter expresses a collective commitment on behalf of a large number of universities. It represents an effort to mobilize the resources of institutions of higher education to further concept and objective or sustainable development. The Charter was introduced and presented to the CRE bi-annual conference in Barcelona, in the autumn of 1993. Two years later, the document has been endorsed by the personal signature of the rectors of no less than 213 universities in Europe.
PARADIGM: The intersection of three domains:
-ECONOMIC= includes the production of goods, and services to support the livelihoods of a population
-ENVIRONMENTAL= includes maintenance of biodiversity and the health of biological systems in a region
-SOCIAL= social justice and broad political participation
