Agnes Scott College
PAE-4: Sustainability Plan

Majority of the decisions about Agnes Scott College’s sustainability plan have been guided by the Sustainability Steering Committee. This committee consists of Agnes Scott faculty, staff, trustees, students and it is chaired by the president of the college. In addition, the SSC established a number of subcommittees on which staff, faculty and students volunteered to serve. Input on the sustainability plan has also come from local Atlanta-area experts in sustainability. These experts worked at the Environmental Protection Division, the Dekalb County Commissioner, National Wildlife Federation, and the City of Decatur.

These goals were established by separate subcommittees that make up the Agnes Scott College Sustainability Steering Committee. Buildings & Grounds: •Establish a college policy that LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards will be the guiding principles in the design and construction of all Agnes Scott College facilities. •Implement a process of addressing (and eventually eradicating) deferred maintenance with sustainable solutions. •Maintain grounds in the most sustainable way possible, while keeping the current aesthetics. •Create an “aspirations road map” for building and grounds based on a centralized data base (“master building and grounds inventory”) that is coordinated with emissions inventory and water audit. • Incorporate student involvement into these activities whenever possible. •Educate faculty and staff to ensure that they are both aware of the most current information on sustainability related to buildings and grounds, and receive regular updates on sustainability progress for Agnes Scott’s buildings and grounds. Communications: •Raise awareness and understanding to the Agnes Scott community about sustainability topics. •Increase the campus community’s commitment beyond awareness by updating sustainability progress, changing curriculum to reflect sustainability topics, and participate in community outreach events. Curriculum: •With support of the faculty, offer at least one course each semester that has applicability to the college’s sustainability and climate neutrality efforts. •Through the existing decision-making process and with support of the faculty, explore the possibility for the following: o Have a major or minor in sustainability o Create a 3/2 program with a partner institution that already has this major o Have a day where all classes use sustainability as a theme for learning, problem solving, writing, etc. •Provide the opportunity for Agnes Scott faculty to attend the “Piedmont Project” workshop at Emory University or offer an on-campus workshop to help faculty know how to incorporate sustainability into a variety of courses, across all disciplines. •Review the options for permanently weaving sustainability into one or more of these credit-based, experiential learning programs, and provide incentives for selecting a sustainability option: o Global Connections o Global Awareness o First Year Seminar o Internships (450s) o Independent Study •Explore options for a “living laboratory” site for more learning opportunities on campus. Student Engagement: •Research and study opportunity for ecological building, structure, or renovation of existing buildings that may be used as a residential space or teaching/learning space for students. •Engage students in living honorably at orientation.Host living honorably educational event and explore/expand opportunities for students to live honorably and work towards climate neutrality via the ASC 101 program. •Engage students via community connections with the cities of Decatur and Atlanta. Waste reduction/Green purchasing: •Audit purchasing and institute green (fair trade, local) policy and procedures. •Audit waste stream and project current waste diversion from landfills. •Invest savings from waste reduction and any income from recycling into overall sustainability goals for the campus as a whole. •Address education and user awareness. Water and Watersheds: •Complete a water audit (hydrologic footprint) for campus through a “learn by doing” approach.Work with the state’s Pollution Prevention Assistance Division (P2AD) and ensure student involvement •Collect data and map hydrologic and topographic features in order to understand our current stormwater management strengths and weaknesses. Plan for improved management, including rainwater collection. •Investigate a pilot project for the use of grey water.

The Agnes Scott College Sustainability Steering Committee meets three to four times a year to assess progress on these golas and to recommend future goals for the sustainability plan.