California State University, Chico
PA-1: Sustainability Coordination

Approval of Campus Sustainability Committee Executive Memorandum 11-017 February 23, 2011 From: Paul J. Zingg, President Upon the recommendation of the Academic Senate I approve the formation of a Campus Sustainability Committee. Rationale In 2007 President Paul Zingg became one of the founding signatories of the American Colleges & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment (ACUPCC). This climate commitment is an outward expression of our campus’s leadership in charting a path toward a more sustainable campus community and our commitment to address climate change by reducing and ultimately neutralizing greenhouse gas emissions from campus and to accelerate research and educational efforts to equip society for a more sustainable future. As a signatory of the ACUPCC, our institution is pledged to eliminate our campus’s collective contribution to climate change over time. This commitment includes establishing an institutional structure to oversee the development and implementation of a program to comply with this commitment. To fully integrate sustainability across campus departments, we propose the formation of a Campus Sustainability Committee (CSC). Campus Sustainability Committee Role for CSU, Chico The role of the Campus Sustainability Committee (CSC) is to serve in an advisory capacity to all campus departments, colleges, and other entities in an effort to advance environmental, social and economic sustainability at the California State University Chico. The CSC would provide leadership in identifying mechanisms to integrate sustainability concepts into all core functions of the university. The CSC will provide recommendations for implementing sustainability across the campus by constructing a sustainability plan addressing the following nine focus areas: 1. Education 2. Transportation 3. Waste 4. Procurement 5. Food services 6. Biotic environment 7. Water 8. Energy 9. Built environment Within each focus area the CSC will develop goals, actions, and timelines. An initial assessment to establish benchmarks will be conducted across the focus areas to allow the campus to evaluate our progress. (See Initial Assessment below.) Building a common vision is essential to expanding the integration of CSU, Chico’s 6th strategic priority into daily departmental operations. A periodic and comprehensive assessment will provide a platform on which to build. As departments reflect on assessment questions, they will be prompted to consider sustainability efforts in their current departmental operations and evaluate what future efforts may be feasible.

The CSC is composed of 17 members as identified below. The CSC is chaired by two co-chairs: 1. The Vice President of Academic Affairs (or designee) 2. The Vice President of Business and Finance (or designee) The committee includes the following ex officio members: 1. The Senior Director of facilities (or designee) 2. The Director of Planning, Design, and Construction (or designee) 3. The Executive Director of the Associated Students (or designee) 4. Director of the Institute for Sustainable Development (or designee) 5. The Sustainability Coordinator (or designee) 6. The Associated Students Sustainability Coordinator (or designee) 7. Associated Students Environmental Affairs Commissioner (or designee) We further propose the following appointments to the committee: 1. Representative appointed by the President 2. Representative appointed by the Vice President of University Advancement 3. Representative appointed by the Vice President of Student Affairs 4. Staff member appointed by Staff Council 5. Staff member from Information Resources appointed by Information Resources 6. Student appointed by the Associated Students 7. Faculty member appointed by Academic Senate (Potentially the General Education Sustainability Pathway Coordinator) 8. Faculty member appointed by Academic Senate All appointed faculty and staff members of the CSC would serve a two-year appointment with the option for renewal. Student representatives will serve one-year appointments. The faculty members appointed by the academic senate will serve two years on the committee, with the first year having one full, two-year term appointee and one temporary one-year appointee, in order to offset the terms of the two faculty member appointees.

At Chico State, we are dedicated to sustainable development as a means of balancing human social, cultural, and economic needs with the natural environment by respecting the finite natural resources of this planet and living in harmony with other humans and species now and into the future. We strive to become leaders in achieving a new vision of education, which integrates the principles of sustainable development into the academic programs, practices, and collaborations of our university. The Institute for Sustainable Development was established at CSU, Chico as the University's Sustainability Office in 2006. It was the first Sustainability Office established in the 23 campus CSU system, and one of the earlier offices established nationally. An academic office, ISD is a part of the Provost's Office and is not attached to a specific college. The office is directed by a faculty member and has a Sustainability Program Manager and an Administrative Support Coordinator employed full-time.

The Campus Sustainability Committee, Institute for Sustainable Development and Sustainability Programs Manager discussed above coordinate sustainability broadly across the entire institution. Many of the recent substantive activities and accomplishments of this committee, office and officer are discussed and reflected throughout this STARS report. A few of these include establishing an EPIC-N-affiliated Resilient Cities Initiative and managing an award-winning pilot partnership with the City of Chico; established a Regenerative Agriculture Initiative that has recruited substantial donations in it's first two years to support cutting-edge research, coordinating the largest student-run sustainability conference in the nation 'This Way to Sustainability,' coordinating an annual CSU System-Wide Sustainability Officers Meeting and others.