Colorado College
PA-1: Sustainability Coordination

During the last four years, the Campus Sustainability Council (CSC) has been instrumental in driving sustainability initiatives on campus. By increasing its membership to include a diverse group of faculty, staff and students, the Council has been able to successfully influence the wider campus community. The Council was responsible for adding the various sustainability components to the College's Strategic Plan. Last year, the Council pushed the administration to prioritize sustainability in its professional staffing, leading to the replacement of the Sustainability Coordinator with two higher up and full-time positions, the Energy Manager and the Sustainability Manager. Furthermore, in the last few years, the Council has lobbied for and successfully increased the College's dedicated budget for sustainability projects. The money has helped support the construction of a campus greenhouse, an online energy monitoring system, and campus signage for sustainability features. The Council presented a plan and strategy for reaching the College's carbon neutrality goal by 2020. The previous Sustainability Coordinator operated as a subset of Facilities and was instrumental in implementing the dashboard system, implementing composting programs for both dining services and off-campus housing, supporting the expansion of non-potable irrigation across campus, developing the student garden, and implementing a green-cleaning policy (amongst many others). The new Office of Sustainabiliy continues to focus on those items, but is placed in the Office of the Dean of the College, giving the Sustainability Manager access and influence on a higher level of administration and curriculum development as it relates to sustainability principles. In 2015, the Campus Sustainability Council has been integral in advocating for a carbon neutral library drafting a petition and unanimously voting to support a carbon neutral library. The CSC has created a Sustainability Action Plan to be signed by the President of the college. This plan outlines specific sustainability projects with clear goals, responsible parties, and deadlines. The CSC has reconfigured its subcommittees to include: Investments, Conservation Campaigns, Green Sciences, Academics, Operations, and Communications/Community Outreach. These subcommittees have created individual action plans for the year of 2015.

The mission of the Campus Sustainability Council is to make Colorado College a model for campus and community sustainability. The CSC works to design, promote, and implement initiatives that are ecologically viable, economically sound, and socially just, now and for future generations.The CSC plays a key role in raising campus awareness and keeping sustainability issues at the forefront, reminding us all to live up to Colorado College’s core value of nurturing a sense of place and an ethic of environmental sustainability.

Co-chairs: Howard Drossman, Education Karen To, Communications Gabriella Palko, Office of Sustainability Student Intern Manager Office of Sustainability: Ian Johnson, Sustainability Director Anna Kelly, Communications Intern Kendall Kultgen, State of Sustainability Intern Charlotte Cadow, Buildings and Grounds Intern Sophie Javna, Local Food Liaison Katy Dupree, Greenhouse Gas Inventory Intern Kyra Wolf, Curriculum Development Intern Lily Biggar, Residence Life Intern Niyanta Khatri – Website Maintenance and Development Intern Meredith Allen – Zero Waste Intern Faculty: Barbara Whitten, Physics Mark Wilson, Biology Miro Kummel, Environmental Science Corina McKendry, Political Science Mark Smith, Economics and Business Staff: George Eckhardt, Facilities Tom Allen, Sodexo Roz Brokaw, Admissions Sara Gallagher-Carlson, Advancement Laura Rosendo, Advancement Darren Ceckanowicz, Technical Director, EV Don Davidson, Interim Purchasing Director/Facilities Services Mark Ferguson, Campus Energy Manager Cecelia Gonzalez, Facilities Ryan Hammes, Outdoor Education Derek Hanson, Bon Appetit Randy Kruse, Bon Appetit John Lauer, Director of Residential Life & Housing Mark Lee, Associate Director of Web Communications and New Media Leslie Weddell, Communications Leonard Ortman, Controls Specialist, Facilities Tess Powers, Dean’s Office Mike Siddoway, Associate Dean of the Faculty McKinley Sielaf, Library Dave Harker, Center for Community Engagement Justin Weis, Associate Director of Housing Operations Patrick Bultema, ExDir, Innovation Institute Denise Sheridan, Environmental Health & Safety Coordinator Paul Buckley, The Butler Center Liz Scherkenbach, IT Naomi Clark, Finance & Admin Laura Wawrousek-Snyder, Career Center Jane Newberry, Athletics Brooke Larson, SOR Drew Cavin, Field Studies Local Community Members: Frank Kinder, Colorado Springs Utilities Alicia Archibald, Bestway Jane Ard-Smith, Colorado Springs Sierra Club Linda Koga, Sustainability Director, UCCS Konrad Schlarbaum, Sustainability Coordinator, PPCC Students: Laurel Sebastian, EnACT Co-chair Sierra Melton, EnACT Co-chair Vacant, CCSGA Erika Hiromitsu, Local LLC RA

The Office of Sustainability fosters communication, collaboration and coordination between sustainability stakeholders in the CC community. The Office serves to develop and support campus initiatives, working closely with the Campus Sustainability Council and the student environmental action group, EnAct, to make the Colorado College a model for campus and community sustainability.

The Sustainability Manager is in charge of developing, promoting, and administering the many sustainability plans, initiatives, and deliverables associated with on-campus and external activities. He advises student sustainability groups, updates the campus utility dashboard, implements campus resource conservation campaigns, collaborates with the Facilities Management to encourage the use of efficient practices of technologies, develops community partnerships, administers the Campus Annual Sustainability Projects Fund and the EcoFund, supervises the sustainability interns, and writes and distributes an annual Colorado College Sustainability report evaluating progress on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and on the campus's carbon neutrality goal.