Overall Rating Platinum - expired
Overall Score 85.56
Liaison Tonie Miyamoto
Submission Date Feb. 7, 2017
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Colorado State University
EN-10: Community Partnerships

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.00 / 3.00 Nik Olsen
Assistant Director of Administrative Communications
Office of the President
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

1st Partnership 

Name of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability :
City of Fort Collins Partnership

Does the institution provide financial or material support for the partnership? :
Yes

Which of the following best describes the partnership timeframe?:
Multi-year or ongoing

Which of the following best describes the partnership’s sustainability focus?:
The partnership simultaneously supports social equity and wellbeing, economic prosperity, and ecological health

Are underrepresented groups and/or vulnerable populations engaged as equal partners in strategic planning, decision-making, implementation and review? (Yes, No, or Not Sure):
Yes

A brief description of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability, including website URL (if available) and information to support each affirmative response above:
Colorado State University has been a City of Fort Collins ClimateWise partner since 2000 and has been a Platinum partner since 2009. ClimateWise is a program to engage the business sector in climate action planning and project implementation. The university has representation in all of the planning of the City's Climate Action Plan including the most recent Road to 2020 Framework. CSU has modified our campus Climate Action Plan to better reflect alignment with the timeline in Fort Collin's plan. CSU continues to implement energy efficiency, energy conservation, waste reduction, transportation options, and renewable energy projects to reduce GHG emissions – helping both the university and the community reach our shared climate goals. As an example of this partnership, in 2016 CSU, Fort Collins Utilities (the local city-owned electric utility) and Platte River Power Authority (wholesale electric supplier to the City) combined financial and professional resources to undertake a study of Combined Heat & Power (CHP) for the CSU main campus. While the study showed that a CHP plant was not feasible at this time, it identified the gaps that could be filled to make this a viable project in the future. The City’s (most recent) 2014 Climate Change Adaptation assessment identifies the relevant risks from a changing climate at a local level that includes a range of impacts from forest stress to wildfires, extreme temperatures, and declining water availability. With the community air quality survey reporting that 84% of surveyed residents feel a personal obligation to reduce GHG emissions, the City has the opportunity to mobilize even more support for climate protection including leveraging the partnership with CSU as our climate goals closely align. Aggressively reducing GHG emissions now may help avert more of the extreme predicted impacts of climate changes in the future. Success will bring welcome co-benefits in new economic development, jobs, technological innovations, and cleaner air and water. http://www.fcgov.com/climateprotection/pdf/2014_CAPStatus_WebFinal.pdf

2nd Partnership

Name of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability (2nd partnership):
Housing Task Force

Does the institution provide financial or material support for the partnership? (2nd partnership):
Yes

Which of the following best describes the partnership timeframe? (2nd partnership):
Multi-year or ongoing

Which of the following best describes the partnership’s sustainability focus? (2nd partnership):
The partnership supports at least one, but not all three, dimensions of sustainability

Are underrepresented groups and/or vulnerable populations engaged as equal partners in strategic planning, decision-making, implementation and review? (2nd partnership) (Yes, No, or Not Sure):
Yes

A brief description of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability, including website URL (if available) and information to support each affirmative response above (2nd partnership):
Colorado State University (CSU) has formed a task force to examine the issue of affordable housing for CSU employees. The CPD (Center of Public Deliberation) is assisting the Affordable Housing Initiative. Forums were held in the fall of 2015 and January of 2016. The Affordable Housing Initiative is a partnership with the City of Fort Collins. Affordable housing is an environmental, economic, and social justice issue that is a strong focus for both CSU and the City. It is a point of pride that the vast majority of CSU employees live and work in Fort Collins and as the cost of living increases, CSU wants to ensure that employees can continue to live close to campus with easy access to alternative transportation. http://cpd.colostate.edu/csu-employee-housing/

3rd Partnership 

Name of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability (3rd partnership):
Fort Collins Road to Zero Waste

Does the institution provide financial or material support for the partnership? (3rd partnership):
Yes

Which of the following best describes the partnership timeframe? (3rd partnership):
Multi-year or ongoing

Which of the following best describes the partnership’s sustainability focus? (3rd partnership):
The partnership supports at least one, but not all three, dimensions of sustainability

Are underrepresented groups and/or vulnerable populations engaged as equal partners in strategic planning, decision-making, implementation and review? (3rd partnership) (Yes, No, or Unknown):
Yes

A brief description of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability, including website URL (if available) and information to support each affirmative response above (3rd partnership):
CSU is an active partner in the Road to Zero Waste and we regularly work with the City on initiatives. The plan addresses environmental, economic, and social aspects of waste diversion and related impacts in our community. http://www.fcgov.com/recycling/pdf/RoadtoZeroWasteReport_FINAL.pdf

Optional Fields 

A brief description of the institution’s other community partnerships to advance sustainability:
Bikeshare/ Alternative Transportation Partnerships – Transfort - http://pts.colostate.edu/transportation-options/transit-general/ Bikeshare/Zagster – http://www.fcgov.com/transportationplanning/bikeshare.php, http://zagster.com/fortcollins/ Zipcar - http://www.zipcar.com/universities/colorado-state-university

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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