Texas A&M University
PA-1: Sustainability Coordination

We have two sustainability-related groups. First, the Sustainability Advisory Council (SAC) and the The Sustainability Environmental Management Committee (SEMC). The website is https://sustainabilitycouncil.tamu.edu/. The SAC is charged with fostering and promoting sustainability throughout the university community by formulating a sustainability strategy for the university. The SAC will annually report recommendations directly to President Young. The (SEMC) serves as an advisory committee to the Executive Vice President and Provost (the President’s designee) and Environmental Health & Safety. The SEMC reviews environmental policy and programs and recommends methods of improving compliance, pollution prevention, and education.

Sustainability Advisory Council (SAC) Membership: Dr. Jerry Strawser, Chair Dr. Lou Tassinary, Faculty Senate Dr. Debbie Thomas, College of Geoscience Dr. Jorge Vanegas, College of Architecture Dr. Carol Binzer, Division of Student Affairs Mr. Matt Fry, Division of Research Ms. Wendi Brewer, University Staff Council Ms. Mary Schubert, Division of Human Resources and Organizational Effectiveness Ms. Rebekah Rabun, Athletics Mr. Scot Obergefell, Athletics Ms. Mikey Jaillet, Student Body President Mr. Eric Mendoza, Student Senate Ms. Bria Perkins, Residential Housing Association President Mr. Richard Gentry, SSC Services for Higher Education Mr. Purna Chandra Doddapaneni, Graduate and Professional Student Council President Mr. Dirk Anderson, Chartwells Ex-Officio Members: Ms. Kelly Wellman, Office of Sustainability Ms. Jane Schneider, Facilities and Operations Ms. Ashley Skow, Facilities and Operations Sustainability Environmental Management Committee (SEMC) Membership: Howard Meek - Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (TEEX) Brad Urbanczyk - Agri-Life Research & Extension Casey DuPont - Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory Cody Stewart - Texas Transportation Institute Gordon Evans - Texas A&M System Byron Prestridge - Transportation Services Chris Diekert - Utilities & Energy Services, Energy Improvement Program Darryl Petersen - Utilities & Energy Services, Water & Environmental Services Barbara Musgrove - SSC Service Solutions Zofia Rybkowski- Faculty Len Bierman - Faculty Rebekah Rabun - Athletics Scot Obergefell - Athletics Carol Binzer - Residence Life Monica Hartman - Environmental Health & Safety Ben Kalscheur - Office of Sustainability Environmental Issues Committee Representative Graduate Student Council Representative Staff Members: Tassie Hermann - Environmental Health & Safety Staff Jeff Truss - Environmental Health & Safety Staff Chris Meyer - Office of Safety and Security Kelly Wellman - Office of Sustainability Staff

From its inception as a land-grant institution in 1876 to the additional sea-grant and space-grant designations, Texas A&M University has been a leader in research and education for how we interact with - and impact - our environment. In March 2008, The Office of Sustainability was founded to enhance these efforts by creating a culture of sustainability in Aggieland. We work to respect, protect, and preserve the financial, environmental, and people resources that make Texas A&M and our community so great, not only for today, but also for future generations of Aggies. When Aggies commit to a sustainable lifestyle, we bring Texas A&M's core values to life. The Office of Sustainability provides vision and leadership for campus sustainability, implements programs and planning to encourage sustainable practices, coordinates an annual institutional sustainability assessment, and collaborates with other institutions of higher education through regional and national engagement.

The previous three years for the Office of Sustainability (OS) at Texas A&M University have been productive on multiple fronts. In April 2017, OS hired Ayers Saint Gross (ASG) to update the 2010 Sustainability Master Plan. To develop the plan, we established four working groups comprised of 18-22 campus experts. The working groups were 1) Physical Environment 2) Waste Management 3) Social Sustainability and 4) Institutional Effort. We held multiple working group sessions, open houses, and met with a variety of campus stakeholder groups. In the end, over 500 campus members contributed to the final product which was released in October 2018. The entire plan can be viewed at http://sustainability.tamu.edu/Data/Sites/1/downloads/2018SMP.PDF. OS provides oversight for the Aggie Green Fund (AGF) which awards grants for on campus environmental improvements. From 2013-2019, the AGF has awarded $950,000+ for a variety of projects such as exterior and interior recycling infrastructure, an irrigation pilot program, water bottle filling stations (now over 285 on campus), and funding for the student-led Howdy! Farm which provides local, organic produce for sale within the community. The Office of Sustainability provides 8-10 internship positions for Outreach Specialists during Fall and Spring semesters. Outreach Specialists are responsible for participating in New Student Conferences, tabling events, canvassing campus and initiating dialogue about sustainability, and hosting formal educational presentations. The Office of Sustainability is actively engaged in the academic institutional assessment via AEFIS. Our analysis looks at our education and outreach targets, survey analysis of events our office hosts, and increasing participation in the Sustainable Office Certification was updated and rebranded as the Aggie Sustainability Alliance (ASA). The ASA now has individual as well as office certification components. More information about ASA can be found at http://sustainability.tamu.edu/aggie-sustainability-alliance.aspx. In May 2019, the Office released 2018 Sustainability Highlight report which provides an overview of campus achievements in the 2018 STARS submission. The report can be found at http://sustainability.tamu.edu/Data/Sites/1/Attachments/2018-highlight-report_final.pdf. Each year, the Sustainability Environmental Management Committee (SEMC) establishes committee goals. Examples of previous goals include recycling and energy reduction. Goals are advanced through working groups which contain SEMC members as well as campus experts. Recycling-related working groups created campus wide signage to be applied to exterior recycling bins across campus. In 2016 a pilot was initiated to use this same labeling system on interior recycling containers. These labels are being made available for the campus community to apply to existing interior bins. While there are numerous types of containers within the many campus buildings, it is the hope of the SEMC that a universal labeling system will reduce confusion and improve overall recycling rates. With respect to energy goals, the SEMC has endorsed the Energy Action Plan (EAP) 2020 which includes 12 initiatives that can be found at https://utilities.tamu.edu/energy-action-plan-2020/. The SEMC anticipates that the goals of the EAP 2020 will be achieved.