Tufts University
PA-1: Sustainability Coordination

When President Anthony Monaco joined Tufts in 2011, he articulated sustainability as a key priority of his administration. Second Nature Climate Commitment Acknowledging deep concerns about the potential impact of climate change on our institution and community, President Monaco signed the Second Nature Climate Commitment in April 2016, making Tufts one of 93 charter signatories. The commitment requires higher education institutions to set targets, report on progress publicly, and collaborate with their surrounding community, while integrating sustainability across the curriculum. Council for the Sustainability of Campus Operations In February 2017, President Monaco convened a new Council for the Sustainability of Campus Operations to help meet the ambitious demands of this commitment. The council will provide leadership and oversight for developing and executing a plan for Tufts to reach carbon neutrality. The council will prescribe strategies to engage the full Tufts community in actions to conserve energy use, and recommend development of capital projects and operational approaches that minimize the use of fossil fuels. These strategies include metering individual buildings, power generation, energy procurement and expanding a revolving greenfund to support these efforts. To view the most recent reports online, view our Council Updates page. https://sustainability.tufts.edu/sustainability-at-tufts/progress-reports/

Chair: Anthony Monaco, Tufts University President Sustainability Council Members Co-Chairs Patricia Campbell Executive Vice President Ann Rappaport Lecturer, UEP Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Council Members: Linda Abriola Professor, CEE and Director of Tufts Institute of the Environment School of Engineering Margot Biggin Executive Director of University Advancement University Advancement James Glaser Dean School of Arts & Sciences Mark Gonthier Executive Associate Dean Dental School John Homich Senior Director of Purchasing and Strategic Sourcing Purchasing Jonathan Kenny Professor, Chemistry School of Arts & Sciences William Moomaw Co-Director of the Global Development and Environment Institute Fletcher School Aviva Must Dean for the Public Health and Professional Degree Programs Professor and Chair of Public Health and Community Medicine School of Medicine Jianmin Qu Karol Family Professor and Dean School of Engineering Dariusz Raczkowski Director of Engineering Facilities Services Virginia Rentko Clinical Associate Professor, Medical Director of the Foster Hospital for Small Animals Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine Barbara Stein Vice President for Operations Facilities Services Ruth Bennett Director of Strategic Capital Programs Facilities Services Tina Woolston Sustainability Program Director Office of Sustainability

The Tufts Office of Sustainability serves as a resource, a catalyst, and an advocate for environmental sustainability at Tufts. The Office of Sustainability's mission statement is available at https://sustainability.tufts.edu/about/.

The Tufts Office of Sustainability was established in 2006 and includes a full-time Sustainability Program Director, a full-time Education & Outreach Program Administrator, and a full-time Recycling Fellow. There is currently an open position for Communications Specialist. The office spearheads a number of major programs and initiatives and works across all three Tufts campuses. Major accomplishments include the following: The Office worked closely with the Operations Division to select a consultant to develop a plan to reach carbon neutrality on the Medford/Somerville campus. The Office worked with the University department of Emergency Management to hire a consultant with the skills to incorporate climate change projections into the most recent Threat, Hazard and Risk Identification Assessment (THIRA) and Hazard Mitigation Plan. Additionally the Sustainability Office and the Emergency Management Office worked with students from a Climate Change course and the Nature Conservancy to hold a Community Resilience Building Workshop to start the process of planning for the impacts of climate change. The Office is currently working on completing a full resiliency assessment and developing metrics for tracking resiliency over time. The Office began presenting sustainability basics to every incoming new employee in 2016. The Office of Sustainability continues the Green Office Certification program launched in FY12. The program is designed to recognize, support, and promote offices that are engaging in sustainable practices. There are four levels of certification, allowing offices to be recognized for their current conservation actions while still providing a goal to work toward. (https://sustainability.tufts.edu/sustainability-at-tufts/programs/green-office-certification/) The Office also runs the Tufts Eco-Reps Program. These are a group of paid student interns who help to raise awareness about ecological issues, encourage environmentally responsible behavior among their hall mates and peers, and plan related events and activities. Over the past three years the program has expanded so that every student living in on-campus housing excepting special interest houses and 2 small graduate student houses, is served by an Eco-Rep. This includes the undergraduate apartment style buildings, the SMFA residence halls, and the Fletcher School and Medical school residence halls (https://sustainability.tufts.edu/sustainability-at-tufts/programs/ecorepresentatives/). In addition all of Greek Life now is required by charter to have a "GreEco" Rep who participate in a program similar to the Eco-Reps also run out of the Office of Sustainability. https://sustainability.tufts.edu/get-involved/students/the-greeco-reps-program/ In conjunction with other sustainability-focused groups at Tufts, such as the Tufts Institute of the Environment (TIE), the Eco-Reps, and the student club Students for Environmental Awareness, the office has organized a number of sustainability events, including Earth Day/Week, Zero Waste Week, and Carbon Neutrality Community Engagement sessions. The Recycling Internship program transferred from the Facilities Service division to the Office of Sustainability in FY18. This consists of a co-op student or post-graduate fellow who manages about 4 other interns including the following positions: data management and zero-waste event coordinator; education and verification intern; specialty recycling intern and recycling communications intern. Additionally a database of on-call workers is updated each year for special events and projects. The Office of Sustainability maintains a website, blog, Twitter account, You Tube page, Facebook page, Instagram account, and monthly newsletter. The office also creates and disseminates a wide variety of publications and other sustainability resources, including transportation brochures. The office maintains a bike map that shows locations of bike racks, terrain elevation, bike-friendly routes, and bike safety tips and is designed to foster biking on campus. The Green Fund (a.k.a Campus Sustainability Fund) was established in the 2017-2018 academic year to provide funding for the implementation of sustainability projects and ideas from and for the Tufts community. Students, faculty, and staff from all of Tufts' campus are eligible and encouraged to apply. Each year, the program can fund any number of projects with budgets totaling $40,000. The Office of Sustainability releases a Campus Sustainability Progress Report on an annual basis, detailing university energy, GHG, water, and waste data as well as highlighting the many sustainability accomplishments over the past year. The next is set to publish spring 2019. (https://sustainability.tufts.edu/sustainability-at-tufts/progress-reports/) For more information on the Tufts Office of Sustainability and its accomplishments, please visit http://sustainability.tufts.edu/.