University of Denver
PAE-4: Sustainability Plan

On June 5, 2007, Chancellor Robert Coombe of the University of Denver signed the Presidents’ Climate Commitment. He stated “The DU community is concerned with global warming and vested in sustainability,” Coombe says. “Universities should play an important role in building sustainability through continued efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.” The University of Denver Sustainability Plan is both the “comprehensive plan to achieve climate neutrality” envisioned by the President’s Climate Commitment and a broader document to chart DU’s path toward incorporating sustainability into both its operations and its educational mission. In response to the signing of the PCC, the University formed the University Sustainability Council consisting of up to five faculty, five staff, five students, four functional area representative (Planning & Budget, Facilities, Architect’s Office, and University Communications), as well as three ex-officio members (the Provost, Vice Chancellor for Business & Finance, and the Vice Provost for Graduate Studies & Research). The Sustainability Council recently amended its by-laws to include representatives from the University of Denver Faculty Senate, University of Denver All University Student Association Senate, the Graduate Student Council, University Staff Advisory Council and Student Bar Association. The Sustainability Council’s purpose encompasses environmental, social, and economic sustainability. The University of Denver Sustainability Council set out to draft a sustainability report and plan reflecting the practices, goals, and ideology of the university’s sustainability movement. To do so, the council established six working committees to address the wide area of issues pertinent to sustainability and the institutional efforts at adaptation. The Council has been meeting since February, 2008, and has formed six committees focused on investigating and addressing: Best Practices; Curriculum & Research, Facilities, Utilities, Design, & Construction; Outreach; Reduce/Reuse/Recycling; and Transportation. There are council members on each committee in addition to other members of the University community (more students, staff, and faculty).

The areas of evaluation for this sustainability plan and report draw heavily from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) STARS (Sustainability Tracking, Assessment, and Rating System) instrument. Thus, each area of the DU report indicates in parentheses the applicable STARS credit(s). Using the STARS credits as a guide, the University of Denver Sustainability Council committees were then responsible for a number of credits that associated most closely and logically with their committee charge. Members of the council and committees then collected data and reported on the data for the compilation and writing of this report. Data has been validated through member-checks, peer review, and community feedback.

Because the DU Sustainability Plan goals parallel the STARS assessment instrument, the institution plans to use STARS reporting as a means of measuring progress towards the plan's goals.