University of Louisville
PA-2: Sustainability Planning

The new UofL Sustainability Plan: Pathway to Platinum, was published online in January 2022 in draft form for public comment prior to submission of the final draft to the university administration (see https://louisville.edu/sustainability/news/draft-uofl-sustainability-plan-seeking-comment). The new plan includes the following objectives related to academics:

"The institution intends to implement the following programs and action in order to expand our priority work over the coming years in the following areas: (1) Academic Courses: inventory sustainability-related and -focused courses across departments and work to expand the number of offered courses through outreach about the Green Threads/Tapestries program; (2) Learning Outcomes: inventory the degree programs with a sustainability-related learning outcome and expand this number through outreach to departments and colleges; and (3) Research and Scholarship: inventory sustainability-related research across departments and encourage its expansion through dedicated funding.

Courses:
- Regularly inventory existing courses with a link to sustainability
- Encourage connections between faculty teaching sustainability-linked courses through GreenThreads/Tapestries and by other means
- Conduct outreach to departments to identify and develop new sustainability-focused or -related courses, especially in departments without one currently
- Work with school district to offer dual credit on SUST 101—Intro to Sustainability

Learning Outcomes:
- Conduct outreach to departments and colleges to implement sustainability –related learning outcomes for degree programs
- Provide example language to departments for learning outcomes related to sustainability

Undergraduate Program:
- Support the BA in Sustainability Program
- Support the development of additional undergraduate programs (degrees, minors, concentrations) across the UofL related to sustainability topics in varied colleges

Graduate Program:
- Support the MS/MA in Sustainability
- Support the development of additional graduate programs (degrees, minors, concentrations, certificates) across the UofL related to sustainability topics in varied colleges

Immersive Experience:
- Support the annual Sustainability Living Learning Community in collaboration with UofL Housing
- Hire an intern annually to work with the LLC Students
- Support additional programs within related fields and topics

Sustainability Literacy Assessment:
- Administer an annual sustainability literacy assessment to the student body
- Distribute findings and identify ways to expand knowledge of sustainability literacy across the institution

Incentives for Developing Courses:
- Fund and support faculty to develop sustainability-related courses
- Support faculty to collaborate on interdisciplinary courses and to build related pedagogies

Research:
- Regularly inventory faculty and staff working on sustainability-related research
- Support the expansion of sustainability research into additional departments through funding, fellowships, course releases, and other means, including interdisciplinary collaboration

Support for Sustainability Research:
- Support new sustainability research through dedicated internal funding including grants, seed funds, fellowships, course releases, and other funded means
- Support and forge connections between existing sustainability researchers and centers at UofL"


The “Education, Research and Public Engagement to advance climate action” section of the formally-adopted 2010 UofL Climate Action Plan (https://reporting.secondnature.org/cap/cap-public!700), includes the following goals with respect to advancing sustainability Curriculum:

Short Term
• Develop a faculty incentive grant program that would provide mini-grants for faculty who revise or enhance course curricula to incorporate practicum or other community-based learning opportunities for students pertaining to climate change and sustainability.
• Develop an academic community engagement course assistant award program that would fund and support graduate or undergraduate students course work in community focused on climate change and sustainability.
• Develop a University Community Academic Partnership Assistance program that would provide faculty with funds to advance university community partnerships necessary for student academic learning experiences tied to climate change and sustainability.
• Establish with the School of Arts and Sciences an undergraduate, interdisciplinary degree in Sustainability. Classes for the degree would be taught in multiple departments within the school.
• Create a USGBC student group with a focus on Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). The group would work with campus architects to conduct research and assist in promoting sustainable technologies in new and remodeled campus buildings. In collaboration with the Office of Planning, Design and Construction, service learning projects will be identified for student research projects. One of the goals of the group would be to create classes to prepare for student LEED certification.
• UofL’s Sustainability Council will work to increase academic collaboration on the topic of climate change. The Council will continue to invite speakers to campus for public lectures and forums.

Midterm
• The American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment calls for educating all students about climate change. The short-term goals call for increasing voluntary offerings, while building institutional capacity on climate change issues. Deliberation by faculty about making “climate neutrality and sustainability a part of the curriculum and other educational experiences for all students” should occur by 2020. In terms of undergraduate students, this would occur through the regular academic venues. There are many options for covering the basics of climate change and other environmental issues, including internships, service learning, international travel, and course work, all of which could include some practical activity designed to further sustainability on campus, in the surrounding community, or in the world. Faculty may also choose to incorporate examples, texts and theory about climate change into various majors and courses.

The new UofL Sustainability Plan: Pathway to Platinum, was published online in January 2022 in draft form for public comment prior to submission of the final draft to the university administration (see https://louisville.edu/sustainability/news/draft-uofl-sustainability-plan-seeking-comment). The new plan includes the following objectives related to Engagement:

Student Educators Program:
- Expand participation in UofL’s EcoReps Program.
- Keep training video series updated & develop a network of mutual support among EcoReps.

Student Orientation:
- Maintain updated sustainability content in orientations for first year, transfer, and graduate students.

Student Life:
- Support continued presence of student groups focused on sustainability.
- Maintain sustainability experiential learning opportunities: campus gardens, student-run enterprises and investment funds, conferences/speaker series, outdoors programs, living-learning community, internships, graduation pledge, etc.

Outreach Materials & Publications:
- Maintain an updated sustainability website, social media platforms, newsletter, campus tour, etc.
- Ensure that sustainability is covered in campus news, signage, brochures, etc.

Outreach Campaign:
- Organize an outreach campaign each semester that raises awareness and encourages behavior change, e.g. Cards Commuter Challenge, Ecolympics, Campus Race to Zero Waste

Assessing Sustainability Culture:
- Develop & administer a longitudinal survey to entire campus community or representative sample.
- Analyze and share the results for the purposes of continuous improvement.

Community Partnerships:
- Maintain the Partnership for a Green City and Signature Partnership.
- Seek opportunities to expand these partnerships and create new ones.

Inter-Campus Collaboration:
- Submit case studies to a sustainability resource center or awards program.
- Encourage staff, students, or faculty to serve on a board or committee of a sustainability network.
- Have an ongoing mentoring relationship with another school’s sustainability reporting/program.
- Have staff, faculty, or students serve as peer reviewers of another school’s sustainability data.

Continuing Education:
- Ensure that courses addressing sustainability comprise 10+% of all continuing education courses.
- Offer at least one sustainability-themed certificate program through continuing education.

Community Service:
- Expand community service opportunities as we work toward engaging all students in an average of 20+ hours of community service per year.

Participation in Public Policy:
- Seek opportunities to support sustainable policy-making at all levels.

Trademark Licensing:
- Rejoin as a member of the Worker Rights Consortium (WRC) and/or the Fair Labor Association (FLA).

The “Education, Research and Public Engagement to advance climate action” section of the formally-adopted 2010 UofL Climate Action Plan, includes the following goals with respect to advancing sustainability Campus Engagement:

• Create a USGBC student group with a focus on Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). The group would work with campus architects to conduct research and assist in promoting sustainable technologies in new and remodeled campus buildings. In collaboration with the Office of Planning, Design and Construction, service learning projects will be identified for student research projects. One of the goals of the group would be to create classes to prepare for student LEED certification.

The new UofL Sustainability Plan: Pathway to Platinum, was published online in January 2022 in draft form for public comment prior to submission of the final draft to the university administration (see https://louisville.edu/sustainability/news/draft-uofl-sustainability-plan-seeking-comment). The new plan includes the following objectives related to Operations:

Greenhouse Gas Emissions:
- Increase renewable energy opportunities & initiatives
- Install geothermal energy systems
- Decrease building energy consumption
- Increase recycling & composting opportunities
- Reduce single occupancy travel to & around campus

Outdoor Air Quality:
- Decrease single occupancy vehicle travel
- Maintain equipment & use clean fueled or battery operated equipment
- Maintain tree canopy on campus & replace damaged or dead trees
- Increase low maintenance landscaping & no mow zones

Building Operations & Maintenance:
- Operate & maintain sustainable policies
- Indoor air quality management policy
- Green cleaning policy, program or contract
- Energy management or benchmarking program
- Integrated pest management
- Light pollution reduction
- Enhanced refrigeration management
- Water & waste management & tracking
- Conduct transportation survey
- Heat island mitigation practices
- Conduct site assessment & improve site management practices

Building Design & Construction:
- Increase LEED rating levels on new construction & obtain LEED certification for renovation projects
- Minimize landfill disposal through reuse & recycling
- Use water based coatings with low VOCs
- Maximize use of space & minimize building to site area
- Increase daylight usage & promote natural ventilation

Building Energy Consumption:
- Implement energy efficiency policy for use of space heaters
- Increase Energy Savings Performance Contracting requirements
- Use LED & other Energy STAR lighting technology
- Investigate & create behavioral change opportunities
- Implement policies to minimize idling equipment/computers when not in use

Clean & Renewable Energy
- Obtain energy from renewable sources (on or off-site)
- National RFP for virtual Power Purchase Agreement for renewable energy cover 20% electricity needs
- Use University resources to fund priority energy savings projects
- Enter into Power Purchase Agreement to install solar systems on campus
- Create public-private partnership to design & construct biomass digester

Food & Beverage Purchasing:
- Reduce below 30% total expenditure on conventional animal products (currently 26.6%)
- Increase up to 75% of dining services (3/4 pts) and on-site franchises, convenience stores, vending services & concessions (1/4 pts)
- Food & beverage purchases as third party verified and/or sourced from local community-based producers.

Sustainable Dining:
- Source food from campus garden
- Establish sustainability-themed food outlet
- Host farmers market & support CSA programs
- Host low impact dining events
- Provide plant-forward or vegan options
- Reduce post-consumer food waste
- Donate food that would otherwise go to waste
- Participate in US EPA Food Recovery Challenge
- Use food waste prevention system (eg LeanPath)

Landscape Management:
- Eliminate use of inorganic fertilizers & chemical pesticides, fungicides and herbicides in favor of ecologically preferable materials.
- Integrated Pest Management Program
- Develop Organic Land Standards or Landscape Management Program Plans
Continued involvement in Tree Campus USA standards & energy efficient landscape design

Biodiversity:
- Collect & report data of the annual Horner Butterfly Count
- Identify & asses other endangered or vulnerable species (including migratory species)
- Identify & assess environmentally sensitive areas
- Prepare plan or program to protect identified species, habitats, &/or environmentally sensitive areas.

Sustainable Procurement
- Prioritize & enforce green & sustainable purchasing practices.
- Limit office supplies to sustainable & green products
- Work with vendors to expand sustainable & green product lines
- For RFPs give priority to companies that demonstrate sustainable programs
- Encourage research to develop sustainable products
- Add sustainable packing practices language in vendor contract renewals

Electronics Purchasing:
- Support markets with environmentally preferable computers & other electronic products.
- Increase purchase of Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) certified equipment.
- Reinforce energy star purchasing requirements
- Educate & encourage use of energy star products brought to campus
- Require vendors to install energy star equipment on campus

Cleaning & Janitorial Purchasing:
- Increase purchase of certified green cleaning products & practice sustainable product use.
- Avoid single use cleaning supplies
- Purchase & use least toxic product
- Provide training for waste stream management
- Order in bulk to minimize excess packaging

Office Paper Purchasing:
- Increase % post-consumer recycled, agricultural residue, and/or FSC certified content in office paper purchased to 100%.
- Use purchasing power of Partnership for Green City to maximize recycled content & lower pricing
- Implement & enforce paper purchasing through Stockroom
- Educate UofL community on importance of minimizing use paper products

Campus Fleet:
- Increase % motorized vehicle fleet that is: hybrid, EV, CNG, hydrogen, B20+ (or locally produced B5) biofuel for more than 4 months of the year. Fleet includes all leased or owned cars, carts, trucks, tractors, buses and similar vehicles used for transporting people and/or goods. Excludes: heavy construction equipment (e.g. excavators and pavers), maintenance equipment (e.g. lawn-mowers and leaf blowers), and demonstration/test vehicles used for educational purposes.

Student Commute Modal Split:
- Increase % students walking, bicycling, vanpooling, carpooling, taking public transportation, riding motorcycles or scooters to campus.
- Advertise UofL’s Bicycling Transportation Plan website
- Create opportunities for bicycle sharing
- Increase & encourage car pooling - ride sharing opportunities
- Make public transportation opportunities convenient

Employee Commute Modal Split:
- Increase % employees telecommuting, walking, bicycling, vanpooling, carpooling, taking public transportation, riding motorcycles or scooters to campus.
- Create incentives to carpool such as reduced parking permit prices, shared permits, preferred parking, university recognition, etc.
- Create university specific online ride board to encourage ride sharing
- Provide university support & incentives for faculty & staff to move into homes close to campus
- Allow more opportunities to work from home

Support for Sustainability Transportation:
- Increase and encourage use of sustainable transportation on and off campus.
- Advocate for alternate public transportation opportunities (light rail)
- Continue relationship with TARC for free rides to UofL community
- Create policy travel expenses for destinations within 250 miles would only be reimbursed for ground transportation.
- Establish carbon off-set policy to require airline travelers to pay an off-set calculated by university.

Water Use:
- Maximize water conservation on campus & minimize waste water generation & disposal
- Install low flow fixture on campus.
- Limit irrigation operations & monitor during wet weather.
- Collect condensate water & reuse for irrigation or non-potable use.

Rainwater Management:
- Minimize stormwater runoff to combined sewer system.
- Coordinate with MSD on new development projects to have post-developed flow not to exceed pre-developed flow based on 100-year storm modeling.
- Install underground collection basins with new construction to minimize impacts of stormwater runoff to combined sewer system.
- Install rain barrels around buildings to collect rainwater for irrigation.

Waste Minimization & Diversion:
- Develop & implement Zero Waste Plan using coordinated approach to minimize waste, maximize reuse, repair, recycling & composting.
- Develop & implement campus wide behavior change plan to reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling & reuse.
- Achieve sustainable management & efficient use of natural resources by diverting material from landfills & conserving resources by composting & recycling.

Construction & Demolition Waste Diversion:
- Decrease quantities of construction & demolition waste in landfills with ultimate goal of 90% diversion to Construction & Demolition facility.
- Increase opportunities to recycle or reuse construction & demolition materials.
- For RFPs give priority to companies that prioritize waste diversion practices.
- Create sustainable designs that maximize reuse of materials.

Hazardous Waste Management:
- Minimize toxicity of products used & decrease quantity of waste generated.
- Work with teaching labs to develop micro-scale experiments.
- Increase chemical exchange practices across campus.
- Maximize electronic waste recycling, reuse, & refurbish programs.

UofL's 2010 Climate Action Plan contains a goal of 20% of energy from renewable sources by 2020.

The new UofL Sustainability Plan: Pathway to Platinum, was published online in January 2022 in draft form for public comment prior to submission of the final draft to the university administration (see https://louisville.edu/sustainability/news/draft-uofl-sustainability-plan-seeking-comment). The new plan includes the following objectives related to Administration:

Sustainability Coordination:
- Maintain active committees, offices, or officers charged by the administration or board of trustees to coordinate sustainability work on campus.
- UofL has the Assistant to the Provost for Sustainability Initiatives and a Sustainability Council comprised of students, faculty, and staff. UofL will maintain the personnel as the backbone of the sustainability programming at the university.

Sustainability Planning:
- Create and release a published sustainability plan that includes measurable sustainability objectives that address Investment & Finance.

Participatory Governance:
- Develop written policies and procedures to identify and engage local residents in land-use planning, capital investment projects, and other institutional decisions that affect the community.
- Determine ways to develop additional policies and procedures engaging constituents and local residents adjacent to our three campuses in land-use planning, capital investment projects and other institutional decisions

Diversity & Equity Coordination:
- Ensure that ALL students, staff, and faculty have participated in cultural competence trainings and activities
- Inventory and list all cultural competence training opportunities and activities on all UofL campuses
- List trainers/facilitators for cultural competence training opportunities and activities
- Track student, staff, and faculty participation in cultural competence training and activities
- Consider cultural competency participation in student, staff, and faculty evaluation process

Assessing Diversity & Equity:
- Implement an assessment process that addresses student outcomes related to diversity, equity and success AND that addresses employee outcomes related to diversity and equity
- Determine best ways to implement and promote student outcomes and student success related to anti-racism and assess student outcomes
- Determine ways to implement and promote employee outcomes related to anti-racism and assess
- Require students to take at least one course on anti-racism and social justice

Support for Underrepresented Groups:
- UofL will maintain its support for underrepresented groups in every way possible for every underrepresented group, including the Anchor Mission Initiative through the Office of Community Engagement.

Affordability & Access:
- Increase the amount of entering students that are low-income of eligible for need-based aid, increase the graduation rate of those students and increase the amount of students graduating with no debt.
- UofL will: Increase the percentage of incoming students who are low-income or eligible for need-based aid and increase their graduation/success rate
- Increase need-based financial assistance to eligible students so those students are not paying tuition out of pocket and are graduating with interest-bearing debt
- Find innovative ways to ensure students who need aid can access financial assistance services

Committee on Investor Responsibility:
- Establish an active committee on investor responsibility (CIR) with multi-stakeholder representation
- UofL will continue its Committee on Investor Responsibility and work to improve its dialogue with the University of Louisville Foundations regarding sustainable investments.

Sustainable Investment:
- Invest 30% of investment pool sustainably (i.e. Sustainable industries (e.g. renewable energy or sustainable forestry)
- UofL will work to create a sustainable investment fund.
- Committee on Investor Responsibility will work with Foundation to create sustainable investment policy and make it public and used to guide investment strategies
- Work with student groups who seek UofL’s divestment of fossil fuels and other unsustainable options
- Engage in policy advocacy by participating in investor networks.

Sustainability is the quality of a system such that the system equitably meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Sustainability requires the reconciliation of ecological, environmental, social and economic concerns.

On August 4, 2021 UofL President Neeli Bendapudi re-signed the Carbon Commitment on behalf of UofL, which states:
"Climate Leadership Statement
We, the undersigned presidents and chancellors of colleges and universities, believe firmly
in the power, potential. and imperative of higher education's key role in shaping a
sustainable society. Not only are we deeply concerned about the increasing pace and
intensity of global climate change and the potential for unprecedented detrimental impacts.
but we also understand that technology, infrastructure, global interconnectedness, and our
greatest asset - engaged, committed, smart students - allow us to explore bold and
innovative solutions and to lead in climate action and sustainable solutions.
We have begun to experience the effects of climate change in our communities and we
understand that these effects are projected to become more severe and damaging. We
recognize that mitigation and adaptation are complementary strategies for reducing the
likelihood of unmanageable change, managing the risks, and taking advantage of new
opportunities created by our changing climate.

We believe colleges and universities must exercise leadership in their communities and
throughout society by providing the knowledge, research, practice, and informed graduates
to create a positive and sustainable future. Along with other aspects of sustainability.
campuses that address the climate challenge by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and by
integrating resilience into their curriculum, research, and campus operations will better
serve their students and meet their social mandate to help create a vital, ethical, and
prosperous civil society.

We further believe that exerting leadership in addressing climate change will reduce our
long-term energy costs and the costs of climate disturbance. increase our quality of life,
attract excellent students and faculty, and build the support of alumni and local
communities.

We have resolved to take action in one of the following Climate Leadership Commitments.
We believe carbon neutrality and resilience are extremely high priority areas of action for all
institutions and we aim to lead the nation in these efforts. We urge others to join us in
transforming society towards a sustainable. healthy, and more prosperous future."