April 22, 2014 SUSTAINABILITY PLAN COLLEGE OF BEHAVIORAL AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
BE THE SOLUTION
TABLE OF CONTENTS Vision and Background
3
Main Objectives
4
Implementation Plan
5
Green Office Program
5
Green Classroom Initiative
6
Education, Awareness, and Behavior Change
7
Energy and Water Consumption
9
Oversight
10
Metrics
11
BSOS Sustainability Work Group Membership
12
“As we destroy nature, we will be destroyed in the process. There’s no escaping that conclusion … The time to equip everyone, everywhere with the knowledge and skills to change our global predicament is not just upon us, it has passed.” – David Orr, Paul Sears Distinguished Professor of Environmental Studies and Politics at Oberlin College
VISION & BACKGROUND Sustainability necessitates a balance between environmental health, economic development, and social justice. The College of Behavioral and Social Sciences (BSOS) encompasses all three of the key components of sustainability through its various disciplines and fields of study - all of which are interdisciplinary as well. Given this interdisciplinary academic relation to sustainability, BSOS should be leading by example in expanding sustainability into education, operations, policy change, and behavior change, demonstrating its commitment not only through the creation of a plan, but through its implementation.
The University of Maryland signed the President's Climate Commitment in 2007 and developed its Climate Action Plan in 2009 with the overarching goals of becoming a carbon-neutral campus by 2050 and integrating sustainability into the campus culture and academic curriculum. To implement the Climate Action Plan, the University created the University Sustainability Council and Office of Sustainability. In working towards the incremental goals stipulated in the Climate Action Plan, the campus is now pursuing efforts to reduce emissions from energy, waste, transportation, procurement, and individual behavior while working to educate the entire campus community about sustainability and climate change. The Office of Sustainability continuously tracks the progress of these initiatives and the overall greenhouse gas emissions reductions. As of 2012, there has been measurable progress in reducing the University's emissions, but upcoming reduction goals will be difficult to achieve without broader campus participation. By 2020, the University intends to reach a 50 percent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions, which will be the most ambitious target since the establishment of the climate commitment. "The profound challenges of climate change represent a tremendous opportunity for an institution with expertise in diverse disciplines that can devise strategies to address the problems posed by a warming planet. The campus will need to be aggressive, within the bounds of current budget restrictions, to effectively leverage that expertise
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over the near term. The campus is working toward a goal of carbon neutrality by 2050, but clear progress needs to be made much sooner." - Climate Action Plan 2009 Addressing the environmental challenges that we as a campus and society face today require campus-wide efforts as well as smaller-scale behavioral and educational efforts. No single strategy or solution will allow the University of Maryland to achieve climate action and sustainability goals. The BSOS Sustainability Plan is intended to advance campus sustainability and complement the University’s Climate Action Plan to help the University of Maryland become a national model for a green university. It is the first plan of its kind at the college-level at the University of Maryland, and hopefully it can serve as a guide for other colleges to join BSOS in this effort to improve the sustainability of the campus and community as a whole. This plan was drafted by the BSOS Sustainability Task Force, which was convened by the Dean’s Office with the support and encouragement of the Dean’s Student Advisory Council and interested faculty and staff in October 2013. We welcome questions, comments, and suggestions.
MAIN OBJECTIVES Objective 1: Increase Awareness and Education of Sustainability for Students, Staff, and Faculty Objective 2: Lead the Campus in Sustainable Procurement and Purchasing Objective 3: Reduce Waste in BSOS Offices, Classrooms, and Facilities Objective 4: Reduce Energy Consumption Objective 5: Reduce Water Consumption Objective 6: Reduce Paper Consumption Objective 7: Promote Alternative Commuting Options for Students, Staff, and Faculty Objective 8: Increase Energy Efficiency in BSOS Facilities Objective 9: Increase Recycling and Composting Rates Objective 10: Lead By Example & Be The Solution
“The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it.” – Robert Swan, Polar Explorer and Environmental Leader 4 | P a g e Sustainability Plan, College of Behavioral and Social Sciences
IMPLEMENTATION PLAN 1. INCREASE PARTICIPATION IN GREEN OFFICE PROGRAM: The Green Office Program is a voluntary initiative engaging students, staff, and faculty to integrate sustainability into campus culture, conserve resources, minimize waste, and save money across the University of Maryland. It is an opportunity for BSOS to create a community practicing sustainability in daily operations. The program supports offices that seek to take steps to reduce their environmental footprint by providing checklists, tools, and guidance to each office. Green Office representatives (GO Reps) are self-selected to be resources in each office. Offices are self-defined as any administrative, academic, or service work area, ranging from one office to a whole unit or division. For more information about the Green Office Program, go to: http://sustainability.umd.edu/content/culture/green_offices.php
Date
Green Office Goal
May 2014
Dean’s Office Bronze Certified
July 2015
Dean’s Office Silver Certified
January 2016
All BSOS Offices Bronze Certified
July 2017
10 BSOS Offices Silver Certified
July 2018
10 BSOS Offices Gold Certified
July 2020
All BSOS Offices Silver or Gold Certified
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2. GREEN CLASSROOM INITIATIVE: The Green Classroom Initiative (GCI) is a compilation of numerous simple methods that individuals (students, staff, or faculty) can take to improve the sustainability of a class and classroom. a. Reduce Paper Consumption: i. Use of Online Services: Faculty are encouraged to upload all readings, assignments, syllabi, and other files to facilitate paperless distribution. ii. Opt-In Hard Copy Distribution: For students who prefer a hard copy of assignments, faculty are encouraged to initiate an opt-in system for hard copy distribution. iii. Electronic Submission: Faculty and teaching assistants should consider if electronic submission of homework, papers, or other assignments is possible to reduce printing. iv. Print Double-Sided: When necessary, students and faculty can easily select the double-sided printing option in the libraries and computer labs on campus. If your office printer or personal printer has a double-sided option and you cannot submit assignments electronically, try to print using both sides. b. Textbook Options: i. Inform students if the textbook(s) are available in the library. ii. Faculty should consider accommodating online textbooks, online journals, or open source textbooks when appropriate or if an entire book or textbook is even necessary for the course. c. Use of Technology: i. Encourage faculty and students to consider online meetings using tools publicly available or provided by the University to reduce energy associated with longdistance commutes whenever possible. d. Turn Off Electronics: i. After class, students and faculty should ensure that projectors, computers, and lights are turned off, especially at the end of the day and end of the week.
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3. EDUCATION, AWARENESS, AND BEHAVIOR CHANGE: Integral to living and working sustainably is an understanding of how an individual’s choices and activities impact the environment and health of everyone. Given that the University of Maryland is an educational institution, it is only fitting that education and awareness are principal components of this Sustainability Plan. a. Expand Chesapeake Project Participation/Curriculum Integration: i. The Chesapeake Project is a two-day program run by the Office of Sustainability where faculty from various disciplines explore ways to integrate sustainability into their existing courses. For more information about the Chesapeake Project, go to: http://sustainability.umd.edu/content/curriculum/chesapeake_project.php Date
Chesapeake Project Participation Goal
December 2016
At least 1 faculty member per dept.
December 2018
At least 2 faculty members per dept.
December 2020
At least 30 faculty members in college
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b. Integration of Sustainability into BSOS Programs: i. Incorporate sustainability into existing BSOS academic and living-learning programs by 2020 through competitive grants, new educational programs, and other opportunities. ii. Encourage the proposal of BSOS sustainability-related courses through the BSOS Solutions Lab and the Center for Smart Growth Program for Action Learning in Sustainability. iii. Encourage BSOS advisors to include sustainability-related material or invite the Sustainability Peer Advisor program for a presentation in UNIV100 classes. iv. Promote the interdisciplinary Sustainability Minor. v. Develop a detailed plan for integrating sustainability into BSOS academics by December 2014. c. Increase Awareness About BSOS Sustainability: i. Inform the BSOS faculty, staff, and student community about BSOS sustainability efforts, successes, opportunities, and goals with at least once per semester emails from the Dean’s Office. ii. Work with the Office of Sustainability to provide a brief training in sustainability for new hires of staff, faculty, and student assistants. iii. Include on all departmental websites a mention of and reference link to the online BSOS Sustainability Plan. iv. Ask departments to inform faculty and staff of these initiatives and encouragements via email as well as at department and unit meetings by the Fall 2014.
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4. REDUCE ENERGY AND WATER CONSUMPTION: Reducing energy and water consumption is a simple and low-cost way of preserving resources and saving money. Energy efficiency as well as reduction of energy and water consumption are among the most direct ways of addressing the major energy and environmental challenges that the University, state, and country face. a. Flip the Switch: i. Turn off electronic devices or appliances after leaving your classroom, office, or event to save energy. Be sure to turn off computer screens and projectors in offices, classrooms, and labs at the end of the day, before weekends, and before holiday breaks. b. Notify Facilities Management of Issues: i. If there are issues with energy or water infrastructure, notify Facilities Management Work Control so it can be fixed! Addressing malfunctioning equipment or fixing leaks reduces inefficient resource consumption. Work Control can be contacted by phone at 301-405-2222 or by email at workcontrol@fm.umd.edu. Online reports can be submitted here: https://www.facilities.umd.edu/SitePages/Home.aspx. c. Welcome New Energy Projects from Facilities Management: i. BSOS has been fortunate to have several of its facilities renovated recently--the Chincoteague Building, which has received a LEED Gold Certification, major areas in Tydings, Morrill Hall, LeFrak Hall and Taliferro Hall. Yet, many BSOS buildings are still old and energy inefficient. As new opportunities for funding become available, BSOS should actively propose its most inefficient buildings and areas for renovation and retrofitting by Facilities Management. When possible and appropriate, BSOS should welcome renewable energy installations as well. Despite short-term disruptions, this will ideally make BSOS a more attractive partner to Facilities Management; they will likely look to BSOS for future energy projects, renovations and long-term infrastructure improvements.
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5. OVERSIGHT: The Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Studies will oversee the implementation of the Sustainability Plan. A Sustainability Coordinator and Sustainability Advisory Council will support and guide the college’s efforts. a. A Sustainability Coordinator reporting to the Assistant Dean will be directly tasked with maintaining the program as a college-wide initiative. This individual will develop educational messaging for events, contests, lecture series, and other programs and work with staff, faculty, designated Green Office representatives, and the Office of Sustainability. While facilitating implementation, this coordinator will collect data based on specified metrics to track success, which will be including in an annual published report. This individual could be a full-time employee or a graduate student with assistance from a student intern(s) when deemed necessary or advantageous. b. To ensure the continued commitment to sustainability and the successful implementation of the plan, BSOS will establish a Sustainability Advisory Council. The council will be comprised of members of the original sustainability workgroup, BSOS Green Office (GO) program representatives, a representative from the Dean’s Student Advisory Council, and other interested students, staff, and faculty. The Sustainability Advisory Council will convene at least once per semester to meet with the Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Studies and the Sustainability Coordinator to review progress and discuss past, present, and future best practices to meet the specified sustainability goals for BSOS.
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METRICS 1. Number of offices with Green Office (GO) Certification at each level 2. Number of faculty, instructors, and lecturers who have participated in Chesapeake Project 3. Number of BSOS courses on the Sustainability Minor approved list 4. Number of Energy Projects and Green Campus Initiatives in BSOS facilities 5. Number of lectures by faculty and guests on sustainability hosted/funded by BSOS 6. Number of faculty, staff and students attending sustainability events sponsored by BSOS 7. Number of faculty and staff carpooling, using public transportation, or biking work: a. In the GO program, a Bronze certification action (#20) includes carpooling, walking, or biking to on-campus meetings. For Silver certification, an action item (#16) is a reducing the office’s carbon footprint 10% lower than what it was at Bronze. Suggestions listed for “how to” achieve this are alternative commuting options (e.g. biking, walking, etc.) 8. Number of faculty and staff periodically telecommuting: a. Again, as part of Silver certification in the GO program action #16 states “one of the possible actions to achieve (#15) discusses telecommuting; “Our employees take advantage of teleworking opportunities, where appropriate”. The Department of Geographical Sciences distributed a simple poll to faculty, staff, and students to see who telecommutes, how often, and what their experience has been. 9. Number of commuting days reduced for faculty, staff and students: a. A GO program Transportation action item includes reducing an office’s carbon footprint and suggests alternative transportation options such as biking or carpooling to campus. A simple poll taken periodically can help with monitoring this metric 10. Energy and water consumption by building in BSOS 11. Upon instituting a college-wide mechanism for public feedback/two-way communication on sustainability issues, use shall be monitored and reported quantitatively as well as qualitatively
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BSOS SUSTAINABILITY WORK GROUP MEMBERSHIP
Evan Ellicott, Research Assistant Professor, GEOG Sarah Goff-Tlemsani, Executive Assistant, Dean’s Office Matthew Popkin, Graduate Student, GVPT/PUAF Mark Stewart, Senior Project Manager, Office of Sustainability Marci Deloatch, Business Specialist, AASD Kurt Finsterbusch, Professor, SOCY Cristina Garcia, Academic Program Specialist, PSYC Ori Gutin, Undergraduate Student, ENSP Jennifer Hadden, Assistant Professor, GVPT Barbara Hillinger, Program Coordinator, MPRC Ethan Kaplan, ECON Bailey Kier, Coordinator, BSOS Advising Center Pui-Yu Ling, Ph.D. Candidate, GEOG Kent Norman. Associate Professor, PSYC Quentin Stubbs, Ph.D. Candidate, GEOG
SPECIAL THANKS TO: John Townshend, Dean Katherine Russell, Assistant Dean Katherine Pedro Beardsley, Former Associate Dean Dean’s Student Advisory Council, 2012-2013
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