aaron witham, m.s. sustainability coordinator shooting for the stars and beyond: green mountain...

Aaron Witham, M.S.

Sustainability Coordinator

Shooting for the STARS and Beyond:

Green Mountain College’s Attempt to Measure Authentic Sustainability

• Rural Vermont

• ≈ 800 students

• Sustainability accomplishments:

Climate neutral since 2011

37 credit ELA core curriculum

STARS Gold rating

#6 in Sierra Magazine’s Cool Schools List

Princeton Review’s Green Honor Roll

• New college-wide strategic plan to achieve authentic sustainability by the year 2020

Green Mountain College

Goals

Definition of Authentic Sustainability

• Sustainability requires having a net positive impact on the world across the “triple bottom line.”

A community C is authentically sustainable during a period t if and only if:

a.   the stocks of natural, social, human, and financial capital within C’s control are increasing over t

b.   continuing the activities of members of C for multiple generations beyond t will likely further maintain or increase each of these stocks, and

c.   during t, C achieves a level of impact on each of these stocks such that if everyone had that impact during t, human society would have the capabilities to thrive for multiple human generations within the carrying capacity of the planet (all else being equal).

Technical Definition of Authentic Sustainability

INCREASING EACH STOCK

CARRY ON INDEFINITELY & STILL HAVE POSITIVE IMPACT

REPLICABLE

Task Force to Develop Metrics

• Faculty, staff, and a student

• Met every two weeks for eight months

• Focused effort to reach out to diverse campus constituents (faculty meetings, staff assembly, one-on-one meetings with students, and lunches open to everybody)

• Community wide conversation event (including the town)

• 30 page technical paper

•Most comprehensive of the major rating systems in higher education

• Covers Planning & Administration, Operations, Academics, and Engagement

• Reaches into the social and economic domains of sustainability

• Fosters cross-sector dialogue about sustainability on campus

• Great framework for streamlining reporting efforts

•Major resource for schools launching sustainability efforts

STARS: Strengths

•Many STARS credits don’t have measurable baselines or measurable goals (although STARS has advanced considerably in this area)

•Many STARS credits are activity-based: Do you have a policy on this or a plan for that? What % of your population do these activities cover? Rather than what difference are the activities making?

• For the cultural transformation we are aiming to achieve, we need to measure all initiatives in relation to one overarching, defined goal: “authentic sustainability”

STARS: Limitations

The Metrics

Grit

• A quality that is important for our community to accomplish our operational and educational sustainability goals

• Applicable STARS credits: none

• Activity-based: assign steeper goals to students & employees, examine the value in failing at a hard goal

• Outcome measurement: grit survey

Trust & Associations

• Applicable STARS credits: Campus Engagement, Public Engagement, and Health, Wellbeing & Work (loosely related).

• Most applicable is EN-13 Community Stakeholder Engagement

• Activities: Poultney 2020, more community meals, community meetings, and volunteer days

• Outcome measurements (surveys):Within College: Between individuals & between groupsWithin Town: Between individuals & between groupsBetween Town and College

Biodiversity & Ecosystem Health• Comparison to applicable STARS credit: OP-11 Biodiversity

(focus on campus)

• We’ll measure on campus & off campus (region)

• Inventory our activities that affect regional biodiversity and get a sense of their impact

Supply Chain & Alumni Impact

• Comparison to applicable STARS credit: OP-16 Life cycle cost analysis (energy & water outcome-based)

• Measurements: GHG emissions, biodiversity, forest cover, pollution (create an index)

• Comparison to applicable STARS credit: none

• Measurements: everyday impact of alumni lifestyle plus contributions of active work

Economic Impact on the Region

• Comparison to applicable STARS credit: OP-15 Inclusive & Local Purchasing

• Activities: Poultney 2020 community building effort

• Measurements: purchasing impact, hiring, job creation, and others

Investments

• Applicable STARS credit: PA-13 Committee on Investor Responsibility; PA-14 Sustainable Investment; PA-15 Investment Disclosure

• Activity: we committed to divesting from fossil fuel companies last spring

• Measurements: how much $ is invested in different areas & what percentage of the endowment does it account for

• Student-driven

• 1-2 years for most metrics

• Survey data collected in every Images class (required for freshmen) and every Delicate Balance Class (required for juniors & seniors)

• Survey day with campus-wide focus

• Analysis & recommendations made by classes and other stakeholders

• Steering committee to steer the ship

Data Collection Process

• STARS gold logo: http://www.unh.edu/news/cj_nr/2011/aug/bp04stars.cfm

• Standard definition of sustainability: Our Common Future, United Nations. http://conspect.nl/pdf/Our_Common_Future-Brundtland_Report_1987.pdf

• Authentic Sustainability Curve: http://www.greenmtn.edu/sustainability-2020/the-strategic-plan.aspx

• Trust & Associations pic: http://www.interstatetelcom.com/Associations.html

• Stars in space pic: http://cowanglobal.com/2012/04/23/get-to-know-the-stars-visit-boston/

• Cross country pic: http://athletics.greenmtn.edu/sports/wxc/2011-12/releases/20110930w458dm

• Life Cycle Impact Chain pic: http://www.formica.eu/environment-life-cycle-assessment.php

• Solar Harvest Center pic: http://www.boston.com/lifestyle

• GMC student installing solar panels pic: http://secondnaturebos.wordpress.com/2011/05/05/assessing-sustainability-education-and-student-learning-at-green-mountain-college/

• AASHE STARS pic: https://stars.aashe.org/pages/news-events/

• Biodiversity pic: http://aris.ormansu.gov.tr/index.php?q=en/biodiversity/biodiversity

• Planting tree pic: http://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/201309/coolschools/eco-survey-green-mountain-college.aspx

• Rutland pic: http://www.thebus.com/

• Poultney from the sky: http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs041/1102172352505/archive/1105216543697.html

• Divestment pic: http://www.thenation.com

• Community Income Equity Logo: Developed by Cail Johnstone (employee at GMC)

• Oxen pic: www.bostonglobe.com

• Question mark pic: www.proginosko.com

References

Questions???

Extra Slides

• Transparency

• Resilience

• Narrative credibility

• Incorporates social justice

• Engages community

• Ongoing reassessment and improvement

Guiding Principles

Rate of Resource Use

• Fossil Fuels: Herman Daly (1991) argues that nonrenewable resources be used at a rate no greater than that at which renewable substitutes are being developed, while renewable resources should be used at a rate that is equal to or less than the rate at which the resources regenerate.

• Waste: E-waste, cans, bottles, etc. should be recycled at nearly 100% by 2020. In general, 50% of our waste stream should be diverted

Compensation

• Plan calls for raising compensation across the board, and measuring if it is equitable

• Applicable STARS credits: PA-9 Employee Compensation; PA-10 Assessing Employee Satisfaction

• How is our measurement more outcome based?

• Biomass plant reduced emissions by 14% so far, but more to come• Reduced fuel oil use by 160,000 gallons per year & $50,000 to $100,000 per year

• 2nd College in the nation to achieve neutrality

• 1st to do it through a significant reduction in emissions before buying offsets (30%)

Neutrality Achieved in 2011