how sustainability creates value and underpins broad campus outcomes dave newport director...

How Sustainability Creates Value and Underpins Broad Campus Outcomes

Dave Newport

Director

Environmental Center

University of Colorado at Boulder

University of Colorado BoulderEnvironmental Center


Dave Newport

Director




Dave Newport, Director of the Environmental Center, University of Colorado at Boulder (CU)Dave Newport is Director of the Environmental Center at the University of Colorado at-the nation’s first, largest, and most accomplished sustainability enterprise of its kind. Dave also Chairs the University’s Carbon Neutrality Working Group, led the creation CU’s climate action plan, and is a Faculty Associate in the Environmental Studies where he teaches the nation's first course in Carbon Neutrality Planning for Higher Education. Dave is Secretary of the Board of Directors of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), and is one of the three original co-creators of the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Ratings System (STARS) that is as "higher education’s gold standard for assessing campus sustainability," according to the Chronicle for Higher Education. Dave led the University of Colorado’s team that last year compiled the nation’s first STARS Gold sustainability assessment award. has also been ranked as the nation’s #1 Green campus by Sierra magazine (2009).

Today’s Discussion

Phases of campus sustainability Definition of campus sustainability

Definition = X How does sustainability create value?

Value drivers = Y What does a campus do?

Support activities = Z What is Total Sustainability?

Total Sustainability = X+Y+Z Conclusions

Efficiency, Cost Control and

Full Cost Evaluation

Curricular and Co-Curricular

Education

Branding & Marketing

Strategic Mapping,

Planning and Public

Commitment

THE SUSTAINABILITY ROADMAPacademicimpressions.com/events/sustainability/

CU Environmental Center Founded Earth Day 1970

>120 student-staff, 10 professional staff Nation’s oldest, largest, and most

accomplished center STARS-Gold Sierra #1 Green Campus SEI-Sustainability Leader

Many campus sustainability firsts Recycling program Bus pass for all fac/staff/students Renewable energy purchase Carbon neutrality pledge Zero waste athletics

CU national sustainability research leader (#1 NSF funded). Overall College Sustainability

Leader

#1

Phases of Sustainability

“Managers can no longer afford to ignore sustainability as a central factor in their companies’ long-term competitiveness… Megatrends require businesses to adapt and innovate or be swept aside.”

“The Sustainability Imperative”

Dave Lubin and Dan Esty

Harvard Business Review (2010)

Phases of Campus Sustainability

Integration

Visionary Leadership

Business Case

Grassroots Advocates

Grassroots champions

advocate for various

sustainability-related services

and policies—and campus leadership

either resists the requests or is only

minimally responsive. In

response, advocates then

organize and launch their own

ad hoc efforts.

Campus leadership accepts some – but not all—aspects of the business case for sustainability. Leadership easily sees the value of efficiency programs that inspire cost savings and improve campus reputation.

Campus leaders—including the highest level

executives—openly promote a

sustainability vision and rally behind it

as a central value of the administration’s goals and strategic

plan. There is full executive

leadership on sustainability, a

keen understanding of its tenets, and a

vision for the future.

Engaged, visionary leadership and an integrated approach enhances educational outcomes by synergizing them with sustainability-related operations, student life, staff, and community engagement activities. Systems-thinking and interdisciplinary cooperation are the central mission of all campus departments. Sustainability operations, curriculum, student activities, and community partnerships are coordinated, coherent, and high quality.

What is sustainability?

The X Factor

What is sustainability? "Sustainability is an economic state where the

demands placed upon the environment by people and commerce can be met without reducing the capacity of the environment to provide for future generations"

-- Paul Hawken, "The Ecology of Commerce", 1993

"Then I say the earth belongs to each . . . generation during its course, fully and in its own right, no generation can contract debts greater than may be paid during the course of its own existence."

-- Thomas Jefferson, September 6, 1789

Three legs of the stool

environment

fiscal social

2.5 legs of the stool?

environment

fiscal social

How to embed the social dimension?

environment

fiscal social

What is STARS?

A voluntary, self-reporting framework A guide for advancing sustainability in all

sectors of higher education. A common standard of measurement for

sustainability in higher education. A tool that promotes a

comprehensive understanding of sustainability that includes its social, economic and environmental dimensions.

Three STARS categories

1) Education & Research– Co-Curricular Education; Curriculum;

Research

2) Operations– Buildings; Climate; Dining Services;

Energy; Grounds; Purchasing; Transportation; Waste; Water

3) Planning, Administration & Engagement– Coordination & Planning; Diversity and

Affordability; Human Resources; Investment; Public Engagement

Summary: The practical definition of campus sustainability is represented in the sum product of STARS categories. STARS represents the scope and breadth of activities, policies, and interests that bound and highlight the systems that integrate and define campus sustainability.

In short: Definition of Campus Sustainability = STARS = X

How Does Sustainability create value?

The Y Factor

How does sustainability add value (create benefits) for a campus?

Is it just: Cost savings from energy

conservation? Green marketing and branding? Student recruitment? Cutting carbon?

Summary of Aramark study Students are aware of sustainability

Over two-thirds (77%) have some awareness

Students “Walk the Walk” with Green Very important among factors for choosing a college.

Students report that their schools are not doing enough Nearly half (45%) of schools have weak movements

toward sustainability 11% of students claim their institution has no action

on sustainability.

Driving factors in college selection

21

Where to focus efforts

22

How does sustainability add value (create benefits) for a campus?1. Efficiency and Innovation

Resource & people productivity and synergies

2. Marketing and Branding Reputation, competitiveness & social license to

operate

3. Full Cost Evaluation Life cycle costing, integrated externalities, total

cost of ownership

4. Inclusion, Transparency & Public Commitment

Stakeholder intel and buy-in, transparency, metrics, courage to commit to tangible goals = credibility & legitimacy, informed decision making, reduced risk

Sustainability’s Value Drivers & Causal MechanismsValue driver Value/benefits Caused By:

Curricular & co-curricular education

Increases campus intellectual/social capital & relevance; Enhances student recruitment, engagement & retention; Enhances faculty recruitment & retention; Service activities improve town/gown relations, enhances student learning;

Marketing & Branding

Green image improves student recruitment Green image enhances community support Green image increases development/fundraising potential Green brand enhances ethical “license to operate” Green brand may improves taxpayer willingness to support public institutions

Efficiency, Cost Control & Full Cost

Evaluation

Resource conservation decreases costs Resource conservation hedges against future cost risks Sustainability commitment improves conservation program’s performance/savings Front line staff engaged, motivated and innovative Reduces spending on materials that generate waste—and costs associated with waste disposal Improves system performance, reduces O&M costs Hedges against downside reputational risks Higher quality capital projects decrease deferred maintenance backlogs Improves recognition of systems-thinking approach ; thus decreasing barriers to action

Strategic Mapping, Planning,

Inclusive Goal Setting, & Public

Commitment

Insures consistency with societal, technological, and resource realities Targets fiscal and human capital to relevant campus activities Engages broad stakeholder support and engagement towards common vision Provides consensus campus execution plan with maximum support Improves campus intelligence; make more informed decisions Inclusion builds trust, legitimacy, and support for the campus among disparate stakeholders Inclusion informs of risks and downsides beforehand; allows hedging Public commitment builds support, confidence in campus leadership Transparent goal setting and monitoring increases trust in campus

Drivers of organizational capacity

Driving sustainable value

Tomorrow

Today

ExternalInternal Sustainable Value

Efficiency & Innovation


Inclusion, Transparency &

Public Commitment

Marketing & Branding

Value Drivers = Y

Campus SUPPORT activities

The Z Factor

Creating More Effective Institutions: How Sustainability Underpins Campus Support Systems in Service of Core Mission and Outcomes

Mission Outcomes

Scholarship & Discovery; Local & Regional Economic Development; Wholly Educated Student; Environmental Stewardship; Community Service & Development

Core Mission

Education, Research & Service

Support Activities

Cost ControlRecruitment,

Retention, Enrollment

Auxillary Services & Revenues

Development and Alumni

Relations

Risk Management & Abatement

Student Support and

Retention

Faculty Support & Retention

Safe & Healthy Campus

Operational Excellence

Leadership and

Professional Development

Community & Stakeholder

Relations

STARS Sustainability

Initiatives

Buildings Waste Climate Diversity & Affordability Transportation

GroundsCoordination &

Planning Energy Purchasing Dining

Water Human Resources Curriculum Co-curricular Public Engagement

Investment Research

Campus Support Activities

Stakeholder Impacts

• Leadership & Professional Development

• Community & Stakeholder Relations

Financial Stability

•Cost Control•Recruitment, Yield, Enrollment•Auxiliary Services & Revenues•Development & Alumni Relations•Risk Management & Abatement

Academics & Learning

• Student Support & Retention

• Faculty Support & Retention

Operational Impacts

• Safe & Healthy Campus

• Operational Excellence

Support Activities = Z

Influence of STARS Sustainability Activities on Core Campus OutcomesCategories rated 0 to 3 0 = no effect 1 = little effect 2 = some effect

3= significant effect

Coloring 0 1 2 3

Financial Stability Academics & Learning Operational Impacts Stakeholder Impacts

STARS Sustainability Categories Cost Control

Recruitment, Retention, Enrollment

Auxiliary Services & Revenues

Development and Alumni

Relations

Risk Management & Abatement

Student Support and

RetentionFaculty Support

& RetentionSafe & Healthy

CampusOperational Excellence

Leadership and Professional

Development

Community & Stakeholder

Relations

Co-curricular 0 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 3

Curriculum 0 3 2 2 0 2 3 1 1 1 2

Research 0 1 1 2 0 1 2 1 2 1 1

Buildings 3 3 3 3 2 3 3 2 3 2 2

Climate 3 2 1 2 3 1 2 2 3 2 3

Dining 0 2 3 2 1 2 2 2 2 1 1

Energy 3 1 1 1 3 1 1 2 3 2 2

Grounds 1 3 1 2 3 2 2 3 3 1 2

Purchasing 3 1 1 1 3 1 1 2 3 2 2

Transportation 3 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 3 2 3

Waste 3 3 2 2 2 2 1 3 3 2 3

Water 3 1 1 1 2 1 1 2 3 2 1

Coordination & Planning 2 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

Diversity & Affordability 1 3 2 2 2 2 2 3 1 3 3

Human Resources 1 1 1 1 3 2 2 3 1 3 3

Investment 1 1 0 2 2 1 1 1 1 3 2

Public Engagement 1 1 0 2 2 2 2 1 1 2 3

Where does sustainability show up?

Auxilla

ry S

ervi

ces & R

even

ues

Educa

tion

& R

esea

rch S

tren

gth

Cost Con

trol

Studen

t Suppor

t an

d Ret

ention

Facu

lty

Support & R

eten

tion

Dev

elop

men

t an

d Alu

mni R

elat

ions

Recru

itm

ent, R

eten

tion

, Enro

llmen

t

Risk

Man

agem

ent & A

batem

ent

Lead

ersh

ip a

nd Pro

fess

ional

Dev

elop

men

t

Safe

& H

ealthy

Campus

Oper

atio

nal E

xcel

lence

Comm

unity

& S

take

holder

Rel

atio

ns0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Value driver gap analysis

Curric

ular

& co-

curricular

edu

catio

n

Efficien

cy &

Cos

t Con

trol

Mar

ketin

g & B

rand

ing

Stra

tegic Map

ping

& P

lann

ing

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Gap Analysis of Sustainability Value Drivers vs Campus Capac-

ity (% of Possible)

total sustainability

X + Y + Z =

+Total

Sustainability

Efficiency, Cost Control and


Curricular and Co-Curricular

Education

Branding & Marketing

Strategic Mapping,

Planning and Public

Commitment

THE SUSTAINABILITY ROADMAPacademicimpressions.com/events/sustainability/

conclusions

Sum Product

Conclusions

Sustainability helps drive campus outcomes across the board Only a few of sustainability’s benefits can

be monetized—but they all add value Identifying those broad pathways brings

new singers to the choir—and helps integrate sustainability principles and practices across all campus communities

Phase 4 campus not possible without sustainability influences and benefits recognized across all support activities.

Conclusions

STARS enables Total Sustainability STARS defines the measurable range of

campus sustainability impacts STARS systematically embeds social

dimension as foundational, not an after thought

A systems integration approach adaptable to whatever implementation stage a campus may be in

Conclusions

The Sustainability Megatrend is here to stay. STARS/Total Sustainability approach

presents higher education with a studied, deliberative planning and execution model and system.

Campuses that embed sustainability into core mission and leadership will flourish, others may not.

“The illiterate of the 21st Century will not be those who cannot read or write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.”

Alvin Toffler


Dave Newport

Director




how sustainability creates value and underpins broad campus outcomes dave newport director...

Documents