Moving Towards Zero

The afternoon panel discussion, "Moving towards Zero: Benchmarking, Dashboards and Sustainability," features sustainability professionals from Harvard University, Oberlin College, University of Utah, Indiana University and the University of Oregon. 

In this moderated panel, the members will provide a brief introduction of their institutation's approach to climate action, tracking and benchmarking accomplishments/progress in terms of campus sustainability and will participate in a larger discussion and will entertain questions from the audience. All but one of the panelists will be presenting remotely. We encourage attendees to review the provided links.

Participants include:

Facilitator: Chad Laux, Associate Professor, Purdue Polytechnic, co-lead ISF Sustainable Communities Research group

Dr. Chad Laux is an Associate Professor, Certified Six Sigma BlackBelt, and award winning author in the Department of Computer and Information Technology at Purdue University. Dr. Laux teaches and conducts research, and is an internationally recognized expert and leader in Lean and Six Sigma Systems. He is the Graduate Education Chair for Computer & Information Technology, Co-Lead of Purdue University’s Sustainable Communities group. He serves as Associate Editor of the International Journal of Lean Six Sigma, serves as Education Chair for the American Society for Quality, has over 200 published works and chaired or served on over 100 graduate students.

Panelists:
Kerry Case, Chief Sustainability Officer, University of Utah

Kerry Case serves as the University of Utah’s Chief Sustainability Officer.  In this role, she provides executive leadership for planning and implementation of institutional sustainability education and engagement efforts. She oversees the Sustainability Office and its work to incorporate sustainability into the academic curriculum and expand learning opportunities for students and employees. Kerry has been working to improve sustainability in Utah’s higher education institutions for over 20 years. Visit the sustainability dashboard at University of Utah!

Jessica Davis, Associate Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer, Indiana University

 Jessica was appointed Associate Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer in September 2023 to lead IU’s Climate Action Plan.  She is also Associate Faculty in the O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs.  Jessica previously served as Director of IUPUI Sustainability (June 2015-August 2023) and Interim University Director of Sustainability of Indiana University (August 2022-August 2023). Learn more about IU's Climate Action Plan and their dashboards!

David Havelick, Associate Director, Office of Sustainability, Harvard University

David joined the Office for Sustainability in June 2016 after 10 years of working at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in the Department of Epidemiology, where he also co-led the EcoOpportunity Green Team and led the Harvard Longwood Bicyclists. In the Office for Sustainability, David helps to develop and advance the University-wide goals, standards, and commitments that are contained in the Harvard University Sustainability Plan. Learn more about Harvard's Sustainability Action Plan; Annual Sustainability Report; Data Hub

Steve Mital, Director, Office of Sustainability, University of Oregon

Steve Mital is the founding director of the University of Oregon’s Sustainability Office. He was part of the three-person team that developed the Oregon Model for Sustainable Development, a landmark campus energy policy that required all new buildings to harvest 100% of their energy needs from existing building stock. He also led the initiative to create the Oregon Leadership in Sustainability graduate certificate program that launched in 2011.  Learn more about Oregon's Sustainability Dashboard; Climate Action Plan.

John Petersen, Associate Prof. of Environmental Studies & Biology, Director, Environmental Studies Program, Oberlin College

John Petersen studies flows of energy, cycles of matter, and control mechanisms operating in complex systems. At Oberlin, much of his research has focused on understanding the role that communication and feedback control play in both ecological and social systems. From a practical perspective, his group of faculty and student collaborators have been developing real-time feedback display technology for buildings, organizations, and whole cities with the goal of engaging, educating, motivating and empowering resource conservation and pro-environmental and pro-community thought and action. Learn about Oberlin's school and community dashboard and their policies and commitments towards campus sustainability!

Files

• Panel Discussion.pdf