ISF Supports State and National Connections on Campus Sustainability

Campus sustainability persists as a key topic that engages students, faculty, researchers, and numerous operational staff on college campuses today. Initiatives to improve campus carbon footprints, increase environmental awareness, and even reduce key operating costs are all motivations for developing strategies, master plans and sustainability initiatives. With the goal of sharing best practices and innovations, on March 18th, Purdue University’s Institute for a Sustainable Future hosted a “University Sustainability Networking Workshop” at the Burton Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship. The event brought together in person faculty, staff and students from several campuses of Purdue and Indiana University as well as University of Notre Dame, Butler University, and Hanover College.

The event kicked off with a keynote presentation by Dr. Julie Newman, Director of Sustainability and lecturer with the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, titled “Leverage the campus as a test bed for sustainability: Catalyze innovation, imagination, and impact.” Dr. Newman shared the goals MIT is working towards in planning for zero emissions by 2050 through a climate action plan and highlighted the role of collaborative climate leadership in this process. Speaking about this collaboration, she stated: “To me the future of climate and sustainability leadership within higher education at MIT must transcend traditional boundaries, and we must drive towards innovation, collaboration, and unwavering commitment to address these urban global challenges created by climate change.” And, as she further noted, it is not a challenge for just one campus organization or group of staff. But rather, “It involves a shift in organizational culture, values, and practices to align with the urgent need for climate action, environmental stewardship, and a future oriented organization not only adapts to the challenges posed by climate change but actively contributes to shaping a more sustainable and resilient world.”

To provide insight into how Indiana institutions of higher education are heading this call,  university faculty and staff shared sustainability success stories and innovations from their respective institutions. From Notre Dame, Dr. Phil Sakimoto, Director of the Minor in Sustainability at the University of Notre Dame, described their curricular program that enrolls approximately 30 students per year and which involves a senior capstone research project. Also from Notre Dame, Geory Kurtzhals, the Senior Director of the Notre Dame Sustainability Team, discussed key actions Notre Dame has taken towards decarbonization, highlighting capital projects such as the university’s geothermal, heat recovery steam generation, hydropower, and solar capabilities. On a more philosophical level, both Sakimoto and Kurtzhals reflected on how Pope Francis’s encyclical on the environment, Laudato Si’, was a guiding force behind the university’s focus on sustainability for capital projects, operations, and student learning.

From Purdue, Dr. Lynne Dahmen, Senior Managing Director of ISF, discussed how the research institute operates in collaboration with campus partners such as physical facilities to report on Purdue’s overall sustainability advancements in reports such as the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS), one of the most widely used evaluation systems for sustainability in institutions of higher education. She highlighted current activities such as advancing sustainability research, co-hosting campus-wide events on sustainability, and new and upcoming initiatives such as opportunities to develop aspects of campus as living labs, developing an assessment on campus sustainability, and advancing sustainability in research labs. Also from Purdue, Camille Shoaf, Senior Campus Planner, shared the story of Purdue’s investments in the campus-wide bicycle and transportation infrastructure, which achieved the League of American Bicyclists Gold Level Bicycle Friendly University status in 2019. The bicycle network is now 14.13 miles and includes improved signage and buffer zones between pedestrian and cyclist paths to promote safety.

IU also weighed in with a discussion of improving research sustainability through the implementation of “green practices.” Amanda Keene, Sustainability Manager at Indiana University presented an overview of the recent My Green Lab endeavor to increase sustainability within the IU School of Medicine Center for Musculoskeletal Health. IU is currently exploring the development of an internal sustainable labs program based on these practices. Later in the day, IU Associate Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer Jessica Davis, who is in charge of synthesizing sustainability efforts across IU campuses, provided insight into the challenges and opportunities of not only overseeing a campus climate action plan at her home-base in Bloomington, but also advancing sustainability with consideration to the unique situations that exist on the other IU campuses around the state.

Also represented in the morning talks was Dr. Julia Angstmann, Director of the Center for Urban Ecology at Butler University, who focused on presenting the “rewilding” efforts on Butler’s campus. She shared how the campus grounds team helped to identify and implement areas for no-mow zones and intentional plantings which has led to about 3 ¾ acres of campus land that is rewilded. Butler has set a goal to convert a minimum of 23 acres to local flora or no/low-mow zones over the next 10 years.

The final public session of the day was a hybrid webinar facilitated by Dr. Chad Laux, Associate Professor, Purdue Polytechnic, and included five panelists: Dr. John Petersen (Paul Sears Distinguished Professor of Environmental Studies and Biology), Steve Mital (Director of the Office of Sustainability, University of Oregon), Jessica Davis (Associate Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer, Indiana University), Kerry Case (Chief Sustainability Officer, University of Utah), and David Havelick (Associate Director of the Office of Sustainability, Harvard University). The panel focused on the use of data for supporting and sharing sustainability goals, and included resources from each of the institutions on their environmental dashboards and how this information is shared publicly to encourage sustainable behaviors.

Over lunches, coffee breaks and break-out sessions at the end of the day, over 60 in person participants advanced the conversation about campus sustainability in general as well as in Indiana specifically. When asked if the workshop met its goals, Lynne Dahmen of ISF commented, “It was great to see folks from across the state in person and to kick off a more long-term relationship that involves not only professional staff but also with faculty, students and researchers. Great things are happening across the state and we at ISF are excited to advance these partnerships.”

In the months ahead, the ISF will be working on an analysis of sustainability at Purdue based on past and future assessments as well as providing a road map for advancing campus sustainability across campus as a whole.