CAMPUS SUSTAINABILITY WORKING GROUP (SWG)

At Purdue, ISF organized an initial Sustainability Working Group (SWG) in spring 2024. This group included interested staff and faculty who worked to ensure the success of the first “State-wide Campus Sustainability Networking Workshop” supported by ISF. This event brought together faculty and professional staff from multiple universities across the state (and, virtually, across the US) to discuss current challenges and opportunities in campus sustainability. Subsequently, under the coordination of ISF, a proposal to conduct a year-long campus sustainability self-study was drafted, submitted and approved by individuals representing the Offices of Research (OOR), the Provost, and Administrative Operations (AO). Following this approval, ISF formalized the SWG for the self-study project; it comprises representatives from all three organizations as well as representatives from various faculty, student, and staff groups. This core working group meets every month while sub-groups working on topics such as student, faculty and staff surveys and sustainability education meet separately. Together, the group helps support the full-time work of an ISF research scientist, Dr. Valentina Negri, working full time on the CaSS. The work is overseen by ISF’s Senior Managing Director, Dr. Lynne Dahmen, as well as Mr. Anthony Gillund, Director of Sustainability for AO. The work on the SPA, also under the supervision of Lynne Dahmen, was conducted by part-time doctoral researcher Kayla Gurganus.

In undertaking the work, our team has observed persistent themes that we would summarize as being critical to supporting participation and engagement by the entire campus community in making Purdue’s campus healthier, resilient and more sustainable. We can see this as the implementation of a vision that involves “4 C’s” that can happen on individual, departmental and unit levels: “Commit, Collaborate, Communicate and Calculate.”

Sustainability, in this vision, is not the responsibility of one unit, nor is it marked by the achievement of one target. Rather, anyone can commit to improving campus sustainability. Greater success can be reached by collaborating with others. Communicating efforts and opportunities can move us forward. And to demonstrate our progress, we must calculate using agreed upon standards such as those promoted through AASHE’s STARS.  By supporting efforts large and small, every single member of the Purdue community can move us forward.

STARS (Sustainability Tracking Assessment and Rating System) is a standardized “self-reporting framework for colleges and universities to measure their sustainability performance” and assigns rankings (Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum) to participating institutions.

STARS 3.0 is the most recent version (2024), which includes the following key categories:

• Academics
• Planning and Administration
• Engagement
• Operations
• Innovation and Leadership

To understand campus strengths and weaknesses, in the summer-fall of 2024 ISF conducted the first Purdue Sustainability Performance Analysis (SPA) that analyzed past STARS reports and compared findings and rankings to those of other Big 10 universities. In thoroughly reviewing Purdue’s sustainability activities and individual credit requirements in STARS, the assessment lays the groundwork for advancing sustainability efforts at Purdue and simultaneously improving its ranking in STARS. A summary of the recommendations appearing in this report are provided in its executive summary. The conversations and connections made through the research and writing of this report have led to critical discussions advanced through the CaSS research and have led to efforts to develop two short publication:

• Purdue Guide for Sustainable Living: Designed for students living on and off campus, the guide will provide information about campus programs and policies regarding topics such as recycling, energy conservation and food diversion. Expected: April, 2025.
• “Going for Gold”: Designed to highlight short-term and low-cost strategies Boilermakers can undertake to make a difference and help Purdue improve its sustainability ranking in STARS. Expected: April, 2025.

The Purdue Campus Self-Study (CASS)

The goal of the CaSS is to pursue six objectives and draft a five-year sustainability roadmap that will highlight opportunities to engage faculty, students, and staff, improve sustainability initiatives on campus, and outline ways to increase university rankings in STARS and other sustainability ranking programs. This self-study will identify areas for potential advancement that can contribute to a healthier, more resilient campus and community that builds on Purdue’s legacy of sustainability and climate innovation while responding to growing opportunities to enrich initiatives in sustainable education.

The project aligns with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), central to ISF’s mission and the AASHE STARS framework, and utilizes a broad definition of sustainability that includes environmental, social, and economic dimensions. The initiative uses a data-driven approach to address sustainability challenges and involves campus-wide participation by involving faculty, staff and students in multiple aspects of the project. Objectives include conducting a campus-wide survey, researching sustainability-related courses and initiatives, developing a five-year sustainability roadmap, creating a data management strategy across various offices, and raising awareness of Purdue’s sustainability achievements by providing public access to the findings.

(Research Participant Information Sheet) 

The objectives being pursued in the CaSS include:

Objective 1: Establish a core Sustainability Working Group (SWG) of about 5-7 individuals representing key campus groups. (completed, fall 2024)

Objective 2: Establish viable protocols for monitoring, collecting and analyzing data related to specific areas and goals as outlined in AASHE STARS 3.0 (ongoing)

Objective 2.1: While documenting protocols for tracking academic offerings in sustainability, establish goals for expanding educational opportunities and offerings. (ongoing)

Objective 3: Conduct a baseline, first of its kind at Purdue, sustainability literacy and culture (SLAC) assessment for students, faculty, and staff on campus. (Spring 2024)

Objective 4: Promote awareness of efforts and opportunities relating to campus sustainability to the Purdue population. (On-going).

Objective 5: Establish the business case for various sustainability efforts by researching funding opportunities and conducting cost-benefit analyses of recommendations.

Objective 6: Draft a five-year sustainability roadmap with recommended milestones for improving campus sustainability and resilience on campus.

• Full details can be viewed on this report

Institute for a Sustainable Future (ISF)

Valentina Negri, Research Scientist, ISF - vnegri@purdue.edu

Lynne Dahmen, Senior Managing Director, ISF  - ldahmen@purdue.edu

Kayla Gurganus, Graduate Research Assistant, ISF - kgurganu@purdue.edu

Adminitrative Operations (AO)

Anthony Gillund, Director of Sustainabilty, AO - agillund@purdue.edu

Patrick T. Brown, Sustainability Manager, AO - brown471@purdue.edu

Faculty

Michael Johnston, Professor, English - mjohnst@purdue.edu 

Lindsey Payne, Asst. Professor of Practice, EEE - paynel@purdue.edu

Jonathon G. Day, Assoc. Professor, HTM - gjday@purdue.edu

Additional Researchers and Students

Kuang Xin, PhD candidate, Energy Development and Sustainability - kxin@purdue.edu

Amanda Taylor, Statistics - taylo374@purdue.edu 

Marley White, undergraduate student, Science - white860@purdue.edu

Sophia Maria D'Isabella, undergraduate student, Pharmacy - sdisabel@purdue.edu

Olivia Williams, undergraduate student, Agricultural Economics - will3001@purdue.edu