Committee Structure

Sustainability Committee Charter
November 28, 2018

Once we start to think about the kind of world we are leaving to future generations, we look at things differently; we realize that the world is a gift which we have freely received and must share with others. – Laudato Si 159

Committee Charge

Explore different options for assessing and reducing the College’s carbon footprint, but also work collaboratively with faculty and staff to educate all campus constituents, including students, about ways to be better environmental stewards and protectors.

Definition

Sustainability principles seeks to understand the future implications of our actions by focusing on the economic, social and environmental impacts of our personal and organizational decisions on the environment and society. Often referred to as the three pillar of sustainability:  economic, environmental, and social, and often informally referred to as profit, planet and people.

Purpose

The Sustainability Committee will consist of administrative, faculty, staff, and student representatives working to make recommendations to the President and College community regarding policies to promote environmental sustainability on campus. Specific responsibilities include:

1. Act as the advisory committee to the President on campus sustainability goals and initiatives.
2. Develop an integrated Campus Sustainability Plan (CSP) that guides the College in an on-going effort to create an institutional culture of sustainability.
3. Create a strategic set of measurable goals, projects and steps to reduce the College’s carbon footprint.
4. Implement sustainability policies that are inclusive of environmental education, facilities operations, management, academics and community outreach.

Focus Areas

The Committee will establish subcommittees as needed to focus efforts in areas of opportunity, which will include but not be limited to:

• Greenhouse gas inventory – benchmark campus greenhouse gases, develop a greenhouse gas emission reduction strategies and time line.
• Energy – evaluate energy conservation, on-site renewable energy, green power purchasing. Conduct energy audits and promote water conservation programs. Evaluate green building design options for renovations and new construction projects.
• Transportation – assess fleet vehicles, investigate alternative fuel vehicles, and evaluate use of public transportation, carpooling, alternative transportation, and bike programs.
• Curriculum and research – investigate how to introduce concepts of sustainability into the curriculum through an interdisciplinary approach. Enhance student research opportunities in environmental sustainability.
• Communication – inform the campus community of the committee’s progress. Establish a mechanism allowing the college community to contribute ideas to the committee. Maintain the sustainability webpage.  Communicate sustainable programs/initiatives in the admissions and orientation process.
• Community Outreach – develop community outreach programs to enhance sustainability in the local communities in Providence.
• Alumni development- utilize the alumni network to support and participate in green initiatives and fundraise for projects.  Identify grant programs for student/ alumni collaborative projects.
• Student initiatives – establish and administer green grant fund for student projects. Evaluate student activity fees for sustainability projects (for example, $5 per semester).  Engage student participation in sustainability projects and programs.
• Purchasing – assess current purchasing policies. Establish green purchasing practices that reduce waste and transportation costs. Purchase recycled/post-consumer goods.
• Food Services – evaluate current food service contract for opportunities to buy local foods and produce. Evaluate the possibility of purchasing post-consumer paper products and the feasibility of composting food waste.  Evaluate recycling practices with in the dining hall facilities.

Background

In April, 2016, Fr. Brian J. Shanley, O.P., President of Providence College, signed the Campus Compact Action Statement, triggering a process whereby the campus would inventory, analyze, and summarize our efforts to achieve the statement’s goals and commitments and identify future actions needed to strengthen these commitments. The Action Statement contains five commitments characterizing our current commitments and name the ideals toward which we will work with renewed dedication, focus, and vigor.

We empower our students, faculty, staff, and community partners to co-create mutually respectful partnerships in pursuit of a just, equitable, and sustainable future for communities beyond the campus—nearby and around the world.

We prepare our students for lives of engaged citizenship, with the motivation and capacity to deliberate, act, and lead in pursuit of the public good.

We embrace our responsibilities as place based institutions, contributing to the health and strength of our communities—economically, socially, environmentally, educationally, and politically.

We harness the capacity of our institutions—through research, teaching, partnerships, and institutional practice—to challenge the prevailing social and economic inequalities that threaten our democratic future.

We foster an environment that consistently affirms the centrality of the public purposes of higher education by setting high expectations for members of the campus community to contribute to their achievement.

As part of the Compact Action Statement, Fr. Shanley and Provost Hugh Lena appointed a campus-wide committee to draft a campus civic action plan. The Civic Action Plan states the actions our campuses will take as we move forward with a renewed sense of urgency, along with the impacts we expect to achieve. In consultation with a number of campus constituents, the following areas were identified as an opportunity for community engagement and civic learning:

• Establish a formal, standing Sustainability Committee for the College, and move toward hiring a full-time Campus Sustainability Coordinator.
• Explore different options for assessing and reducing the College’s carbon footprint, but also work collaboratively with faculty and staff to educate all campus constituents, including students, about ways to be better environmental stewards and protectors.

Sustainability Working Groups

11/28/2018

Suggested Working Groups

Executive

• Coordinate efforts among working groups
• Communicate with President and issue reports
• Consult on sustainability impacts of college contracts

Edward Andrews, Assoc. Professor of History
Maia Bailey, Assoc. Professor of Biology
Andrew Sullivan, Exc. Director of Physical Plant
Gale Gennaro, Director of Environmental Health and Safety

Academics

• Work to make climate change and environmental sustainability an integral part of the curriculum and educational experience for all students.
• Promote student interdisciplinary environmental research on campus.
• Develop interdisciplinary and cross-college courses and seminar series for the PC Community.
• Develop community outreach programs to enhance sustainability in the local communities in Providence

Maia Bailey, Assoc. Professor of Biology
Quincy Bevely, Asst. Vice President of Institutional Diversity
Lin Zhang, Assoc. Professor of Education
Charles Haberle, Asst. Vice President of Academic Affairs
Matthew Skerkowski, ‘20

Communications & Marketing

• Work to communicate PC’s efforts in promoting sustainability both on- and off-campus.
• Inform the campus community of the committee’s progress, set up a mechanism that allows the college community to contribute their ideas to the committee.
• Maintain the sustainability webpage.
• Communicate sustainable programs/initiatives in the admissions and orientation process.
• Work with Institutional Advancement to identify potential donors with interest in the environment.
• Work towards establishing a “Green Alumni” group. Plan green alumni event during Alumni weekend.

Edward Andrews, Assoc. Professor of History
Mary Cairns, Assistant Director Alumni Relations
Madeline Parmenter, Director of Media Relations
Barbara Lacombe Muriel, Sr. Executive Assistant in Finance and Business
Joe Carr, Associate Vice President of Marketing and Communications
Liz Kay, Associate Director of Editorial Services in Marketing and Communications
Owen Bligh, Associate Dean of Admissions
Sarah Alhouti, Assistant Professor of Marketing

Operations and Energy Use

• Establish a greenhouse gas reduction strategy. Set achievable goals and timeline.
• Promote energy and water use reduction through conservation.
• Explore purchasing of renewable energy.
• Explore energy efficiency incentives offered by National Grid.
• Transportation: evaluate options for alternative fueled vehicles, more use of public transportation, carpooling and other alternative transportation options.
• Explore Electric Vehicle Charging stations for campus.

Andrew Sullivan, Exc. Director of Physical Plant
Gale Gennaro, Director of Environmental Health and Safety
Gene Robbins, Exc. Director of Business Services
Charles Haberle, Asst. Vice President of Academic Affairs

Waste Minimization & Recycling

• Identify all areas on campus that generate solid waste, categorize the various types of waste, and track the volume of this waste year to year.
• Make recommendations and suggestions to reduce, divert, or eliminate solid waste on campus.
• Implement and coordinate adopted sustainability practices and processes associated with waste minimization and recycling.
• Work with the EcoReps and student environmental groups to educate the campus on ways to minimize waste and ways to recycle.
• Benchmark and set targets on minimizing waste and recycling.
• Evaluate the UG2 cleaning products for opportunities to use green cleaning products.

Thomas Schenck, Project Manager in Facility Planning and Safety
Eddy Costa, UG2
Madeline Stephen, ’21, Eco Rep
Payton Morse, ’20, EcoRep

Food Services & Purchasing

• Investigate options for green purchasing practices that reduce waste and transportation miles. Evaluate green purchasing program at other colleges to see if it may be feasible to implement them at PC.
• Evaluate current food service contract for opportunities to buy local foods and locally grown produce. Evaluate the possibility of purchasing post-consumer paper products and the feasibility of composting food waste.
• Assist with consumer-driven efforts to reduce carbon footprint of food services as possible

Eli Estevez, Dining Services Supervisor at Sodexo
Gene Robbins, Exc. Director of Business Services

Student Life & Student Driven Initiatives

• Investigate through student council, a student activity fee to help fund sustainability projects. For example a $ 5 per student/semester fee.  This seed money would fund student driven sustainability projects and programs.
• Coordinate with the EcoReps to assist in resident hall sustainability events and programing throughout the year.
• Develop further the EcoRep programming for freshmen orientation.

Rob Pfunder, Associate Vice President of Mission & Ministry
Jana Valentine, Director of Residence Life
Payton Morse, ’20, EcoRep
Madeline Stephen, ’21,EcoRep
Matthew Skerkowski, ‘20