Environmental Impact Assessment
3 Characteristics of Outstanding University Sustainable Development Programs:
1. Adopt strategies for systematically addressing the sustainability of the institution. Create environmental policies stating a committment to sustainability goals, and create specific plans explaining how to achieve them.
2. Provide resources needed to implement sustainability plans. Staffing, committee formation, budget allocations and clear administrative support for sustainability initiatives.
3. Know where you've been, where you are now, and where you want to go in terms of sustainability. Measure and track progress towards sustainability, and regularly meet and update goals and targets.
Campus Sustainability Assessment Project
Key Performance Indicators/Benchmarks to Consider:
Indicator |
Metric/Notes |
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Air |
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Campus greenhouse gas emissions |
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Campus ambient air quality |
Number of days/year pollutant standards exceeded (disaggregated by pollutant) |
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Built Environment |
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Green Building Guidelines |
Percent of concepts contained in LEED standards that are incorporated into campus building guidelines/specifications |
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| Existing Green Design in Buidings | Percent of buildings that meet or exceed latest LEED standards (disaggregated by certification level) |
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| Stakeholder involvement in new construction | Percent of university stakeholders who feel their opinions are actively sought and considered for major building, design, and expansion decisions (Leichert survey) | |
| Business and Management | ||
| Environmental Management System (EMS) elements in place | C2E2 EMS self-assessment checklist evaluation score | |
| Safety Management System (SMS) elements in place | ||
| Openness and transparency of decision-making process | Percent of institutional stakeholders who feel that, on major issues affecting stakeholders, every effort is made to reach consensus (Leichert survey) | |
| Socially and environmentally responsible investment | Social and environmental screens in place for all institution investments | |
| Culture and Community | ||
| Campus sustainability literacy | Percent of each stakeholder group (admin., faculty, staff, students) that passes sustainability literacy survey | |
| Local/regional community engagement | ? | |
| Campus safety and security | UMSL Annual Crime Report Statistics | |
| Education | ||
| Sustainability curriculum | Percent of undergraduate and graduate academic programs that have incorporated sustainability concepts into (Some percentage of?) their courses | |
| Undergraduate sustainability literacy/numeracy | Percent of undergraduate students who pass a sustainability literacy/numeracy test (survey) | |
| Auditing Instrument for Sustainability in Higher Education (AISHE) | AISHE evaluation | |
| Sustainable career planning opportunities | Percent of undergraduate students exposed to sustainability related career planning resources (literature, counseling, events) prior to graduation (survey) | |
| Energy | ||
| Campus electricity use | Total kWh/year | |
| Campus heating/cooling energy use | Total GJ/year | |
| Campus renewable energy use | Percent of total campus energy use (disaggregated as above) coming from clean and renewable sources | |
| Food | ||
| Sustainable food procurement | Comprehensive sustainable food purchasing policy affecting all dining hall food purchases | |
| Healthy food options in dining halls | ? | |
| Hazardous Substances | ||
| Hazardous waste generation | Total quantity of hazardous, radioactive, and medical waste generated on campus each year (disaggregated, x/FTE) | |
| Hazardous substance management | Percent of research and instructional laboratories with enforced safe handling, storage, and monitoring/tracking procedures in place | |
| Land | ||
| Sustainable campus planning | UMSL Campus Master Plan | |
| Campus ecological integrity | January 2007 Tree inventory Executive Summary | |
| Campus greenspace | Percent of campus area classified as greenspace | |
| Natural area protection | Percent of undeveloped land owned or stewarded by institution that is protected from development by institutional policy | |
| Purchasing | ||
| Green purchasing | Percent of campus departments that employ sustainability guidelines in all purchasing decisions | |
| Environmental characteristics of paper purchases | Percent of office paper purchased on campus either containing at least 30% post-consumer recycled content, or made from tree-free material | |
| Research | ||
| Institutional commitment to sustainable research | Sustainability criteria used in funding decisions for university-funded research and in screening corporate research | |
| Faculty sustainability research | ? | |
| Solid Waste | ||
| Solid Waste generation | Total undiverted solid waste produced on campus (tons/year) | |
| Solid waste diversion rate | Percent of solid waste generated on campus that is diverted for recycling, reuse, and composting | |
| Transportation | ||
| Car dependence | Percent of FTE students living within a one-mile radius of campus who drive to school regularly | |
| Transportation-related safety | Number of automobile-related pedestrian and bicycle accidents on campus and along campus routes per year | |
| Water | ||
| Campus water use | Total cubic meters/FTE/yr | |
| Wastewater disposal | Percent of water used on campus that receives (equivalent of) tertiary treatment prior to returning to watershed | |
| Storm water runoff management | (groundwater / surface water contamination levels ...) | |
Campus Sustainability Assessment Project Proposed Snapshot Indicators DRAFT December 23, 2003
Related Topics / Additional information
Campus Sustainability Assessment Project
Campus Consortium for Environmental Excellence
University Leaders for a Sustainable Future - ULSF is the Secretariat for signatories of the Talloires (pronounced Tal-Whar) Declaration