SSCC 2008 Live: Vision Planning for Campus Sustainability
Dedee DeLongpre-Johnston, University of Florida Office of Sustainability
The University of Florida Office of Sustainability used the Puget Sound Campus Sustainability Project model to "envision success" and "empower action." At the time, UF had taken care of all of the "low hanging fruit" initiatives, and didn't know what the next step would be. This allowed them to see what sustainability initiatives were already in place and what was still left to be accomplished.
*Puget Sound Campus Sustainability Project
This project seeks to transform curriculum and operations at universities in the Puget Sound through a model of institutional collaboration that can be replicated in other regions. Activities include multi-sector workshops, forums for high-level administrators and business leaders, and assistance in implementing initiatives such as a region-wide system for campus sustainability assessment. The project is generously funded by The Russell Family Foundation. http://www.aashe.org/about/programs.php
Visioning strategy:
*Identify the most and least sustainable aspects of institution
*Identify strategies already employed at the institution
*Dream BIG
-Generate "big ideas"
-Develop visions of institution as a model for sustainability
*Identify tactical issues for key vision statements
-Back casting to develop strategic implementation plan
Another tool: Back-casting (instead of forecasting): what would we need to put in place to get there? What are the strategic pieces that are missing?
Through a series of 14 facilitated discussions on the following topics, UF was able to gain a university-wide perspective about integrating sustainability into the campus community. During each session, the participants used the visioning strategy (above) to ensure that nothing was left out. ( I have taken this opportunity to link the corresponding AASHE Resources for your convenience. Most of them require you to be an AASHE member to access.)
Institutional Commitment
Academics
Buildings
Campus Culture
Community Service & Civic Engagement
Dining Services
Diversity and Social Justice
Employee Wellbeing
Energy and Climate Change
Grounds
Investment (UF chose to leave this one out)
Purchasing
Transportation
Waste
Water
Next, UF compared their results with the AASHE STARS indicators to see if they needed to add anything that fits directly with their campus.
So, for those of you who have started the greening process, but don't know where to go from here....here's your way forward!
