Sustainability Council welcomes new members, refines priorities and plans campus listening session
°Õ³ó±ðÌýCampus Sustainability Council convened on Sept. 12 to discuss the following topics:
Council membership updates
Four new members joined: Kaila Red Bow (student), Martin Kelley (staff), Kathryn Wendell (staff) and Sara Tabatabaie (faculty). Associate Vice ³Ô¹ÏÍø for Sustainability Cara Carmichael is now an ex officio member.
Campus sustainability updates
Council Co-chair Chris Ewing and other members of the council provided updates on the following initiatives:
- Leadership and governance: New vice chancellor for sustainability (Andrew Mayock); associate vice chancellor (Cara Carmichael); director for campus climate action,Ìýsustainability and resilience (Josh Radoff); and faculty executive director of the Buckley Center for Sustainability Education (Max Boykoff)
- Climate and energy:ÌýDecarbonization plan design underway;Ìýefficiency upgrades in 18 buildings; new solar arrays (on site ²¹²Ô»åÌýoff site);Ìýgeothermal studies;ÌýENVD retrofit pilot
- Zero waste and materials:ÌýPepsiCo contract eliminating single-use bottles; campus waste study; reusable serviceware pilot;Ìý
- Food and dining:ÌýCU ranked No. 1 nationally for plant-based dining, expanding offerings
- Mobility: Buff Bus fleet expansion with new electric buses; free BCycle memberships for students and employees
- Education and innovation:Ìý$10M Buckley Center for Sustainability Education;ÌýBoulder Climate Ventures program supporting student climate startups
- Engagement and collaboration: Boulder Faculty Assembly partnership to engage academic units into strategies for reducing Scope 3 emissions in alignment of the Climate Action Plan goals
Council structure and process feedback
- The council continues as an advisory body to the chancellor, cabinet and senior sustainability leadership, integrating sustainability across academic, operational, research and community activities.
- Members discussed the need for clearer communication on proposal review and tracking, more structured outreach and defined success metrics.
- Opportunities for improvement include a formal proposal process, enhanced engagement and outreach and better integration with campus frameworks like STARS.
Council priorities for 2025–26
- Five focus areas identified in spring 2025: zero waste and plastics, transportation, food, composting and Scope 3 emissions.
- The council will reassess these priorities to ensure alignment with campus needs, member expertise and actionable outcomes. Final priorities may be confirmed by December.
- Measurable engagement is seen as a key success metric.
Fall 2025 listening session
- Planned for November, this public forum will gather input from the campus community.
- The session will focus on council priority themes, campuswide sustainability updates and open discussion.
- Council members will be polled for the best date and time.
Next steps and upcoming meetings
- Refine the council proposal template to emphasize problem definition, evidence, alignment and sponsorship.
- Develop review deadlines and a tracking system for proposals including a regular annual cadence for submissions.
- Identify key performance indicators for engagement and clarify student/outside entity involvement.
- Upcoming meetings: Oct. 10, Nov. 14 (including the listening session) and Dec. 12.
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