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What is Sustainability?

Loosely defined, sustainability means "meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."  The term was born out of the United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development in 1983, to promote the concept of adopting long-term economic and environmental practices that would not continue to damage natural and social functions.  The principles of sustainability can be summarized briefly as:

• Dealing transparently and systemically with risk, uncertainty and irreversibility

• Ensuring appropriate valuation, appreciation and restoration of nature

• Integration of environmental, social, human and economic goals in policies and activities

• Equal opportunity and community participation/Sustainable community

• Conservation of biodiversity and ecological integrity

• Ensuring inter-generational equity

• Recognizing the global integration of localities

• A commitment to best practice

• No net loss of human capital or natural capital

• The principle of continuous improvement

• The need for good governance¹.

Options for Sustainability on Campus

A leading organization promoting sustainable universities is the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education.  Over 325 four-year institutions belong to the organization, along with almost 100 two-year schools.  The concepts of sustainability are catching on among school administrators, as students identify environmental reputation in their list of criteria for selecting a school.  The Society for College and University Planning now sponsors an annual Campus Sustainability Day to promote activities, ideas, and knowledge across the campus and local community.

The California State University System has been very progressive in developing sustainable policies.  There initiatives address several areas of institutional concern:

• Curriculum

• Ecosystem/Landscape

• Energy Efficiency Energy Conservation

• Food

• Green Buildings

• Long-Range Planning

• Purchasing

• Recycling and Waste Management

• Renewable Energy (Solar, etc.)

• Transportation

• Water

These web links provide some excellent examples of sustainability programs in place in American universities:

• AASHE Campus Sustainability Profiles

• Eastern Connecticut State University Institute for Sustainable Energy

• Environmental Sustainability at Duke

• Harvard Green Campus Initiative

• Sierra Magazine Top 10 Cool Schools

• University of British Columbia Sustainability Office

• University of Colorado Environment Center Blueprint for a Green Campus

• University of Florida Office of Sustainability

• Worldwatch Institute Campus Greening Profiles

GCSU Green Initiative

The GCSU Green Initiative began as an ad hoc committee appointed by President Dorothy Leland in March 2006.  That committee, the Campus Energy Use & Conservation Task Force was charged with increasing energy awareness and engaging the GCSU community in actions that can decrease our energy use and improve our operating efficiency.

One primary interest the task force had was to help educate the campus to improve energy efficiency through voluntary cooperation. Specifically, the goals of the committee were to:

• Create opportunities for everyone on campus to understand the concepts of energy production;

• Conduct an Energy Audit to find out where our energy dollars are going, and publicize the sources and quantities of energy consumption for our campus;

• Educate our community on the amount of energy consumed by our campus and its members on a daily, monthly, and annual basis;

• Link the Parking Program with campus gasoline usage, including staff, faculty, and student drivers;

• Link Health Issues with energy use, for example encouraging alternative transportation like walking or biking;

• Promote efficient use of materials by Pre-Cycling, and thinking about sustainability during the purchase or bidding process;

• Explore resources and grants for creating a Sustainable Campus;

• Push responsibility to a personal level by generating an understanding of the economic and environmental costs of energy use and consumption; and

• Produce a measurable reduction in wasteful energy practices by encouraging the campus community to act on their knowledge by taking tangible steps to improve energy efficiency.

The Energy Use & Conservation Task Force was merged into the GCSU Green Initiative in November 2007, as an effort to create a more comprehensive sustainable campus movement. While energy issues remain at the forefront of the Green Initiative focus, the current committee is also concerned with a wide variety of sustainability tasks.

Sustainability Web Links