Location: Facilities Conference Room

Time: 11:00 am

Present Kim Smith, Martha Larson, Matt Whited, Zander Deetz, Jackson Van Fleet

Absent MacKenzie Persen, Greta Simons, Steve Spehn

Secretary: Alex Lai

I. Carleton Strategic Plan & Campus Sustainability

The committee discussed feedback to be given on sustainability aspects of the Strategic Plan. As written, the plan mentioned sustainability in a general sense, referencing Carleton’s stewardship duties and the Climate Action Plan, but did not include any specific initiatives. Campus sustainability development could include class curricula, academic and cocurricular opportunities, and the Facilities master plan and investments, although KS noted that the Strategic Plan will likely be more concerned with development and facilities projects than academic goals. The committee noted that because the plan has already been written for the most part, feedback for how to further integrate sustainability would be most effective with regard to the implementation of the plan; this could include ways in which the sustainability office could get involved with fundraising, putting together a specific yearlong timeline for the Facilities Master Plan, and explicitly defining the role of the EAC in defining sustainability project stakeholders and their responsibilities.

     II. Winter Term Look-Ahead

The committee discussed three major projects anticipated for the upcoming term: campus energy-saving competition Green Wars, Carleton’s GHG emissions data, and ideas for High Performance/Sustainable Building standard to be implemented at Carleton.

The committee reviewed the history of Green Wars, which is an energy-saving competition between residence halls that takes place in February; the EAC typically awards $250 in funding for prizes and activities organized by Sustainability Assistants, with other funding coming from the President’s office. STA Carin Postal ‘13 will be this year’s point person for Green Wars, and ML suggested that Green Wars should advertise more this year, and could potentially expand to include offices but not off-campus housing. SS noted that if offices participated, findings from the competition could provide valuable information about further opportunities for behavior change. The committee noted that with the new reporting system, energy use data could be automatically uploaded to the Sustainability website and updated daily, and potentially could include temporary waste stream measurements.

In Carleton’s GHG emissions report, commuter emissions are unusually high (compared to an estimate based on ZIP code); however, Carleton has not yet done a commuter survey. The committee discussed whether students should be included in the survey (if so, only in terms of local travel done while at Carleton, not distance from their permanent residences in accordance with peer schools) and whether 100% participation would be required. Suggestions included obtaining and utilizing support from the administration to underscore the survey’s importance when presenting it to faculty and staff, and collaborating with Cherry Danielson (Associate Director of Institutional Research and Assessment), who has expressed willingness to work on the survey. Susie Nakasian of the Northfield Grassroots Transit Initiative has previously expressed interest in gauging interest and awareness in vanpool and other options, and the committee suggested that this should be addressed through comments or optional questions, but that the survey should focus on obtaining data on current commuting practices.

The committee discussed Carleton’s goals for implementing sustainable building standards on campus in the future. Currently, Carleton has three LEED-certified buildings: the Weitz Center for Creativity, Cassat Hall, and James (Memorial) Hall. The committee discussed the value of LEED at Carleton, noting that while its name recognition and established requirements are a useful starting point, Carleton might want to build on LEED standard with its own set, which would be customized for Carleton’s campus, and more dynamic. The committee noted that it will be important to try to integrate any building standards used at the beginning of the planning process, and that a potential building donation that could be used to help develop and implement these standards would be an environmental education center, similar to the Aldo Leopold Center in Baraboo, WI.

     III. Meeting Adjourned