Climate Action Plan Summary Table
| Category | Strategy | Action Step | Action Steps Description | Timeline | Responsible Parties |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buildings and Energy | 1. Reduce energy use in buildings by implementing GESC measures | 1.1 | Replace existing T8 fluorescent light bulbs with LEDs. | Summer and Fall 2015 | Ron Fields, Assistant Vice-‐President for Facilities Management |
| Buildings and Energy | 1. Reduce energy use in buildings by implementing GESC measures | 1.2 | Reduce air infiltration through building envelopes. | Summer and Fall 2015 | Ron Fields, Assistant Vice-‐President for Facilities Management |
| Buildings and Energy | 1. Reduce energy use in buildings by implementing GESC measures | 1.3 | Install destratification fans | Summer and Fall 2015 | Ron Fields, Assistant Vice-‐President for Facilities Management |
| Buildings and Energy | 1. Reduce energy use in buildings by implementing GESC measures | 1.4 | Optimize building automation controls | Summer and Fall 2015 | Ron Fields, Assistant Vice-‐President for Facilities Management |
| Buildings and Energy | 1. Reduce energy use in buildings by implementing GESC measures | 1.5 | Renovate boilers and the central heating plant | Summer and Fall 2015 | Ron Fields, Assistant Vice-‐President for Facilities Management |
| Buildings and Energy | 1. Reduce energy use in buildings by implementing GESC measures | 1.6 | Replace bad steam traps | Summer and Fall 2015 | Ron Fields, Assistant Vice-‐President for Facilities Management |
| Buildings and Energy | 1. Reduce energy use in buildings by implementing GESC measures | 1.7 | Renovate fume hoods and kitchen hoods | Summer and Fall 2015 | Ron Fields, Assistant Vice-‐President for Facilities Management |
| Buildings and Energy | 2. Set high energy standards for new buildings and retrofitting projects for existing buildings | 2.1 | Follow Minnesota B3 guidelines | Ongoing | Ron Fields, Assistant Vice-‐President for Facilities Management Paul Corcoran, Planning & Construction Director Richard Wheeler, Assistant Director of Residential Life for Environment |
| Buildings and Energy | 2. Set high energy standards for new buildings and retrofitting projects for existing buildings | 2.2 | Use “passive” methods | Ongoing | Ron Fields, Assistant Vice-‐President for Facilities Management Paul Corcoran, Planning & Construction Director Richard Wheeler, Assistant Director of Residential Life for Environment |
| Buildings and Energy | 2. Set high energy standards for new buildings and retrofitting projects for existing buildings | 2.3 | Use life-‐cycle costing or return-‐on-‐investment | Ongoing | Ron Fields, Assistant Vice-‐President for Facilities Management Paul Corcoran, Planning & Construction Director Richard Wheeler, Assistant Director of Residential Life for Environment |
| Buildings and Energy | 2. Set high energy standards for new buildings and retrofitting projects for existing buildings | 2.4 | Evaluate new building products and techniques | Ongoing | Ron Fields, Assistant Vice-‐President for Facilities Management Paul Corcoran, Planning & Construction Director Richard Wheeler, Assistant Director of Residential Life for Environment |
| Buildings and Energy | 3. Consolidate classes and events at off-‐hours (nights, weekends, summer) to be able to shut down buildings. | 3.1 | Organize and hold discussions among all stakeholders | 2015-‐2016 Academic Year | Ron Fields, Assistant Vice-‐President for Facilities Management |
| Buildings and Energy | 3. Consolidate classes and events at off-‐hours (nights, weekends, summer) to be able to shut down buildings. | 3.2 | Obtain campus-‐wide approval and implement recommendations | After 2015-‐2016 Academic Year |
Ron Fields, Assistant Vice-‐President for Facilities Management |
| Buildings and Energy | 4. Produce renewable energy on campus | 4.1 | Consider options for the production of renewable energy | 2015-‐2016 Academic Year | Ron Fields, Assistant Vice-‐President for Facilities Management Paul Corcoran, Planning & Construction Director |
| Transportation | 5. Improve alternative transportation infrastructure | 5.1 | Maintain an adequate number of bike racks | Ongoing | David Cowan, Director of Facilities Services |
| Transportation | 5. Improve alternative transportation infrastructure | 5.2 | Maintain the existing bus shelters | Ongoing | David Cowan, Director of Facilities Services |
| Transportation | 5. Improve alternative transportation infrastructure | 5.3 | Evaluate the success of the Zip-‐Car car share program | 2015-‐2016 Academic Year | MSSA President, or delegate |
| Transportation | 5. Improve alternative transportation infrastructure | 5.4 | Reevaluate the need for electric vehicle charging stations | Ongoing | Ron Fields, Assistant Vice-‐President for Facilities Management |
| Transportation | 6. Provide incentives for alternative transportation | 6.1 | Designate preferred parking or reduced pricing for carpools | 2015-‐2016 Academic Year | David Cowan, Director of Facilities Services |
| Transportation | 6. Provide incentives for alternative transportation | 6.2 | Assess the cost of parking permits in campus parking lots | Ongoing | David Cowan, Director of Facilities Services |
| Transportation | 6. Provide incentives for alternative transportation | 6.3 | Encourage carpooling to/from major cities to campus | 2015-‐2016 Academic Year | Environmental Committee Office of New Student and Family Programs MSSA |
| Transportation | 7. Make fleet vehicles more efficient | 7.1 | Continue policy of considering mileage standards and other measures of sustainability whenever new fleet vehicles are purchased |
Ongoing | Ron Fields, Assistant Vice-‐President for Facilities Management |
| Transportation | 8. Advocate for quality regional transportation options | 6.1 | Work with the City of Mankato to increase bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure connecting the campus to other areas within the city |
Ongoing | Ron Fields, Assistant Vice-‐President for Facilities Management |
| Water | 9. Reduce building water use | 9.1 | Update and standardize to low-‐flow water fixtures | Summer and Fall 2015 and ongoing | Ron Fields, Assistant Vice-‐President for Facilities Management Carlos Zaleski, Plumber Supervisor, Physical Plant Richard Wheeler, Assistant Director of Residential Life for Environment |
| Water | 10. Reduce irrigation water use | 10.1 | Develop a strategy for irrigating the playing fields of "not plush but alive" | 2015-‐2016 Academic Year | Ron Fields, Assistant Vice-‐President for Facilities Management Bruce Leivermann, Grounds Supervisor, Physical Plant |
| Water | 10. Reduce irrigation water use | 10.2 | Continue the existing landscape planning standards | Ongoing | Ron Fields, Assistant Vice-‐President for Facilities Management Paul Corcoran, Planning & Construction Director Richard Wheeler, Assistant Director of Residential Life for Environment |
| Water | 11. Reduce the impact of storm-‐water runoff | 11.1 | Continue to abide by MPCA and City of Mankato storm-‐water requirements | Ongoing | Ron Fields, Assistant Vice-‐President for Facilities Management Paul Corcoran, Planning & Construction Director |
| Water | 11. Reduce the impact of storm-‐water runoff | 11.2 | Develop and implement an MS4 storm-‐water management plan | Summer and Fall 2015 | Ron Fields, Assistant Vice-‐President for Facilities Management Paul Corcoran, Planning & Construction Director |
| Waste | 12. Encourage recycling | 12.1 | Improve waste and recycling infrastructure | 2015-‐2016 Academic Year and ongoing | Jason McCue, Building Services Manager Richard Wheeler, Assistant Director of Residential Life for Environment |
| Waste | 12.2 | Reduce plastic bottle use | Ongoing | Ron Fields, Assistant Vice-‐President for Facilities Management | |
| Waste | 13. Develop a comprehensive composting system | 13.1 | Implement a collection site for food waste on campus and identify a disposal site for composting | Fall 2015 through Fall 2016 | Ron Fields, Assistant Vice-‐President for Facilities Management Paul Corcoran, Planning & Construction Director Richard Wheeler, Assistant Director of Residential Life for Environment |
| Waste | 14. Recycle electronic waste | 14.1 | Contine the electronic waste recycling program | Ongoing | Chandler Holland. Director of Environmental Health, Safety and Risk Management Richard Wheeler, Assistant Director of Residential Life for Environment |
| Purchasing | 15. Choose environmentally friendly products; use minimal packaging | 15.1 | Continue demonstrating and testing new environmentally friendly products for efficacy |
Ongoing | Jason McCue, Building Services Manager, Facilities Management Mark Parsley, Building Services Foreman, Residential Life |
| Purchasing | 15. Choose environmentally friendly products; use minimal packaging | 15.2 | Whenever possible, consider purchasing and utilizing products that offer reduced packaging, ease of recycling, and/or shorter shipping distance |
Fiscal Year 2016 and beyond | Jason McCue, Building Services Manager, Facilities Management Mark Parsley, Building Services Foreman, Residential Life |
| Purchasing | 15. Choose environmentally friendly products; use minimal packaging | 15.3 | Review existing University and MnSCU contracts to quantify availability of green/environmentally friendly products | Fall 2015 | Jason McCue, Building Services Manager, Facilities Management Mark Parsley, Building Services Foreman, Residential Life |
| Purchasing | 15. Choose environmentally friendly products; use minimal packaging | 15.4 | Continue using 3M Cleaned Green Program products; when purchasing new or alternative products, utilize Green Seal Certified products when cost effective | Fiscal Year 2016 and beyond; ongoing | Jason McCue, Building Services Manager, Facilities Management Mark Parsley, Building Services Foreman, Residential Life |
| Purchasing | 15. Choose environmentally friendly products; use minimal packaging | 15.5 | Continue phasing out the use of aerosol cans in routine general maintenance and custodial use | Fiscal Year 2016 and beyond; ongoing |
Jason McCue, Building Services Manager, Facilities Management Mark Parsley, Building Services Foreman, Residential Life |
| Purchasing | 15. Choose environmentally friendly products; use minimal packaging | 15.6 | Consider the possibility of coordinating with Printing Services to establish a paper inventory on campus | Fiscal Year 2016 | Jason McCue, Building Services Manager, Facilities Management Mark Parsley, Building Services Foreman, Residential Life |
| Purchasing | 16. Buy local products and services | 16.1 | Establish a definitional standard of what constitutes "local purchases" for practical purposes | Fall 2015 | Jason McCue, Building Services Manager, Facilities Management Mark Parsley, Building Services Foreman, Residential Life Richard Straka, Vice President for Finance and Administration |
| Purchasing | 16. Buy local products and services | 16.2 | Continue demonstrating and testing new local products when and where applicable | Ongoing | Jason McCue, Building Services Manager, Facilities Management Mark Parsley, Building Services Foreman, Residential Life Richard Straka, Vice President for Finance and Administration |
| Purchasing | 16. Buy local products and services | 16.3 | Establish a baseline of current local purchasing in the 2015 fiscal year | Fall 2015 | Jason McCue, Building Services Manager, Facilities Management Mark Parsley, Building Services Foreman, Residential Life Richard Straka, Vice President for Finance and Administration |
| Purchasing | 16. Buy local products and services | 16.4 | Review existing University and MnSCU contracts to define and delineate manufactureres that fit local definition | Fall 2015 | Jason McCue, Building Services Manager, Facilities Management Mark Parsley, Building Services Foreman, Residential Life Richard Straka, Vice President for Finance and Administration |
| Purchasing | 16. Buy local products and services | 16.5 | Consider the costs and benefits of developing a University-‐wide purchasing policy | 2016 Fiscal Year | Richard Straka, Vice President for Finance and Administration |
| Purchasing | 16. Buy local products and services | 16.6 | Explore opportunities to work in conjunction with other state universities to re-‐examine MnSCU purchasing agreements | Open-‐ended | Richard Straka, Vice President for Finance and Administration |
| Purchasing | 17. Work with local farmers to purchase food | 17.1 | Establish a definitional standard of what constitutes "local purchases" for practical purposes | Fall 2015 | Karilynn Doffing, General Manager, University Dining Services |
| Purchasing | 17. Work with local farmers to purchase food | 17.2 | Establish a baseline of current local purchasing in the 2016 fiscal year | Fall 2015 | Karilynn Doffing, General Manager, University Dining Services |
| Purchasing | 17. Work with local farmers to purchase food | 17.3 | Review producer/farmer sources that exist within current vendor networks to explore viability of expanding local purchasing | Fall 2015 | Karilynn Doffing, General Manager, University Dining Services |
| Purchasing | 17. Work with local farmers to purchase food | 17.4 | Consider the possibilities of expanded local purchasing when effective | Fall 2015 | Karilynn Doffing, General Manager, University Dining Services |
| Purchasing | 17. Work with local farmers to purchase food | 17.5 | Explore the option of partnering with Minnesota Valley Action Council (MVAC) Food Hub | Fall 2015 | Karilynn Doffing, General Manager, University Dining Services |
| Purchasing | 17. Work with local farmers to purchase food | 17.6 | Explore the opportunity of creating periodic "Local Nights" in Carkoski Commons | Fall 2015 | Karilynn Doffing, General Manager, University Dining Services |
| Purchasing | 17. Work with local farmers to purchase food | 17.7 | Continue the progression of expanding Ecotainer product use in Sodexo branded convenience stores on campus | Ongoing | Karilynn Doffing, General Manager, University Dining Services |
| Purchasing | 18. Create community gardens on campus with ties to curriculum as well as the campus food system |
18.1 | Establish Campus Kitchen community garden | Ongoing | Karen Anderson, Assistant Director, Student Engagement |
| Purchasing | 18. Create community gardens on campus with ties to curriculum as well as the campus food system |
18.2 | Create a community garden group | Fall 2015 | Karen Anderson, Assistant Director, Student Engagement |
| Purchasing | 18. Create community gardens on campus with ties to curriculum as well as the campus food system |
18.3 | Identify potential site(s) for campus community garden | Fall 2015 | Karen Anderson, Assistant Director, Student Engagement |
| Purchasing | 18. Create community gardens on campus with ties to curriculum as well as the campus food system |
18.4 | Plant community garden | Spring 2016 | Karen Anderson, Assistant Director, Student Engagement |
| Purchasing | 18. Create community gardens on campus with ties to curriculum as well as the campus food system |
18.5 | Examine the possibility of reinvigorating the currently defunct Campus Kitchen curriculum | ? | Karen Anderson, Assistant Director, Student Engagement |
| Education and Communication | 19. Initiate student competitions around sustainability issues (waste, water, energy, etc.) |
19.1 | Organize the parties necessary to sponsor student sustainability competitions | Fall 2015 | Environmental Committee |
| Education and Communication | 19. Initiate student competitions around sustainability issues (waste, water, energy, etc.) |
19.2 | Determine which categories of sustainability would be most effective for a competition | Fall 2015 | Environmental Committee |
| Education and Communication66:7966:8066:8166:82 | 19. Initiate student competitions around sustainability issues (waste, water, energy, etc.) |
19.3 | Create a test competition to be implemented after the Climate Action Plan is adopted | Spring 2016 | Environmental Committee |
| Education and Communication | 19. Initiate student competitions around sustainability issues (waste, water, energy, etc.) |
19.4 | Continue, and maximize, participation in RecycleMania | Spring 2016 and beyond | Environmental Committee |
| Education and Communication | 19. Initiate student competitions around sustainability issues (waste, water, energy, etc.) |
19.5 | Consider how sustainability competitions could be tied to the concept of "Themed Years" as elaborated on in Strategy 22 | Fall 2015 | Environmental Committee |
| Education and Communication | 20. Support student-‐led sustainability initiatives including clubs, projects, etc. | 20.1 | Help facilitate a campus culture that fosters, establishes, and helps sustainability-‐centered groups and organizations | Ongoing | Environmental Committee |
| Education and Communication | 21. Integrate sustainability into the curriculum (create a sustainability degree, require coursework in sustainability to graduate, promote experiential learning and research projects) |
21.1 | Compile and publish a comprehensive listing of courses related to sustainability and the environment within the current MSU course catalog | Ongoing | Environmental Committee Paul Prew, Associate Professor of Sociology and Corrections |
| Education and Communication | 21. Integrate sustainability into the curriculum (create a sustainability degree, require coursework in sustainability to graduate, promote experiential learning and research projects) |
21.2 | Consider potential ties to educational components of the community garden project | 2015-‐2016 Academic Year | Environmental Committee Paul Prew, Associate Professor of Sociology and Corrections |
| Education and Communication | 21. Integrate sustainability into the curriculum (create a sustainability degree, require coursework in sustainability to graduate, promote experiential learning and research projects) |
21.3 | Consider the plausibility of re-‐defining the course offerings that fall under the General Education (GE) category of People and Environment | 2015-‐2016 Academic Year and beyond | Environmental Committee Paul Prew, Associate Professor of Sociology and Corrections |
| Education and Communication | 21. Integrate sustainability into the curriculum (create a sustainability degree, require coursework in sustainability to graduate, promote experiential learning and research projects) |
21.4 | Explore the opportunity of creating a sustainability sub-‐category in the Undergraduate Research Conference | 2015-‐2016 Academic Year | Environmental Committee Paul Prew, Associate Professor of Sociology and Corrections |
| Education and Communication | 21. Integrate sustainability into the curriculum (create a sustainability degree, require coursework in sustainability to graduate, promote experiential learning and research projects) |
21.5 | Examine the possibility of creating a graduation requirement that includes an environmental or sustainability awareness event | 2016-‐2017 Academic Year | Environmental Committee Paul Prew, Associate Professor of Sociology and Corrections |
| Education and Communication | 21. Integrate sustainability into the curriculum (create a sustainability degree, require coursework in sustainability to graduate, promote experiential learning and research projects) |
21.6 | If Action Step 21.5 is deemed untenable, consider the alternative of requiring a Service Learning project as part of graduation requirements |
2016-‐2017 Academic Year | Environmental Committee Paul Prew, Associate Professor of Sociology and Corrections |
| Education and Communication | 22. Create a "Themed Year" around a sustainability topic (water, energy, etc.) and the associated extra-‐curricular activities to support the theme | 22.1 | Create a subcommittee of the Environmental Committee charged with developing and defining the concept of environmental/sustainability "Themed Years" | Fall 2015 | Environmental Committee |
| Education and Communication | 22. Create a "Themed Year" around a sustainability topic (water, energy, etc.) and the associated extra-‐curricular activities to support the theme | 22.2 | Foster connections across campus with programs like Common Read (CR) to promote the "Themed Year" concept | Fall 2015 and beyond | Environmental Committee |
| Education and Communication | 22. Create a "Themed Year" around a sustainability topic (water, energy, etc.) and the associated extra-‐curricular activities to support the theme | 22.3 | Develop an effective rollout campaign for the Climate Action Plan featuring speakers, campus activities, and opportunities for campus community engagement with the document | 2015-‐2016 Academic Year | Environmental Committee |
| Education and Communication | 22. Create a "Themed Year" around a sustainability topic (water, energy, etc.) and the associated extra-‐curricular activities to support the theme | 22.4 | Create a "Themed Year" cycle, to be in conjunction with Climate Action Plan re-‐evaluations | 2015-‐2016 Academic Year | Environmental Committee |
| Education and Communication | 23. Increase sustainability-‐related communication | 23.1 | Work to better utilize and publicize the University's Green Campus website | Fall 2015 | Environmental Committee Paul Prew, Associate Professor of Sociology and Corrections |
| Education and Communication | 23. Increase sustainability-‐related communication | 23.2 | Establish how the campus community receives and synthesizes information | Fall 2015 | Environmental Committee Paul Prew, Associate Professor of Sociology and Corrections |
| Education and Communication | 23. Increase sustainability-‐related communication | 23.3 | Consider the implementation of a sustainability E-‐Newsletter (if it is found that the campus community interfaces well with digital communication) | Fall 2015 | Environmental Committee Paul Prew, Associate Professor of Sociology and Corrections |
| Education and Communication | 23. Increase sustainability-‐related communication | 23.4 | Create Environmental Tip Sheets derived from best practices on other campuses | Fall 2015 | Environmental Committee Paul Prew, Associate Professor of Sociology and Corrections |
| Education and Communication | 24. Create an Environment/Sustainability Living Learning Community | 24.1 | Find and solidify potential interested parties in sponsoring a Sustainability Living Learning Community | 2015-‐2016 Academic Year | Environmental Committee Ginger Zierdt, Interim Assistant Vice President for Undergraduate Education |
| Education and Communication | 24. Create an Environment/Sustainability Living Learning Community | 24.2 | Help said individual(s) establish a viable Academic Core for the LLC | 2015-‐2016 Academic Year | Environmental Committee Ginger Zierdt, Interim Assistant Vice President for Undergraduate Education |
| Education and Communication | 24. Create an Environment/Sustainability Living Learning Community | 24.3 | When possible, fulfill the annual call for the creation of a new LLC | As possible | Environmental Committee Ginger Zierdt, Interim Assistant Vice President for Undergraduate Education |
| Education and Communication | 25. Create a First Year Experience seminar course in sustainability | 25.1 | Work with the Director of New Student and Family Programs to cultivate the necessary faculty/staff to teach a sustainability-‐related First Year Experience course | 2015-‐2016 Academic Year | Environmental Committee Ginger Zierdt, Interim Assistant Vice President for Undergraduate Education Nicole Stock, Director of First Year Experience, New Student and Family Programs |
