Sustainability efforts earn campus big ranking

Working on the SUNY Poly Sustainability Path

The SUNY Poly community continues doing its part for a brighter, cleaner, and greener tomorrow, with ongoing efforts in sustainability, with that progress receiving some national attention with a ranking in the 2016 Sustainable Campus Index from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE).

“I’m really proud of our Green Team’s efforts,” said Mark Bremer, Lecturer of Biology and Chair of the SUNY Poly Green Team. “We strive to incorporate best-practices in campus sustainability into all aspects of the university, including coordination and planning, operations, academics, and research. It’s an honor to be recognized for that.”

SUNY Poly was recognized as a Top Performer in the category of Coordination & Planning for “going above and beyond the standard self-reporting framework by collaborating with peer institutions to improve the quality and accuracy of current and future STARS reports,” according to the Index.

“We still have a lot of work to do to make the university more sustainable. We need increased access to funding for implementing creative green solutions. We must routinely track and measure progress toward goals we set,” said Bremer. “As always, we could use more involvement from students, staff, and faculty to inspire new ideas and really drive progress forward. Of course, we hope commitments to sustainability are made a priority for SUNY Poly’s future.”

AASHE highlights campuses for their efforts in advancing sustainability in higher education. The 2016 Sustainable Campus Index, a publication of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), highlights innovative and high-impact initiatives from colleges and universities that submitted a Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS) report in the 12 months prior to July 1, 2016.

“It’s great to have such supportive colleagues who helped peer-review each other’s STARS submissions,” said Bremer. “We have an amazing community of SUNY Sustainability Coordinators and Directors who routinely rely on each other’s expertise and experience to learn what works on other campuses.”