awards

Congratulations to the Campus Sustainability Awards winners

Anonymous — Mon, 13 Nov 2023 17:52:23 +0000

Congratulations to the Campus Sustainability Awards winners Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 11/13/2023 - 10:52

The University of Colorado wishes to recognize outstanding efforts toward continuing the leadership and legacy of sustainability at CU Boulder. Since 1997 the Annual Campus Sustainability Awards have recognized individuals, departments and offices that have made a significant contribution to reducing the ecological footprint and increasing the resilience of campus infrastructure and improving social cohesion and equity in campus communities. Outstanding efforts make CU's successful and challenging approaches to attaining sustainability possible. The awardees exemplify CU's continuing efforts to become a sustainable institution and set an example for environmental stewardship and responsibility. Some of the awardees have made groundbreaking efforts that will change the overall way CU operates, and others make an impact on the community and campus environment with their everyday actions. The awards happen every April in conjunction with the Campus Sustainability Summit.

2023 Campus Sustainability Awards

Karen Bailey, Green Faculty
The Colorado Environmental Justice Digital Storytelling Project, Civic Achievement
Fossil Free CU, Student Leadership
Emily Yeh, Green Faculty
Scott King, Outstanding Alumni
Mountain Research Station, Departmental Achievement
Mortenson Center in Global Engineering and Resilience, Civic Achievement

Three partnership initiatives deserve special recognition:

Climate Across the Curriculum Training, Special Recognition, Partnership for Sustainability
Urban Heat Mapping Project, Special Recognition, Partnership for Sustainability
Buffs One Read, Special Recognition, Partnership for Sustainability

The CU Green Labs Program recognizes three awardees:

MIMIC Core Facility, Partnership for Lab Sustainability
Department of Biochemistry Shared Equipment, Departmental Achievement
CHEM 1021 Green Chemistry Integration, Partnership for Lab Sustainability

Awards come in the form of a 100% recycled-content plaque presented by campus leadership at the 30th annual Campus Sustainability Summit scheduled for April 19-20, 2023.

Sustainability Award Archives

2022 Campus Sustainability Awards Announcement

2022 Award Descriptions

2021 Campus Sustainability Awards Announcement

2021 Award Descriptions

2020 Campus Sustainability Awards Announcement

2020 Campus Sustainability Awards Descriptions

2019 Awards Announcement

2019 Award Descriptions

Award Selections 1997-2018

Campus Sustainability Awards Committee (2023)

Lisa Barlow, Associate Teaching Professor, Environment and Natural Sciences Residential Academic Program and Environmental Studies Department
Virginia Schultz, Coordinator, CU Conference Services
Marianne Martin, Associate Director, Environmental Center
Serafina Scalo, Sustainabilty Coordinator, CU Student Government
Edward von Bleichert, Sustainabiltiy and Resiliency Program Manager, Infrastructure and Sustainability

Do you know a CU faculty, staff, employee or alum who prioritizes sustainability? Nominate them for a Campus Sustainability Award!

Campus Sustainability Award Nomination Form

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CU Boulder announces recipients of 2023 Campus Sustainability Awards

Anonymous — Tue, 02 May 2023 06:00:00 +0000

CU Boulder announces recipients of 2023 Campus Sustainability Awards Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 05/02/2023 - 00:00

The 26th annual Campus Sustainability awards program recognizes outstanding individuals and departments who demonstrate a sincere commitment to continuing the CU Boulder tradition of leadership and student participation in campus sustainability. Awardees exhibit innovation that directly reduces the University's ecological footprint, enhances social cohesion and equity in the campus community, and/or integrates sustainability into the culture of Boulder and our local communities.

This year, there are seven Campus Sustainability awardees:

Karen Bailey, Green Faculty
The Colorado Environmental Justice Digital Storytelling Project, Civic Achievement
Fossil Free CU, Student Leadership
Emily Yeh, Green Faculty
Scott King, Outstanding Alumni
Mountain Research Station, Departmental Achievement
Mortenson Center in Global Engineering and Resilience, Civic Achievement

Three partnership initiatives deserve special recognition:

Climate Across the Curriculum Training, Special Recognition, Partnership for Sustainability
Urban Heat Mapping Project, Special Recognition, Partnership for Sustainability
Buffs One Read, Special Recognition, Partnership for Sustainability

The CU Green Labs Program recognizes three awardees:

MIMIC Core Facility, Partnership for Sustainability
Department of Biochemistry Shared Equipment, Departmental Achievement
CHEM 1021 Green Chemistry Integration, Partnership for Sustainability

Awards will be in the form of a 100% recycled-content plaque presented by campus leadership at the 30th annual Campus Sustainability Summit scheduled for April 19-20, 2023.

Learn more about the Campus Sustainability Awards program and the 2023 awardees.

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Congratulations to the 2023 CU Boulder Green Labs Award winners!

Anonymous — Wed, 19 Apr 2023 06:00:00 +0000

Congratulations to the 2023 CU Boulder Green Labs Award winners! Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 04/19/2023 - 00:00

MIMIC Core Facility, Partnership for Sustainability

Through the creation of the MIMIC Core Facility in 2019, Dr. Virginia Ferguson and Dr. Wil Srubar of the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences have opened up researcher access to equipment resources. The creation of this core facility reduces the duplication of research equipment resources on campus and leads to more efficient use of laboratory space and research dollars. Nearly 70 unique users across 13 departments, in addition to external users, are already benefiting from these shared equipment resources.

Department of Biochemistry Shared Equipment, Departmental Achievement

The CU Boulder Biochemistry Department has a long history of equipment sharing which is reducing the footprint of laboratory research on the environment, benefiting collaboration, and training generations of future scientists to do the same. The forward-thinking vision by members of the Department of Biochemistry over the past several decades has resulted in multiple long-term, successful shared equipment core facilities and created a strong culture for equipment sharing throughout the entire department.

CHEM 1021 Green Chemistry Integration, Partnership for Sustainability

The Introductory Chemistry CHEM 1021 course now includes green chemistry content throughout the course curriculum thanks to the initiative of Dr. Matthew Wise and Dr. Alec Kroll, who teach Chemistry 1021 to more than 600 undergraduate students annually. Student assistants Brinn McDowell and Jan Hu created green chemistry modules with content aligning with the different units of the course. Students that enroll in CHEM 1021 are from a wide range of majors. As a result, this effort is expected to have far-reaching positive impacts as students enter a wide range of fields of work.

These winners made a significant contribution to advocating for and/or advancing sustainability in laboratories in the last year.

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Recap of President's Sustainable Solutions pitch night 2023

Anonymous — Sat, 08 Apr 2023 06:00:00 +0000

Recap of President's Sustainable Solutions pitch night 2023 Anonymous (not verified) Sat, 04/08/2023 - 00:00

Last week, CU Boulder's Environmental Center hosted the 4th annual President's Sustainable Solutions Challenge event where three proposals were presented on how to make the campus more sustainable. The CU President's Office funded the prize money, totaling $2,500. Students developed their innovative proposals as individuals or as teams.

Lauren Uram and Mason Liddell presented their Plant-Based Campus Initiative, advocating for CU to become the first U.S. university to offer 100% plant-based food. Campuses in the UK have already made similar commitments, so this initiative isn’t unheard of. This would make meals 30-40% cheaper than an omnivorous diet, and the initiative would be implemented gradually over several semesters with education.

“I think it’s important to talk honestly about what our future is going to look like,” Uram explained.

Brandon Brown's Winds of Change proposal focused on the role of Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) in sustainable portfolios. By tailoring a PPA with Xcel, CU campus could run off 50% renewable energy by 2025 and 80% by 2030, making CU a leader in campus clean energy initiatives. Renewable energy sources comprise less than one percent of the total energy sources used to power campus, according to the 2021 STARS report. Xcel is already in the process of building a new Power Pathway after the Colorado Clean Energy Plan was put into place. This will ensure the state is 80% renewable by the end of the decade. While there may be cheaper alternatives, this plan would fulfill CU’s obligation to its local community and the state, making them a leader in campus clean energy initiatives.

The Xero Heros, consisting of Q Redmond, Jennalee Battson and Quinn Harper, presented their project on Waterwise Landscaping on Campus. Keeping the drought in the west in mind, they proposed replacing grass turf on East Campus with native vegetation to reduce mowing emissions and maintenance costs and decrease the goose population on that side of the campus.

“We’re thinking big but starting small,” Harper explained.

The judges awarded first place and $1,500 to Brown, second place and $500 to Uram and Liddell's Plant-Based Campus Initiative, and the Audience Choice award of $500 went to the Xero Heros. The presenters were also invited to share their initiatives at the Climate Action Expo April 20 from 12-3 p.m. in the UMC, with more opportunities to earn prize money.

Last week, CU Boulder's Environmental Center hosted the 4th annual President's Sustainable Solutions Challenge event where three proposals were presented on how to make the campus more sustainable.

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Students bring bold ideas for campus at the President’s Sustainable Solutions Challenge

Anonymous — Sat, 01 Apr 2023 06:00:00 +0000

Students bring bold ideas for campus at the President’s Sustainable Solutions Challenge Anonymous (not verified) Sat, 04/01/2023 - 00:00

The Environmental Center is gearing up to host the 4th annual President's Sustainable Solutions Challenge, where CU Boulder students will showcase their sustainable innovations and solutions for the university. It's all happening on Wednesday, April 12 from 5-6 p.m. in CASE E422.

Student finalists have crafted dynamic pitch presentations that tackle crucial issues like environmental quality, natural resource use, social justice and economic longevity within the CU Boulder system. Thanks to the generous sponsorship of the CU President's Office, the winning proposal will receive $1,500 in prize money! The runner-up and audience favorite will each be awarded $500. Come vote for your favorite solution!

The best part? All proposals will be considered for implementation review and funding after the competition ends. So join us for inspiring campus sustainability solutions. See you there!

The three finalist presentations in the 2023 President’s Sustainable Solutions Challenge are:

Plant-based campus initiative: Lauren Uram and Mason Liddell
Winds of change: Brandon Brown
Replacing non-essential turf across the CU Boulder campuses: Xero Heroes (Q Redmond, Jennalee Battson and Quinn Harper)

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Celebrating Angela Maria Ortiz Roa, honoree for BizWest 40 under Forty and newest City of Boulder employee

Anonymous — Tue, 10 May 2022 06:00:00 +0000

Celebrating Angela Maria Ortiz Roa, honoree for BizWest 40 under Forty and newest City of Boulder employee Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 05/10/2022 - 00:00

Angela Maria Ortiz Roa, climate justice program manager at the University of Colorado Boulder, is a native of Colombia who arrived in Colorado in 2001. Rooted in an eco-cultural upbringing and a commitment to serve the communities she belongs to, Angela's migration experience led her to seek education on concepts of eco-social justice, cross-cultural communication and intersectionality to actively become a change agent in her community.

Living as a cultural and linguistic minority guided her to obtain an associate's degree in Interpreter Preparation at Front Range Community College in 2014. That same year she received her Permaculture Certificate and began working as a bilingual urban agriculture educator, which renewed her connection to the land and nature.

In 2016, Ortiz became program coordinator for the Foundation for Leaders Organizing for Water and Sustainability (FLOWS).

She is intentional about making use of her multicultural and multilingual skills as a grassroots community organizer, climate justice advocate, cultural broker and language service provider.

She worked as a community empowerment liaison for Boulder County's Department of Housing and Human Services from 2019-2021, and earned a bachelor's degree in 2020 from Metropolitan State University in Denver.

She serves on the boards of Boulder Food Rescue and Harvest of All Nations.

Ortiz said she is determined to continue to educate herself so she "can better support the creation of bridge between people, cultures, natural resources and the earth and to be a dynamic part of the liberation and transformation of humanity."

Angela has spent six years with the Environmental Center. She joined as the FLOWS Program Coordinator and in the past year shifted to the Climate Justice Programs Coordinator. Angela has recently announced a shift in positions and leaves the EC for the City of Boulder. We are so honored to have worked with Angela these past six years.

In her resignation announcement, she states, “It is my heart’s dream that we can find urgent solutions for the serious climate issues we are facing and that while doing so, we truly center equity and transformation in all our efforts, not only in our words, but in every single action we take. Even though I am stepping away from FLOWS, the Climate Justice Team and the EC Team, I am still going to be an active change agent in our community through my new role in the Community Engagement and Communications Department at the City of Boulder.”

Working with Angela has been the most rewarding and life changing experience for FLOWS Coordinator Indya Love, who started out as a volunteer for FLOWS in 2017. She was immediately impressed with Angela’s warm and infectious energy and always felt very welcomed by her and the FLOWS team.

Indya, as well as other staff at the Environmental Center, really admire her hard work and dedication to FLOWS, to climate and social justice and most of all, to her community.

Angela is a strong and courageous leader and many have learned an enormous amount in such a short time from her.

“I have no words to express my heartfelt gratitude for everything Angela has done. I will miss my mentor and friend dearly and will always use her great wisdom to guide me through challenging times,” said Love.

We know Angela will continue the fight for social and climate justice and be an ally to the CU community. Thank you for always bringing your passion, dedication, and light, Angela. The world needs more leaders like you!

Former Environmental Center employee Angela Maria Ortiz Roa has accepted a new position with the City of Boulder.

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President's Sustainable Solutions Challenge recap

Anonymous — Mon, 18 Apr 2022 06:00:00 +0000

President's Sustainable Solutions Challenge recap Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 04/18/2022 - 00:00

Five different presentations were given on Thursday, April 14. All of the presentations had one goal: to make CU more sustainable. Proposals were reviewed based on impact, feasibility and innovation, by a panel of judges that included Prof. Phaedra Pezzullo, CU Regent Lesley Smith, Jasmin Barco and students Anila Narayana and Bullos White.

The Zero Waste Outreach Team -- Lauren Mullen, Kat Avedovech, Karlie Conzachi, Kate Huun, Bryce Poirot, Tasha Smith and Kayla Vasarhelyi -- presented their recycling education program, which is aimed at educating undergraduate students on the importance of recycling at CU.

The second presentation from Ishan Gohil and Anuradha Prakash detailed a personal carbon calculator that they designed and built, for CU students to track their carbon emissions from their phones.

Helen Flock gave the third presentation, which included a proposal to add green roofs and habitat panels to the secure bike shelters on CU's main and east campuses, in hopes of increasing sustainable transportation and biodiversity on campus.

Joseph Marrujo and Ann Giang tackled electric generation on campus in their presentation, by suggesting the installation of piezoelectric tiles on some of the most highly trafficked walking spots on campus.

The final presentation by Henrique Sannibale looked at the possibilities of using hempcrete as an alternative to concrete on CU’s campus, and the benefits it holds over traditional cement.

At the end of the night, Joseph Marrujo and Ann Giang took home first place and the Zero Waste Outreach Team took home second place. The audience choice award was presented to Henrique Sannibale.

These presentations and others will be on display at the Solutions Showcase, April 21 at the UMC. Stop by and check out these amazing ideas on how to make CU more sustainable, and many others!

All of the presentations at the 2022 President's Sustainable Solutions Challenge had one goal: to make CU more sustainable.

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Finalists announced for the 2022 President's Sustainable Solutions Challenge

Anonymous — Sun, 10 Apr 2022 06:00:00 +0000

Finalists announced for the 2022 President's Sustainable Solutions Challenge Anonymous (not verified) Sun, 04/10/2022 - 00:00

The President’s Sustainable Solutions Challenge is a system-wide program to encourage student-led innovation in sustainability on CU campuses. At the SSC Pitch Night on April 14, the five finalists will present their ideas for improving environmental quality, resource efficiency and social equity on campus in front of a panel of judges and an audience of community members.

The Zero Waste Outreach Team (Lauren Mullen, Kat Avedovech, Karlie Conzachi, Kate Huun, Bryce Poirot, Tasha Smith and Kayla Vasarhelyi) will present on recycling education for undergraduates.
Helen Flock’s proposal will lay out a plan for combining sustainable transportation and biodiversity on campus.
Henrique Sannibale will present on his plans for incorporating hempcrete into CU’s construction planning.
Ishan Gohil and Anuradha Prakash will share their unique take on a carbon calculator for CU students.
Joseph Marrujo and Ann Giang’s proposal will address the introduction of piezoelectric tiles for electricity generation on campus.

Students and campus faculty and staff are invited to watch the competition on April 14 from 5:30-7 p.m. in person at the University Memorial Center, room 247, or via zoom. Audience members will be able to vote (through a google form) for an audience choice award winner, which will be announced live at the end of the evening along with the judges’ picks for a winner and a runner-up.

At the SSC Pitch Night on April 14, the five finalists will present their ideas for improving environmental quality, resource efficiency and social equity on campus in front of a panel of judges and an audience of community members.

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Ideas for green campus roofs, food waste reduction take top prizes in first ever Buffs Sustainable Solutions Challenge

Anonymous — Fri, 17 Apr 2020 06:00:00 +0000

Ideas for green campus roofs, food waste reduction take top prizes in first ever Buffs Sustainable Solutions Challenge Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 04/17/2020 - 00:00

The CU Environmental Center awarded $1,300 to students who pitched their ideas for sustainability innovations on campus in the first ever Buffs Sustainable Solutions Challenge.

An audience of CU students, administration, friends and family watched Monday night via Zoom as students pitched their ideas to reduce CU’s environmental footprint. While the presentations addressed a wide range of sustainability challenges, the top prizes were claimed by students addressing architecture styles and food waste in campus dining halls.

The Sustainable Solutions Challenge was originally a bi-partisan proposal brought forth by a team of CU Regents to the President’s Office. "The Buffs Sustainability Challenge was a great pilot to gauge enthusiasm of student participation and to test the mechanics of the competition. It came off splendidly with nine student pitches presented to the judging panel and viewed by EC staff, community members and Regents Ganahl and Smith. The students were passionate, poised and showed creativity in their ideas, which ranged from reducing food waste and water usage to the winning pitch of replacing the aging UMC roof with a living roof. I can't wait to see living roofs sprouting up across campus! I also learned a lot, like the concept of biophilic design. I hope students will apply for the grants offered by the EC to have their ideas come to fruition," summed up Regent Lesley Smith. Regent Heidi Ganahl added, “sustainability is something the University of Colorado excels at, so encouraging that excellence among our students is a natural. They are engaged, creative and committed around sustainability issues, so it was easy for the regents to support a contest to further that.”

Green Roofs proposal wins first place

Travis Torline ('21), Nick Provost (‘21) and Nina Hooper (‘22) collected the first place prize of $1,000. The team presented an idea for implementing green roofs across campus, beginning with the fifth floor of the University Memorial Center. They demonstrated how green roofs, outfitted with low growing, native Colorado plant species, would reduce heating and cooling costs for campus buildings, resulting in a lower carbon footprint.

While the environmental benefits were clear, the team chose to place a stronger emphasis on the social aspects of their proposal. Green roofs provide additional spaces for people to congregate with one another and interact with nature. Having these spaces on our roofs allows everyone to enjoy nature as opposed to some other types of “green” developments that lead to gentrification and exclude people from accessing nature.

The Green Roofs team provides a great example for how sustainability is important for all disciplines, not just environmental scientists. While Travis is an economics major, Nina and Nick are both studying electrical engineering. They all serve on the CU Student Government (CUSG) Sustainability Think Tank.

As the Sustainability Chair for CUSG, Travis believes that this kind of competition is exactly what CU students have been waiting for to unlock their creativity. “All of the pitches showed that students were innovative and forward thinking on sustainability. A lot more students have these ideas and want to see them take shape; this competition will only encourage more innovation and help translate these ideas into action.”

Team Planeteers wins honorable mention

Team Planeteers claimed runner-up honors, led by Cindy Lee (‘22), Frank Medina (‘23) and Lena Kim (‘22), who presented an opportunity to reduce food waste in campus dining halls with a simple behavior change. They showed that by removing trays from their cafeterias, other universities have reduced their food waste by up to a third. Less food wasted means less water and energy is consumed in our supply chain, and more food is available for those in need.

Lee, Medina and Kim are all business administration majors and met to form their team through the Center for Ethics and Social Responsibility (CESR). For them, the Buffs Sustainable Solutions Challenge was an opportunity to hone their presentation skills and to solve an issue that they each cared deeply about. More importantly, they wanted to compete because they saw this challenge as a pathway to seeing their ideas come to fruition. As Kim said, “It was very empowering knowing that leaders from campus were listening to us and that they would go out and actually implement the ideas that everyone pitched.”

Lee had known that food waste was a large problem for campus ever since she began working in CU dining halls. The team’s combined skills paid off for them as they created an innovative solution to addressing food waste that couples artificial intelligence with simple behavior changes.

Moving forward, the Environmental Center is going to explore funding options and implementation pathways for each of the eight ideas that were presented. Next year, each team will have an opportunity to compete in the relaunched President’s Sustainable Solutions Challenge. This competition originally was meant to showcase sustainability innovation from all four CU campuses. However, disruptions from COVID-19 forced us to adjust our format and limited our capacity to a single campus. Our leaders are confident that we will be back on track to host the full competition next spring and optimistic about the event's potential to accelerate sustainability efforts. As CU Boulder Chief Sustainability Officer Heidi VanGenderen said, “The first sustainable solutions challenge had a terrific array of ideas covering several different resource areas. The concepts presented by the teams that made the finals all had great merit and should all be taken under consideration for further development and implementation on our campus. Continual mining of ideas coming from our students, faculty and staff is a key strategy for advancing our leadership in sustainability – and the Sustainable Solutions Challenge will be one notable venue through which that can happen.”

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Dave Newport reflects on 49 years of the Environmental Center

Anonymous — Mon, 22 Apr 2019 06:00:00 +0000

Dave Newport reflects on 49 years of the Environmental Center Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 04/22/2019 - 00:00

The following comments were delivered by Dave Newport, Environmental Center Director, to open the 26th Annual Campus Sustainability Summit on April 18, 2019.

Welcome to to the 26th edition of the CU Campus Sustainability Summit.

This annual event, aimed at highlighting sustainability successes across campus, is jointly planned, funded, organized and delivered by the Office of the Provost, the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, the Vice Chancellor for Infrastructure and Safety and the CUSG Environmental Center.

Thanks to all for making this happen, yet again. And thank you all for coming.

In the fifteen nanoseconds of fame I have left, the concepts of time, place, actions and consequences are increasingly relevant.

I feel a bit like we’re in the late innings of the most important baseball game ever. We’re behind. But as baseball teaches us, the hardest, fastest pitch flies the furthest when the wood properly meets the leather. And our early innings have shown we know how to hit.

This Earth Day, the Environmental Center turns 49 years old. 49 years sounds like a long time. But earth has been spinning around the sun for around 4.5 billion years -- and the human race has only been “civilized” for about 6,000 years. And our style of so-called civilization has, of late, spawned many pressures on us to divide our team against each other.

At the same time, we have become increasingly aware of the timeline we need to follow if we are to transition to a sustainable, just and peaceful society. Among other things, this timeline requires us to rapidly combat climate change’s very consequential consequences.

Climate science tells us we must take very significant climate action in the next 10-15 years—or we may have lost the opportunity to avert those very consequential consequences. Particularly challenging is the reality that while the onset of climate change will impact us all, it is much more impactful on low-income, at-risk people. To create effective alliances in the innings we have left, we must focus on bringing together and working on behalf of all people, the majority populations and the under-represented.

The current state of social and political affairs may not seem encouraging of our ability to build broad alliances. But a quick look at CU’s history reminds us of the many runs CU has scored-- against the prevailing wisdom of their times.

First, from the student section:

Students started the nation’s first collegiate recycling program at CU. This is the home of collegiate recycling. And for over 20 years, the students operated the entire program. Now, we have a high performing recycling partnership with the campus, just hit a record high diversion rate, and operate in a new LEED Gold building.
The students voted to launch and set up a student fee structure for the nation’s first student bus pass 28 years ago. Now we cooperate as a campus to maintain this critical resource that is used by students over two million times per year.
19 years ago, students voted to raise their fees to pay for renewable energy for student-run facilities, the first campus in the nation to do so. Now we have almost two MW of solar just on athletics facilities—and campus leadership is planning much bigger arrays.
The UMC student union is CU’s first LEED rated building, a CU Student Government facility. Now, more than 25 CU buildings are LEED Gold or Platinum as the result of a student fee agreement with the campus 15 years ago.
And 11 years ago, the students voted to require all CUSG buildings become carbon neutral, the first student-led mandate in the U.S. under the President’s Climate Commitment.

Second, actions led by campus staff, academics and researchers have helped inform decades of CU’s sustainability leadership.

We are #1 in earth-science research—turning many graduates out into the world to make it a better place. Several faculty are members of the IPCC, the most expert array of climate scientists on the planet.
CU is home to the nation’s first environmental law class and casebook in 1951 and maintains a top 10 environmental law program today.
You can’t walk into a campus dining facility and not learn about sustainability—and be able to eat healthy, local and yummy food. Campus Dining is doing everything right.
You can’t work out in the Rec Center without learning of that facilities sustainability features—and how things like clean air, water, food and active lifestyles help your personal sustainability—and the environment's.
Housing built the campus’ first water reuse system into a LEED Platinum residence hall—before permitting for it was even approved. Their new LEED Platinum Dining Centers educate students about sustainability while they eat.
CU is first in the nation to roll out the PIPs Rewards app. This technology allows students to earn points for recycling, biking, busing, etc that convert to cash for food and other green perks. And through the leadership of the Office of Financial Aid, students can now convert their points to cash against their fees and tuition, also a national first.
The Athletics department, partnering with Facilities and the EC, 10 years ago rolled out the first NCAA Division I sports sustainability program, Ralphie's Green Stampede. Athletics started out chasing zero waste but has grown to include carbon and water neutrality, four LEED Platinum buildings, 90% of the on-campus solar generation and the nation’s first net-zero energy indoor practice facility. Arguably the most sustainable department on campus—AD Rick George is not content with that and will soon roll out significant new goals for the next 10 years.
CU Chancellors have raised their game too. Chancellor Bud Peterson was a charter signatory of the President’s Climate Commitment 12 years ago that committed CU to pursuing carbon neutrality. The carbon plan approved by the Board of Regents is on the threshold of attaining the first goal: a 20% reduction of carbon emissions of 2005 levels by the year 2020.
Chancellor DiStefano took an additional very big step forward last year when he committed CU to be part of the University Climate Change Coalition (UC3), a newly formed group of 13 leading North American research universities that have united to help communities achieve their climate goals and accelerate the transition to a low-carbon future.
Many of these efforts have been led by CU’s Vice Chancellor for Infrastructure and Sustainability David Kang, who ably drives a myriad of sustainability efforts across the operations side of the campus—and was very impactful with regards to the powerful new UC3 alliance signed by Chancellor DiStefano.
Likewise, Chief Sustainability Officer Heidi Van Genderen has been doing the incredibly critical work of forming alliances and relationships with the seemingly countless people and programs at CU and in the community that have been quietly heading in the same direction. Heidi is executing this indispensable action with aplomb.
Finally, our alumni extends CU’s reach and leadership into society more so now than ever. With veterans of CU, Student Government and the City of Boulder now occupying seats in Congress, the governor’s administration, the state House and Senate, municipal leadership, business, law, community leaders, on down the list.

We have a great team, we’ve led the league in the early innings, and we have the talent to extend the game, but we need more runs.

As a campus we have committed to combating the climate change crisis by first working inside the sphere of influence the campus has—neutralizing our own carbon emissions.

But in the ten years since that plan was approved by the Board of Regents, the science has improved—and the climate has deteriorated. So, are those ten-year-old goals sufficient? Can we forge new climate leadership paths?

We have proven our capacity for greatness. We have the talent. We have the resources—we live in the richest nation on the planet.

And we have the best ball club: CU Boulder. The historic leader in this space, CU led higher education’s sustainability movement for decades. Our successes have inspired hundreds of other campuses to follow us—but now a few of them have passed us.

CU was the first campus of any kind to achieve a STARS Gold rating. Now a few quality schools have climbed past us to STARS Platinum.

So the most solvable challenge we face now is to align our many formidable assets into the ball club we know we can be.

As we participate in this conference today, we must think about not just what actions to take, but how to bring people together in the process.

United we win.

Time has reflected well on us; history has taught us we have proven capacity for greatness. But Moore’s Law seemingly informs everything we do now, not just the doubling of semiconductors. Even baseball games are speeding up.

The place in which we live and breathe is inhabited by great people with shared values and formidable talent. We live on the lands of the Ute, Arapaho and Cheyenne people. But this historic place is under great threat that will not benefit anyone—and impact those with the least, the most. Climate and social injustice does not comport with who we have shown ourselves to be—and is not sustainable going forward. So we must lead through a lens of ecological and social justice.

A team divided against itself cannot win.

Likewise, the individual actions we take, while magnificent, will fall short if the synergies and leverage we need are not matched by the leadership our history has shown we are capable of. Our leaders are every day buffeted by competing needs, priorities and attitudes. Remaining focused on great challenge that is advancing at a high rate will require new skills even from the best leaders. We must support them.

The consequences of all these actions will define our legacy in short order, for better or not.

The health and wellness of our 6,000-year-old civilization turns on our ability to play the best ball we’ve ever shown over the next 10-20 years.

Our history confirms that we have the capacity to win—when we play as a team.

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