Sustainability  Performance  in  Higher  Educa8on:  Aligning  Collec8ve  Impact  

with  Ecoregional  Drivers    

ISCN  2014  Cambridge,  MA  

Shana  S.  Weber,  Ph.D.  Director,  Office  of  Sustainability  

Princeton  University  

Are  we  asking  the  right  quesJons?  

           

Campus  X  purchases  50%  “sustainable”  food  with  goal  of  75%  

•  “sustainable”  defined  as  local  or  organic  or  cerJfied  humane,  free  range,  etc  

•  DefiniJon  is  the  same  no  maTer  the  locaJon  •  Campus  X  is  in  a  water  scarce  region  

What  quesJons  should  we  ask?  

•  Should  those  regional  condiJons  influence  the  definiJon  of  “sustainable”  food?  And  therefore  campus  goals?  

•  What  is  the  actual  desired  impact  of  the  goal?  

•  What  research  do  we  need  to  conduct  to  define  meaningful  targets?  

Next  Genera8on  Sustainability:  CollecJve  Impact  

Ecoregional  PaTerns  

From  this…          to  this:  

Are  metrics  about…  

CompeJJve  advantage?  CollecJve  impact?  

CollecJve  impact:  •  262  STARS  reporJng  insJtuJons  (2005  –  2013)    

GHG  emissions  down  5.4%    

Water  usage  down  6.3%      

“Sustainable”  food  purchases  =  24%    

Per  person  waste  up  7.4%  

•  When  organized  by  ecoregions,  collecJve  insJtuJonal  performance  data  reveal  interesJng  and  significant  paTerns.  

Consider:  

Consider:  

•  Almost  all  campus  water  usage  is  the  same  

=  

Even  more  interesJng…  

•  STARS  reporJng  insJtuJons  in  water  scarce  regions  increased  their  use  by  10%    

•  STARS  reporJng  insJtuJons  in  water  rich  regions  decreased  their  use  by  7%  

Ecoregions  

By  ecoregion…  

•  NE  demonstrated  significantly  lower  water  usage  per  person  today  than  the  average,  with  average  reducJon  rates  over  Jme  

•  The  Desert  demonstrated  increasing  water  usage  per  person  over  Jme,  with  current  usage  on  par  with  the  average  

What  is  the  next  generaJon  thinking  required?  

•  Re-­‐connect  campus  performance  with  ecoregional  needs  

•  Re-­‐think  metrics  to  align  with  desired  ecoregional  impact  

•  Work  with  other  insJtuJons  in  the  ecoregion  toward  collecJve  impact  

•  Coordinate  consistent  metrics  protocols  among  insJtuJons  to  assess  collecJve  impact  

What  is  the  next  generaJon  thinking  required?  

•  Encourage  3rd  party  raters  to  value  the  alignment  between  campus  performance  and  ecoregional  condiJons  

•  IdenJfy  specific  ecoregional  drivers  (water  scarcity,  soil  vitality,  water  quality,  biodiversity,  etc)  

•  Replace  campus  baselines  that  are  prevalent  today  with  ecoregional  targets  

•  Tell  collecJve  impact  stories  as  well  as  individual  campus  innovaJons  

Thank  You  

ObservaJons:  

•  Performance  oien  based  on  improvement  to  campus  baselines  (inward  focus)    

•  Not  on  improved  performance  in  response  to  eco-­‐regional  needs  (outward  focus)  

NE  Ecoregion:  

•  Waste  ProducJon:    – Significantly  elevated  per  FTE  compared  to  average  today  

– BUT,  reduced  waste  4%  over  study  period  •  GHG  Emissions:  – Significantly  reduced  emissions  than  average  today  

– 13%  reducJon  over  study  period