Sustainability Goals
Campus Operations Sustainability Goals
The Office of Energy and Sustainability (OES) in Facilities Management has completed UD’s first-ever campus operations sustainability goal-setting process. Working closely with members of the OES and the leadership group in the Hanley Sustainability Institute, 41 campus partners from 17 offices across campus were part of a deeply collaborative process that created over 50 goals in campus operational areas. These areas include food and dining; fleet and transportation; procurement and waste; water; energy; and buildings and grounds. Building on UD’s strong foundation as an AASHE STARS gold-rated campus, a leader in the Laudato Si Action initiative, and our Catholic, Marianist tradition, the goal-setting process was designed to inspire and engage action, establish clear commitments, and identify resource needs.
Buildings
| BLD1 | By 2025, evaluate and update selection of a building design and construction rating system(s), no less than LEED Silver equivalent, to use for 100% of UD’s new building construction and for renovation projects over $2 Million (2022 dollars) where the rating system can be applied and the cost to certify the project is no more than 2% of the construction budget. |
| BLD2 | By 2029, certify 1 new building or major renovation to the highest achievable level under a green building rating system (e.g. LEED Platinum). |
| BLD3 | By 2025, define and implement high-performance standards and protocols for building maintenance and operations (eg cleaning; energy performance; waste and water practices). |
| BLD4 | By 2025, evaluate the feasibility of, and pilot, a green lab program that addresses energy and water conservation, chemical use and disposal, materials management, and sustainable practices training. |
| BLD5 | By 2025, evaluate and adjust as needed staffing and resource needs for regularly aggregating and reporting building design, construction, operations, and maintenance performance data. |
| BLD6 | By 2026, assess feasibility, benefits, requirements, and costs of implementing practices for improving student neighborhood residential energy use efficiency and building performance. |
Dining
| DIN1 | By 2027, achieve zero food waste from pre-consumer production by maximizing food recovery and composting. |
| DIN1a | By 2025, complete food waste and surplus food audits in all dining and catering facilities. |
| DIN1b | By 2025, identify new opportunities for maximizing food recovery. |
| DIN1c | Annually, or as needed, conduct food safety training for food recovery volunteers and staff. |
| DIN2 | Within 3 years, increase spend on local, small, and underrepresented vendors by 40% from a 2022 baseline. |
| DIN2a | By 2025, complete a food spend analysis on “procurement for the common good” categories of vendors to set baseline. |
| DIN2b | By 2025, identify opportunities for increasing local, small, and underrepresented vendor spend. (eg, amend RFPs for distributors to include preferences regarding supplier traceability and sourcing flexibility). |
| DIN3 | Annually increase UD’s spend on locally produced food. |
| DIN3a | By 2025, in partnership with vendors and distributors, improve tracking and reporting of spend on local food purchases. |
| DIN3b | By 2025, complete spend analysis of locally purchased foods. |
| DIN3c | By 2026, with campus partners, identify opportunities for a centralized distribution hub that simplifies logistics for purchasing and receiving local products. |
| DIN4 | Within 5 years, increase UD’s spend on plant-based foods by 45% from a 2022 baseline. |
| DIN4a | By 2025, in partnership with vendors and distributors, improve tracking of plant-based food purchases. |
| DIN4b | By 2027, increase the number of plant-based offerings (entrees) by 30% from a 2022 baseline. |
| DIN5 | Annually maintain Green Restaurant Association 2-star or higher or similar certification. |
| DIN6 | By 2025, annually inform all customers about low-impact food choices and sustainability practices through outreach and education such as labeling and signage in dining facilities and catering menus. |
Energy
| ENG1 | By 2025, assess feasibility, benefits, requirements, and costs of implementing practices for optimizing building use schedules to improve building energy use efficiency. |
| ENG2 | By 2026, decrease building energy use intensity by 25% from a 2018 baseline. |
| ENG3 | Maintain building standards (design, new construction, renovation, operation) to meet or exceed current ASHRAE standards for energy efficiency. |
| ENG4 | By 2035, reach carbon neutrality for scope 1 and 2 emissions. (electricity 71% = PPA; natural gas 28% = geothermal; fleet 1% = EV transition, see fleet goals) |
| ENG4a | By 2025, sign a virtual power purchase agreement for 100% of campus imported electricity use from certified/verified clean and renewable sources. |
| ENG4b | By 2028, demonstrate opportunities for cost savings and emissions reductions by installation of a single- or multi-building geothermal system. |
| ENG4c | Depending on the success of the pilot geothermal system, by 2030, design and secure funding for campus-wide geothermal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reliance on on-campus stationary fuels. |
| ENG5 | Annually inventory and report Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions. (main campus, student neighborhood, major accounts, fleet) |
Fleet
| FLT1 | By 2031, reduce fleet carbon emissions by 50% from a 2018 baseline (eg.. fewer vehicles; improved efficiency; electrification; fewer miles). |
| FLT1a | By 2025 assess the current campus fleet in order to right-size the fleet and implement fleet management best practices (e.g. total number of vehicles, type, and business use). |
| FLT1b | By 2026, develop a vehicle purchase strategy or guideline for all UD-owned vehicle purchases that supports carbon neutrality goals. |
| FLT1c | By 2026, work with fleet managers to pilot innovative approaches to reduce carbon emissions. (EV use; reduce idle time; materials/tools storage and workspace alternatives). |
| FLT2 | By 2025, assess feasibility of infrastructure that supports fleet electrification. (cost, maintenance, location/space, facilities, federal funding) |
| FLT3 | By 2029, secure funding and approval to develop electrification infrastructure in support of 50% reduction in fleet’s carbon emissions (e.g. charging for plug-in hybrid or zero emissions vehicles). |
| FLT4 | Annually track, assess and report carbon emissions to fleet managers, campus leadership, and partners. |
Grounds
| GRD1 | By 2026, to support ecological stewardship of campus, complete and present to campus a study of local stormwater management policy and regulations, profile of campus stakeholders, and characterization of campus rainwater impacts. |
| GRD2 | By 2026, develop site appropriate rainwater/stormwater management plans or guidelines by campus zone that include green infrastructure and low impact development best practices for planning and new construction (zones eg: Old River Park; academic quad; student neighborhoods; campus west) |
| GRD3 | By 2028, building on prior hands-on learning projects, demonstrate potential for innovative, impactful green infrastructure by implementing, monitoring, and tracking performance of at least one campus-as-lab rainwater management project that measurably improves stormwater quality. |
| GRD4 | By 2026, develop and integrate guidance for evaluating green space and ecological stewardship in campus land use decisions. |
| GRD5 | Annually keep equivalent or increase current acreage designated as pollinator habitat and natural areas. Current areas include pollinator habitat at Curran Place solar prairie, radio tower hill, Science Center hillside, Merkle, Adele, and Art Street; and natural areas at the environmental research area and peripheral areas of Old River Park. |
| GRD6 | Annually support campus landscape values by keeping equivalent or increasing total campus tree canopy extent (main campus and student neighborhood). |
| GRD7 | Annually maintain Bee Campus, Ohio Pollinator Habitat Initiative, or other similar ecologically managed grounds certifications. |
| GRD8 | Annually maintain a list of all synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides, or herbicides used on campus. |
Investing
| INV1 | By partnering with the Hanley Sustainability Institute and the Office of Energy and Sustainability, the FAS division will increase applications to the GRF by 25% By 2026 to advance community resilience and adoption of resource conservation strategies. |
| INV2 | The GRF committee will prepare an annual report for the FAS division and other campus partners of projects funded, cost savings, and resources conserved. |
| INV3 | Beginning in 2023, the investment committee of the Board of Trustees (BOT) will review the Long Term Investment Pool (LTIP) policy every 2 years. |
| INV4 | Annually, FAS will engage the investment committee of the BOT on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) investments through focused discussions with the Outside Chief Investment Officer (OCIO) and outside investment managers. |
| INV5 | By 2025, in partnership with HSI and the School of Business, the treasurer’s office will assist in identifying investment criteria for on-campus sustainability-focused investment (e.g. Hanley sustainability fund; Hanley trading center) that align with University sustainability commitments. |
Procurement
| PRC1 | By 2025, improve tracking and efficiency of equipment disposal and property management by centralizing, consolidating, and automating routing of equipment disposal forms. |
| PRC2 | By 2025, pilot an internal surplus platform that annually increases the repurposing and reuse of furniture, equipment, other durable goods, and supplies for reuse on campus or other venues. |
| PRC3 | By 2027, integrate campus-wide property management systems to improve stewardship of university property assets and allow for analyzing and streamlining business processes for property management systems. |
| PRC4 | By 2025, provide total cost of ownership training to leadership councils, new leaders, buyers, and other units as appropriate. |
| PRC5 | By 2025, update the Procurement and Payable policy to reflect campus social and environmental sustainability values such as increasing diversity spend and reducing environmental impacts of purchases. |
| PRC6 | By 2027, increase to at least 20% the total annual influenceable contract spend that is with vendors meeting social considerations. (MWBE, SBE, local) |
| PRC7 | By 2027, implement a process for identifying supplier sustainability considerations in supplier relationship management. |
| PRC8 | By 2025, include sustainability attributes and guidelines within the ‘How to Buy’ website for at least the top 50% of product categories by annual spend. |
| PRC9 | Annually track spend in key product categories (e.g. STARS reporting: furniture, paper, electronics, cleaning and janitorial supplies). |
| PRC10 | Annually maintain Fair Trade University status. |
Transportation
| TRN1 | By 2025, recognizing that current transportation solutions are designed and implemented by multiple units across campus without central coordination, assess and implement a mode for coordinating shared mobility and active transportation stakeholders in decision-making and integration into campus planning |
| TRN2 | By 2026, complete a detailed assessment of student transportation and commuting behavior, including use of single-occupancy vehicles, bikes, bike share programs, and inter-campus shuttle services. |
| TRN3 | By 2027, to support the reduction of scope 3 student emissions and increase by 30% the number of student trips using active and shared mobility transportation for inter-campus and community travel, develop and pilot communication and other strategies supporting the use of shared mobility and active transportation options (eg Flyer, RTA, campus shuttle, Link Bikes, Rec bikes, etc). |
| TRN4 | By 2026, complete a detailed assessment of employee commuting behavior and decisions. |
| TRN5 | By 2026, assess and present to campus the feasibility, benefits, and costs of implementing campus standards that support increasing active commuting and use of shared mobility. |
| TRN6 | By 2026, to support the reduction of scope 3 emissions and increase by 30% the number of employee trips using active and shared mobility transportation for inter-campus travel and commuting, pilot and monitor the effectiveness of an impactful private or public partnership, incentive program, and/or information tool to increase the use of ridesharing and other commuting options (e.g. MVRPC commute program; HR Wellness health activity tracker; mobile and social applications that promote alternatives to single-occupancy vehicle use). |
Waste
| WST1 | Annually decrease campus waste tonnage by ensuring that waste infrastructure supports waste reduction (vendor contracts; janitorial contracts; bin design and placement; behavior change efforts/education). |
| WST2 | Annually conduct waste audits to characterize waste stream and support continual reduction in campus waste tonnage. |
| WST3 | By 2025, incorporate support for waste reduction and diversion goals into design of interior and exterior waste collection spaces by piloting a best practices questionnaire for facilities project teams, stakeholders, and design professionals. |
| WST4 | By 2029, decrease campus post-consumer landfilled food waste by 50% (down from estimated 12%) by piloting composting initiatives for student residences and offices. |
| WST5 | By 2031, achieve the highest rating in a waste management and reduction third-party certification platform (e.g. PLAN Atlas, TRUE/LEED). |
| WST6 | By 2025, require tracking and reporting of waste tonnage for all campus construction and demolition projects. |
| WST7 | By 2026, support the current high rate of electronics recycling and reuse by implementing an improved tracking process for all outbound UD technology equipment. |
| WST8 | By 2026, update our waste hauling contract to include improved waste tonnage reporting accuracy and frequency. |
Water
| WTR1 | By 2025, to improve tracking of potable water use and leak detection, assess feasibility, benefits, requirements, and costs of installing or upgrading sub-meters on all campus buildings (main campus, student neighborhood, campus west) |
| WTR2 | By 2028, use building-level water data to inform strategies for no net campus increase in potable water use (metric: water use per total building gross square footage). |
| WTR3 | By 2028, demonstrate potential for innovative, impactful potable water reuse by implementing, monitoring, and tracking performance of at least one campus-as-lab reuse project that measurably reduces potable water use. |