Building a Sustainability Culture at SMC… and How You Can Help? Riley Smith, Sustainability Coordinator Staff Council 10/13/15

Today’s Flow 1. Wait, what does Riley do again? 2. What is the college doing? 3. What can Staff Council & Staff do?

What is sustainability? Saint Mary’s defines the term as “commitments and behaviors that are ecologically viable, socially just, and economically sound, and will continue to be so for future generations.” Community Campus Environment Air quality, food services, energy, landscaping, transportation, water, waste Economy Purchasing habits, business partnerships Society Community Service, affordability, curriculum, student/employee health, student life, diversity Curriculum

Saint mary’s College and Sustainability Before we begin, we wanted to provide a history – a primer – of where Saint Mary’s was and where we endeavor to be as it pertains to climate change and sustainablity

History of Sustainability at SMC 2006 2011 2014 Sustainability Committee formed Mission & Vision adopted

Sustainability Distinctions at SMC 32% reduction in water (~9 million gallons) in 2015 100% of our electricity is being offset through the purchase of Renewable Energy Credits (EPA Green Power Partner) 3,500 lbs of produce from the Legacy Garden (1,236 volunteer hours) Over 42,000 community service hours (2014-15) SMC One Planet Film Festival (10 films) 420 acre campus (328 of which are vegetated) All office paper purchased has 30%+ recycled content We are committing a light audit to upgrade our fixtures

Sustainability Highlights – This semester Waste Diversion (move-in, Oliver Hall, Residence Halls) Spring 2015 – ~25-35% diversion rate Fall 2015-Spring 2016 – Goal of 50% diversion rate Student Life: Green Gaels & Waste Defense Team (2015) Newly hired staff: sustainability orientation Initiated our 1st Sustainability Assessment to Freshman (2015) New programs: Farmigo, Carpool program, lighting audit, & more.

Laudato Si’ and Saint Mary’s College 4 THEMES Technology as a driver and a deterrent (w/o ethics, tech progress should be goal. It can distract us from the real problem and but also can empower solutions) Ecological = social; you can’t separate people from the environment (The poor face the consequences of our actions and they do not have the means to actually deal with it.) Inconvenient Truth mentioned several times, and fortunately we get a glimpse of Al today. Tangible items = greywater, takeout program at Oliver Hall, composting, paperless offices

2015-2016 Goals 1. Build the student voice on campus 2. Create a sustainability experience for each student & staff 3. Streamline our waste stream experience at Oliver Hall & the Residence Halls. 4. Continue to build sustainability as a brand and unique element at SMC. a. Events (ex. Encyclical; climate change) b. Tangible projects (ex. Light and water audits) c. Programming (ex. Gonzaga energy/waste competition) d. Staff coalitions (ex. Ambassador program)

What can you do?

Personal Commitments Make a commitment to have a personal affect and share your story: - Water: navy shower? graywater? irrigation? - Food: local? seasonal? meatless? - Waste: Reduce, Reuse, Repair, Recycle, Rot - Energy: heating/cooling? hang drying? outlets? - Transportation: bike? bus? carpool? - Purchasing: is price the only factor?

Green Gael Living, #greengaels Need a guide? goo.gl/HVMD31

What can you do in my SMC community?

Host Green Meetings/Events

Sustainability Ambassadors Purpose: to serve as a liaison Commitment: 2 hours/mo. Duties: Learn about different facets of sustainability (ex. brown bag lunch) Apply simple tactics at workspace Communicate efforts to peers/ colleagues What I need: Identification of staff Promotion/marketing Other support as needed

Office Certification

Contact info Have a question? Email: smcsustainability@stmarys-ca.edu Tweet: @SMCsustain Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/smcsustainability Instagram: smcsustainability