Portland State University and Beyond: An Environmental Sustainability Assessment Amy Dvorak June 19, 2007

PSU Environmental Sustainability Assessment Portland State University Declaration for Support of Sustainability Action 1: Commitment to the triple bottom- line, integration into all departments Action 2: Physical campus Action 3: Demonstration model of policies and practices Action 4: Develop core multidisciplinary research areas  Environmental sustainability assessment

PSU Environmental Sustainability Assessment Sustainability Assessment Purpose and Scope Identify highest priority environmental impact areas Develop systematic assessment protocol Campus-wide audits; June 2005-August 2006 Academic, research, departmental offices, operations and facilities management Some exclusions based on impact and available data

PSU Environmental Sustainability Assessment Sustainability Definitions Brundtland Commission Oregon Natural Step (ORTNS) International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 14001:2004 Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)

PSU Environmental Sustainability Assessment Sustainability Assessment Design & Methods 4 Indicator Categories 36 Indicators 10 Audit checklists 150 Tours/Interviews Database entry and analysis Scoring  Existing audits: private corporations, academia, and government  Regional higher education meeting  ISO  ORTNS workshops

PSU Environmental Sustainability Assessment General Office Presence/Score Contact: Building/Room/Dept.: Activity: ENVIRONMENTAL Transportation Bus10 Bike1 Max/Streetcar Carpool Walk1 Car5 Audit Checklist Example: Environmental indicator transportation potential sources Score 1=low impact >57% 2=moderate impact 40-57% 3=high impact <40%

PSU Environmental Sustainability Assessment Environmental Indicator Results

PSU Environmental Sustainability Assessment estimated number of cases of copy paper/year used on campus by PSU faculty and staff 20% of the total copy paper used contains post consumer waste 43% of those surveyed have access to a duplex capable printer or copier 25 tons of paper is recycled/month (mixed paper) Environmental Assessment Paper Data

PSU Environmental Sustainability Assessment Environmental Assessment Paper Data Cases/Person/Year Academic: 2.78 Facilities: 1.95 Research offices: 1.04 Portion of Total Paper Use by Service Category 54% 19% 1% 26% Academic Offices/Departments Facilities and Operations Research and Meeting spaces Computer Labs

PSU Environmental Sustainability Assessment Environmental Assessment Impacts Climate change impacts of energy and paper use at PSU: CO 2 equivalents emitted to produce the estimated 3800 boxes of paper used 480,488 lbs. CO 2 emitted to produce 28,000,000 kwh is 4,583,040 lbs.

PSU Environmental Sustainability Assessment Environmental Sustainability Energy Efforts & Paper Efforts 100% alternative energy purchasing plan by 2010 Cramer Solar Array HVAC and lighting upgrades Wind turbines Utilities Task Force AASHE’s President’s Climate Commitment Blueworks Certification Student labs 100% PCW & reduced paper quota Paper Task Force Paper Purchasing Policy

PSU Environmental Sustainability Assessment Beyond PSU Sustainability Careers Strategic partnerships Private, public, and nonprofit positions Follow conferences and market trends

PSU Environmental Sustainability Assessment Beyond PSU Sustainability Careers Maul, Foster & Alongi Environmental, engineering, and planning consultants Contact information: Amy Dvorak