Sustainability Council welcomes new members, refines priorities and plans campus listening session
The Campus Sustainability Council convened on Sept. 12 to discuss the following topics:
Council membership updates
Four new members joined: Kaila Red Bow (student), Martin Kelley (staff), Kathryn Wendell (staff) and Sara Tabatabaie (faculty). Associate Vice Chancellor for Sustainability Cara Carmichael is now an ex officio member.
Campus sustainability updates
Council Co-chair Chris Ewing and other members of the council provided updates on the following initiatives:
- Leadership and governance: New vice chancellor for sustainability (Andrew Mayock); associate vice chancellor (Cara Carmichael); director for campus climate action, sustainability and resilience (Josh Radoff); and faculty executive director of the Buckley Center for Sustainability Education (Max Boykoff)
- Climate and energy: Decarbonization plan design underway; efficiency upgrades in 18 buildings; new solar arrays (on site and off site); geothermal studies; ENVD retrofit pilot
- Zero waste and materials: PepsiCo contract eliminating single-use bottles; campus waste study; reusable serviceware pilot; new surplus store
- Food and dining: CU ranked No. 1 nationally for plant-based dining, expanding offerings
- Mobility: Buff Bus fleet expansion with new electric buses; free BCycle memberships for students and employees
- Education and innovation: $10M Buckley Center for Sustainability Education; Boulder Climate Ventures program supporting student climate startups
- Engagement and collaboration: Boulder Faculty Assembly partnership to engage academic units into strategies for reducing Scope 3 emissions in alignment of the Climate Action Plan goals
Council structure and process feedback
- The council continues as an advisory body to the chancellor, cabinet and senior sustainability leadership, integrating sustainability across academic, operational, research and community activities.
- Members discussed the need for clearer communication on proposal review and tracking, more structured outreach and defined success metrics.
- Opportunities for improvement include a formal proposal process, enhanced engagement and outreach and better integration with campus frameworks like STARS.
Council priorities for 2025–26
- Five focus areas identified in spring 2025: zero waste and plastics, transportation, food, composting and Scope 3 emissions.
- The council will reassess these priorities to ensure alignment with campus needs, member expertise and actionable outcomes. Final priorities may be confirmed by December.
- Measurable engagement is seen as a key success metric.
Fall 2025 listening session
- Planned for November, this public forum will gather input from the campus community.
- The session will focus on council priority themes, campuswide sustainability updates and open discussion.
- Council members will be polled for the best date and time.
Next steps and upcoming meetings
- Refine the council proposal template to emphasize problem definition, evidence, alignment and sponsorship.
- Develop review deadlines and a tracking system for proposals including a regular annual cadence for submissions.
- Identify key performance indicators for engagement and clarify student/outside entity involvement.
- Upcoming meetings: Oct. 10, Nov. 14 (including the listening session) and Dec. 12.