Sustainability Council

The Council has a critical role in the execution of administrative goals and objectives relating to campus sustainability. They will serve in an advisory and execution-oriented role for all administration-funded sustainability projects on campus. They will also act as a means to collect and share information both with each other and with the Sustainability Coordinator with the intent of improving the effectiveness of a unified sustainability program at Mason. Finally, but not least importantly, the members of the Council will also serve as a voice for their particular campus constituency to ensure that the voices of the entire campus community are heard with regard to their critical sustainability issues. The members of the Council must represent all aspects of sustainability on campus, including economic, equity, and environmental issues. Only in this way can all issues be adequately addressed by the Council when prioritizing projects.

Who:
  • Representatives at the management level from colleges, departments, faculty senate, student government, Greek organizations, and environmental student groups on campus; student representatives may be elected, although the process is currently unclear.
Type of position:
  • Initially these should be self-selecting positions, with the possibility for future peer selection, similar to the university standing committees.
  • For staff: these may be permanent positions, depending on how many staff are available. This may be staffed by two people in rotation, depending on availability; not all staff would be required at all Council meetings - this depends on whether decisions are being made or whether their program will be discussed.
  • For faculty: These are temporary (one-semester or one-year) positions, requiring a commitment of 10 hours per month for a minimum of one semester from each Council member.
Responsibilities:
  • Develop sustainability projects that will help to meet the university sustainability goals as set by the Executive Committee.
  • Provide annual fiscal year recommendations to the Steering Committee on goals and priorities for the sustainability program.
  • Provide recommendations to the Steering Committee on projects that fit the pre-defined prioritization criteria.
  • Council members will coordinate and report out on the activities of the sub-committee working groups.
  • Provide recommendations to the Executive Committee based on research of best practices of other universities.
  • Report on the progress of sub-committees at the Council meetings.
  • Provide progress reports on approved projects to the Executive Steering Committee every quarter.
Frequency:
  • Council meetings should occur once per month
If you would like more information, or are interested in becoming a member of the Sustainability Council, please contact Lenna Storm.


Link to the Sustainability Homepage