Purdue Graduate Student Senate

Resolution Number: SP20-R004

“Purdue University Sustainability Strategic Plan Revisit”

Author:   Val Schull
Sponsors: Mathew Dittmann, Vasundhara Kaul, Kendria Huff
Date of Meeting:Feb 26th, 2020
Ruling: Constitutional
President, PGSG: Taylor Bailey

WHEREAS,

the City of West Lafayette council unanimously passed a resolution on climate change, “A Resolution To Reduce Carbon Emissions, Increase Energy Efficiency And Renewable Energy Use, And To Create A Climate Change-Resilient City Of West Lafayette, Indiana To Benefit The Economy, Promote Public Health, And Protect The Community’s Children And Grandchildren”; and

WHEREAS,

Purdue University Main Campus is located in West Lafayette and

WHEREAS,

the 2010 Purdue University Sustainability Strategic Plan outlines short-term sustainability goals for 2014 and long-term sustainability goals for 2025 that involve infrastructure, material management, water resources, academics and research, food systems, endowment/development, and community relationships and

WHEREAS,

the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS) is a self-reporting framework for colleges and universities to measure their sustainability performance on an annual basis; and

NOTING,
Purdue University has an expired Silver STARS rating dating back to 2013; and

NOTING,
the 2010 Purdue University Sustainability Strategic Plan states that one 2014 short-term goal is calculating Purdue University’s annual carbon footprint, as well as two 2025 long-term goals are to quantify greenhouse gas emissions and populate the greenhouse gas and pollutant emissions metrics; and

NOTING,
the 2010 Purdue University Sustainability Strategic Plan states The Sustainability Council Steering Committee (SCSC) is responsible for an annual report on projects approved/denied by the Sustainability Council Executive Committee; and

NOTING,
the 2010 Purdue University Sustainability Strategic Plan states The Office of Sustainability shall provide a Campus Sustainability Report that contains benchmarking metrics and summarizes progress and provided to the campus community each year.

Therefore, be it RESOLVED,
that Purdue Graduate Student Government urges Campus Planning and Sustainability to revisit the 2010 Purdue University Sustainability Strategic Plan, update short-term goals on an annual basis, and provide reports of ongoing progress of campus sustainability initiatives; and

be it further RESOLVED,
Purdue Graduate Student Government urges Campus Planning and Sustainability to provide progress assessments of the 2020 goals outlined in the Strategic Plan and update their STARS report within the next two years.

 Date                                               Action                               Vote

_____________________________                                            ______________________________

PGSG President                                                                    Chair, Legislative Review Committee