Issues of environmental friendliness and sustainability, and as they relate to Stevens, have been making headlines recently. In January, it was officially announced to the school by Frank LoCastro, Assistant Vice President for Facilities and Campus Operations, that the university has partnered with Emerald Brand to include tree-free paper products in our bathrooms. As opposed to traditional paper products, these use agricultural fibers that are typically discarded in food production processes and are BPA-free and biodegradable.
On the same day, a Sustainability Literacy Assessment was emailed to all students from the facilities department. According to the email, this survey was created using input from the STARS Steering Committee and the Stevens Sustainability Coalition. The STARS Steering Committee (Sustainability, Tracking, Assessment, and Rating System) is an internationally-recognizable framework for higher education institutions to pursue sustainability initiatives and be compared to other schools in terms of overall sustainability using the Sustainable Campus Index, which is provided by the same organization.
The Stevens Sustainability Coalition (SSC) is a student-run organization of students who are committed to making sustainability a stakeholder issue on campus. This organization operates mainly in an independent manner, not as a recognized student organization (RSO). According to Alex Dubro, co-facilitator of the SSC, this independent setup was intended to allow more freedom to operate and create more trust in the organization by the student body due to its grassroots and authentic appeal.
Despite its largely independent nature, the SSC has around 10 to 15 active members, according to Dubro. All members are united around the organization’s pillars: network, communication, and incubation. These pillars go along with the organization’s key mission of making sustainability a stakeholder issue by indirect means and by breaking down barriers around topics of environmental friendliness through collaboration and transparency.
Dubro emphasized “we’re not here to dominate” and “we’re here to augment” when commenting on how the SSC seeks to promote sustainability through indirect means. As a result, the SSC has built relationships with over 20 different groups on campus and have even reached out to national organizations such as AASHE (Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education).
In addition to this outside partnership, the SSC has collaborated with the city of Hoboken to pursue an initiative of recycling volunteering work. Moreover, the SSC has also sought to partner with Gotham 360, which is a consulting firm based around energy management.
Going forward, the SSC would like to see more events on campus centered around sustainability awareness, social events focused on environmental friendliness, and more project groups with specific deliverables to make Stevens a more sustainable place.
Additionally, Dubro noted that, given their largely independent nature, different types of organizations might be more feasible for achieving sustainability changes. For instance, a Student Government Association task force on sustainability might replace the SSC and take over their initiatives. Furthermore, a formally recognized graduate student organization might also be established to further their aims.
The work done by the facilities department at the administrative level and the grassroots work done by student organizations like the SSC highlight that concerns of sustainability and environmental friendliness are quickly taking center stage, not only in university objectives, but in the eyes of the student body as well.
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