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University of Virginia 2007 Campus Sustainability Leadership Award Application

Category

Four-year and graduate institutions over 7,500 student FTE

While the University of Virginia has drawn attention for its sustainability efforts in all areas of our operations, our commitment to sustainability is rooted in our deep history of connectivity to the local environment and our Charlottesville community.  This connection is epitomized by community gatherings such as this Halloween celebration on the Academical Village.  Just as Thomas Jefferson designed it as a natural meeting place between students and faculty, it continues to thrive as a central, living model to our community, connected to the environment, student life, and community.

Contact

Julia Monteith
Senior Land Use Planner
The Rotunda, S.E. Wing,
PO Box 400304
Charlottesville, VA
(434) 924-6015
jm8qc@virginia.edu

Governance & Administration

The University of Virginia (UVA) has demonstrated its commitment to sustainability over the years through a diverse set of initiatives ranging from energy conservation measures to environmental coursework and recycling programs. In order to identify baseline performance, recognize accomplishments, stimulate dialogue and develop recommendations, the University initiated the first UVA Sustainability Assessment report in spring 2006. The report was developed over a year-long process and involved more two-hundred University stakeholders.

Hosted by the Office of the Architect, the UVA Sustainability Assessment is supported by the University’s Administration. Developed with Facilities Management (FM) and Environmental Health & Safety (EH&S), the assessment process was introduced to 60 staff, faculty and student representatives during a series of 4 introductory workshops hosted in June 2006. Through 9 online survey modules, select interviews and online research, the findings underscore the breadth and depth of UVA’s activities, and represent the first documented account of the University’s sustainability initiatives.

Released in March 2007, the Strategy for Sustainability, detailed at the outset of the report, offers a recommended direction for moving the University toward a more sustainable future. “Governance & Culture” presents readers with a snapshot of current conditions, as well as a vision for the future. “Management Centers” details initiatives underway in seven major areas, including Land Use, Built Environment, Transportation, Dining Services, Energy, Water, and Waste & Recycling. Finally, “Academics & Learning” highlights the departments, organizations and institutes involved in educating and advancing sustainability principles at the University. Findings and recommendations were presented to assessment participants and the University community during two briefings.

Following the report’s release, the University established the UVA Sustainability Advisory Panel. Composed of sixteen administrators, staff, faculty and one student representative, the panel is charged with further defining the recommended direction as outlined in the Strategy for Sustainability.

As mentioned previously, prior to the Sustainability Assessment, UVA had already demonstrated its commitment to resource conservation measures in energy and recycling. These efforts have been guided by the University’s Energy Plan and Energy Management and Sustainability Policy, updated in December 2005 and enacted January 2006 respectively, and driven by the Energy Program Manager in Energy & Utilities. In January 2007, the University of Virginia’s Board of Visitors (BOV) approved USGBC LEED certification for all new and renovated buildings, prompted by the University’s 2004 Guidelines for Sustainable Building and Environmental Design. At this time, the BOV also approved the Grounds Improvement Fund (GIF) which will assist in funding needed pedestrian, bicycle and landscape improvements. Similarly, in December 2006, UVA approved and hired a Transportation Demand Management (TDM) Coordinator, and has contracted with several external consultants to assist in managing the USGBC LEED building projects.

Operations

Environmental Management System (EMS)

A milestone in the University’s move toward sustainability was the start of an Environmental Management System (EMS) in 2005, under the direction of Environmental Health & Safety (EH&S). Going “beyond compliance,” analyses are conducted by department, involving staff at all levels. Parking & Transportation (P&T) and Dining were the first departments to implement an EMS. By incorporating the use of B20 in the busfleet, and installing bioremediation measures to contain surface lot runoff, P&T has reduced its environmental impact. Thanks to these and other efforts, the P&T and UVA Dining were each certified an “environmental enterprise” by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality in spring 2007.

Parking and Transportation (P&T)

Over 95% of undergraduate students are served by the fare-free University Transit System (UTS). Reaching beyond the Grounds and in collaboration with the City of Charlottesville, UTS and Charlottesville Transit Service (CTS) have established a fare-free bus program with through July 2008. In spring 2007, Parking & Transportation and University’s Office of the Architect, with the support of Green Grounds, a University student organization, UVA released the SMART Transportation Map. Detailing bicycle and transit routes around Grounds and connecting to the local community, this effort further enhances pedestrian and bicycle connectivity.

Energy and Water

The University has also realized dual environmental and financial dividends through a variety of initiatives. In 2005 the Athletics Department installed an innovative turf surface for a practice field, requiring less labor, irrigation and chemicals to maintain while also serving as a stormwater retention device. This and other notable projects around Grounds earned the University recognition from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2006 for innovation and excellence in low-impact development and stormwater management.

Land Use, Planning and Design

The Grounds Plan, a 20-year master plan slated for completion by December 2007, includes a sustainability lens for the entire plan and greater collaboration with City of Charlottesville and Albemarle County to improve quality of life for University and community members. Supporting this work, the University has completed the first comprehensive biodiversity analysis for the University and its real estate foundation lands of approximately 6,200 acres. Through smarter management of developed land and minimizing new land development, infill development strategies will improve the quality and enjoyment of public spaces. The Grounds Plan includes Transportation Demand Management strategies aimed at minimizing parking, increasing transit ridership and improving transportation connectivity. The plan will also build on earlier planning efforts, such as the University’s historical and cultural resources to preserve all of these valuable assets.

The University’s Energy Program has received 13 awards from national organizations and regional chapters and the University’s energy consumption has remained nearly flat for over a decade, despite the number added facilities. Since 1995, the University has upgraded more than 4,278,190 net square feet with energy-efficient lighting systems, which translates into a reduction of 7,500 tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually. UVA Recycling has consistently exceeded expectations, diverting 41% of its total waste from landfills in 2005, despite the Commonwealth of Virginia’s recycling mandate of 25%. Since 1994, University Recycling has earned 14 awards of excellence.

Curriculum & Research

The University of Virginia is in a prime position to develop future leaders in sustainability, with the country’s first Environmental Science program, established in 1968, and a host of dedicated academic centers and initiatives, such as the Institute for Environmental Negotiation, the Batten Institute at Darden, and the Virginia Environmental Law and Land Use Program. In the last two years, student demand and faculty interest have driven the creation of new sustainability-oriented courses in Architecture, Engineering, Commerce and other disciplines. Such interest has leveraged unique opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration across schools and departments.

For example, spring 2007 students in a fourth-year McIntire School of Business undergraduate capstone course collaborated with students in Germany via videoconference on team-based, semester-long sustainable enterprise projects. The courses are supported by the school’s grant from Proctor and Gamble for improving sustainability in education. In 2005, the Darden Graduate School of Business was ranked 13th in the World by the World Resources Institute and Aspen Institute for its leadership in Social and Environmental Stewardship.

The Shenandoah Watershed Study, which has been sustained for more than 25 years, continues to offer a service learning opportunity for students. Linking such efforts to the University, the Environmental Science department also collaborates with Environmental Health & Safety (EH&S) to monitor stormwater quality at several locations around Grounds. As of spring 2007, the student-run Green Grounds organization has begun assisting EH&S in monitoring pre- and post- development conditions. It has also provided a key monitoring service for an area of remarkable natural beauty, and has positioned Environmental Sciences faculty as leaders in academic achievement among its peers.

Combining expertise from the Schools of Architecture and Engineering, EcoMod, a design-build course aimed at building affordable and sustainable modular homes, has built three homes over the last 2 years. In 2002, UVA students placed second overall and first in architecture at the Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon in Washington, D.C. Such efforts are supported by research and courses in fuel cell technology, systems engineering analyzing the resiliency of local infrastructure, with applied academic and research projects.

Some of the best efforts involve the local community. Again building on the efforts of interested students and faculty, in spring 2006, students in Urban and Environmental Planning undertook a preliminary assessment of the Charlottesville regional food system. The result of their assessment was the formation of a new organization, EAT Local (Everyone at the Table), aimed at raising awareness of local food options by hosting potlucks and discussions about progress towards a healthier and more secure food system.

Students from areas as diverse as Law, Business, and Engineering are also finding opportunities to learn from professors such as Jon Cannon, former general counsel and assistant administrator for resources management at the EPA. This is only one example of UVA drawing on a deep pool of local expertise and businesses related to sustainability, including William McDonough, of architect and international advocate of cradle to cradle design, and William and Lucille Salatin, founders of Polyface Farms.

Campus Culture

UVA embraces student self-governance as one of the cornerstones of the University’s culture. Students were the original drivers of the famed Honor Code, one of the oldest in the country, just as students continue to be one of the primary drivers for sustainability at UVA. Students from dozens of student-run organizations that espouse the ideals of sustainability have seen their vision making a real difference on Grounds.

In spring 2007, Students for Environmental Action (SEA) held a first ever day-long Energy Conference to promote action to secure a future of clean energy at UVA. SEA has twice passed a referendum by a student body vote for an increase in tuition to be used for purchasing or producing clean energy. Other recent successes include winning a $4,000 grant from the UVA Parents Program to replace lighting around Grounds with compact fluorescents. Students who feel passionately about fairness and trade issues have found a different point of leverage with the University. In response to student demand, and championed by Students Promoting Fair Trade, UVA Dining began offering fair-trade coffee in all residential dining facilities in 2005. Another organization, Green Grounds, partnered with the Office of the Architect over the course of 2005 and 2006 in mapping bicycle routes on Grounds, identifying new routes, and developing a UVA bicycle plan.

These student organizations are beginning to see greater formalization and cooperation. In April 2007, sustainability moved front and center for Student Council, passing a bill to create the Environmental Sustainability Committee. Students are also moving to create a common platform for all sustainability focused initiatives at UVA though the newly formed organization Progress UVA. Through this organization, all sustainability-related organizations at UVA will build a “common front” on key issues and also support each other in the areas of promotion, logistics, and membership.

In addition to student-led initiatives, the administration and several key management centers have partnered with students in unique ways to promote sustainability on Grounds. UVA Recycling coordinates the Conservation Advocates program in dorms, where students elect peers to promote conservation efforts in student housing. They are also responsible for annual awareness raising events, such as organized games and learning centers on the Lawn on Earth Day for students to learn about recycling and conservation first-hand.
There is an inherent alignment of the Jeffersonian legacy and founding intentions for this University with the sustainability mission, as Thomas Jefferson promoted public education as essential to ensure the long-term stability of our democracy. Architecturally, the Academical Village and Lawn, the central gathering point of the University, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a living model for mixed-use development and sustainable living, with students and faculty living, studying, working, and gathering together. Because the influence of Jefferson’s original intentions are a strong guiding hand for the University and the Grounds are symbolic representations of sustainability, student organizations need not look far for motivated students and collaborative support from the institution.

Community Service & Outreach

University planning efforts such as the Grounds Plan emphasize infill development while targeted local initiatives such as the fare-free bus program improve both the University and surrounding community’s quality of life. Voluntary improvements in Parking & Transportation exemplify this by simultaneously reducing demand on city infrastructure and benefiting University employees and students commuting to Grounds. Other initiatives are also symbolic of the University’s dedication support the local community. Small local initiatives are just as important as global research initiatives, such as the Charlottesville Free Clinic, founded by a UVA Medical Student while in his residency, providing free medical care to the surrounding area since 1991.

Academically speaking, the School of Architecture has initiated community service and outreach projects through several courses. The EcoMod project is further supported through a partnership with the Piedmont Housing Alliance, a non-profit dedicated to developing low income housing in Charlottesville. Students of the School of Architecture, in the Department of Urban and Environmental Planning, have written the City of Charlottesville’s Environmental Chapter of the 2007 Comprehensive Plan. In May 2007 Architecture and Engineering students won the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) prestigious Third Annual P3 (People, Prosperity and the Planet) Award in the National Sustainable Design Expo, a student design contest for sustainability, held on the Washington, D.C. Mall on April 24 and 25. UVA’s entry "The Learning Barge: Environmental + Cultural Ecologies on the Elizabeth River," was one of six projects to be recognized with Sustainability Design Awards of $75,000.

Student volunteer service traces its roots to the founding of UVA. Madison House serves as the student volunteer center at the University of Virginia, by coordinating volunteers, developing leaders, building community partnerships and promoting lifelong volunteer service. Each week over 3,300 UVA students volunteer their time and energy to better the community and themselves with 110,000 hours of donated service valued at over 2.2 million dollars. In 2006, in one effort alone, the Community Affairs sponsored United Way Day of Caring, nearly 1,000 UVA employees engaged the community in volunteer projects ranging from landscaping and painting to reading to children and visiting with elderly residents. UVA also coordinates planning efforts with the City and County through the Planning and Coordination Council (PACC), established in 1986, and representation on the City and County Planning Commissions through the Office of the University Architect.

The University’s interest in the community often stretches much further than Charlottesville. Organizations such as the Global Development Organization and the Center for Global Health draw speakers on these issues, raise funding and awareness, and send scholars to taken sustainability issues across the globe. The Center for Global Health has sponsored 299 fellows and scholars in international projects with a focus on sustaining consistent relationships with key communities and developing sustainable health infrastructure, such as for water quality. In January 2007, professors from the McIntire Undergraduate School of Business and from the School of Medicine traveled together with students to Tanzania to write the business model for a low cost AIDS diagnostic device.

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