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From constructing sustainable buildings to reducing its environmental footprint to injecting green technologies and topics into its curriculum, SUNY Orange is fully committed to sustainability.
In the two short years since SUNY Orange began a concerted effort to significantly strengthen its sustainability resume, much progress has been made.
SUNY Orange has signed on as part of the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment. The Board of Trustees has made College-wide sustainability one of the five strategic priorities in the College’s updated Strategic Plan 2009-2014, and just this January the SUNY Orange governance system approved elevating the College’s ad-hoc sustainability committee to a standing committee, further strengthening the institution’s commitment to ensuring sustainable practices are infused into all areas of the College.
But perhaps the most important step SUNY Orange has taken to date is the creation of a Sustainability Master Plan, which is currently in draft form until it is approved by the Board of Trustees.
The wide-ranging plan establishes a road map for how SUNY Orange can broaden its sustainability programs while also:
- infusing systemic changes campus-wide that will create a more efficient and environmentally friendly Middletown campus;
- creating a campus “culture” of environmental stewardship via programming that stresses outreach, education and awareness; and
- raising the “Sustainability IQ” of students, faculty and staff through ongoing programs that promote current trends, the College’s “green” procedures and ways that the College community can become involved.
In the months ahead, SUNY Orange will be conducting a comprehensive audit as part of the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Ratings System (STARS). In conjunction with the STARS audit, SUNY Orange has become a member of the American Association for Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). And, finally, a Sustainability Coordinator is expected to be hired to spearhead the College’s efforts. It is an exciting time for SUNY Orange, and much more news will be forthcoming.