Binghamton University Sustainability Plan
In recognition of our responsibility as an institution of higher learning to lead by example, Binghamton University commits ourselves to a comprehensive sustainability plan. Guided by our dedication to environmental stewardship, social equity, and economic prosperity, we endeavor to integrate sustainable practices into every facet of our campus community. To achieve our goals we plan to build on our academic and research successes as a R1 university, build a culture that values sustainability, set measurable objectives related to all aspects of sustainability, and track our compliance with Executive Order 22. This plan serves as our blueprint to foster education, and empower our community to embrace sustainable principles in all our endeavors. Green is not just our school color! Together, we pledge to uphold these values, honoring our commitment to a more sustainable, equitable, and prosperous future.
The Binghamton University Strategic Plan, also known as the Campus Road Map, outlines goals and objectives for Binghamton University that encompass the equity and economy dimensions of sustainable communities as well as research, education, and engagement. Therefore, this plan focuses largely on the environmental aspects of sustainability.
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Goal 1: Binghamton University’s students, faculty, and staff will have actionable
sustainability knowledge related to individual, local, state, national and global
levels.
- Objective 1.1: The number of programs with sustainability learning outcomes will increase from 27 to 30 by 2026.
- Objective 1.2: By 2026, sustainability knowledge will increase 10% in an assessment of a representative sample of first-year and fourth-year students.
- Objective 1.3: 20% of staff and faculty will be reached by a peer-to-peer sustainability outreach program by 2026.
- Objective 1.4: The Sustainability Office will participate in 100% of orientation events for students, faculty and staff starting in 2024.
- Objective 1.5: By 2026, 15% of the campus population will have been engaged in environmental and racial justice programming.
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Goal 2: Binghamton University will prioritize reduction and reuse, and incorporate
“cradle-to-cradle” considerations into all purchasing and waste management practices.
- Objective 2.1: 1000 faculty and staff will be trained in green purchasing every year starting in 2024.
- Objective 2.2: Climate friendly food in the dining halls will be labeled by 2026.
- Objective 2.3: By 2026, our diversion rate from the landfill will increase from 30% to 35% while our total volume of refuse leaving campus decreases by 10%.
- Objective 2.4: By 2026, 25% of furniture (by weight) will be transferred to another use or donated.
- Objective 2.5: By 2026, we will increase the percentage of 90 - 100% recycled paper purchased from 8% to 30%.
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Goal 3: Binghamton University Foundation invests sustainably and employs sustainable
investment practices.
- Objective 3.1: By 2026 the overall ESG score of managers of the BU Foundation Endowment will decrease from 2.9 to 2.5 (lower is better).
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Goal 4: Binghamton University will become carbon neutral with respect to energy, transportation,
and construction.
- Objective 4.1: By 2035, 100% of light-duty, non-emergency vehicles in the fleet will be zero-emission vehicles (as defined by EO22).
- Objective 4.2: By the end of 2024 we will have a metric that enables us to evaluate building level energy use.
- Objective 4.3: We will decrease our Btu/ft2 by 15% by 2029.
- Objective 4.4: We will decrease our plug load per person (defined as total FTE of students, staff, and faculty) by 15% by 2029.
- Objective 4.5: We will decrease dorm water use per person by 10% by 2029.
- Objective 4.6: We will decrease carbon intensity of our energy use annually, achieving zero carbon emissions by 2050.
- Objective 4.7: By 2026, our mode split for faculty/staff (including ZEV) for alternatives to driving alone will increase from 13% to 14%.
- Objective 4.8: By 2026 students' mode split (including ZEV) for alternatives to driving alone will increase from 57%-60%.
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Goal 5: Binghamton University will be sustainable in land use, development, and preservation.
- Objective 5.1: By 2026, the percentage of grounds managed organically (as defined by AASHE) will increase from 84.42% to 90%.
- Objective 5.2: By 2026, Binghamton University will be both Bee Campus USA and Tree Campus USA certified.
Defining Sustainability
The term sustainable is used in many different contexts, we have adopted the following definitions to guide the development of this plan.
Sustainability:
“Sustainability means enduring into the long-term future; it refers to systems and processes that are able to operate and persist on their own for long periods of time” (Robertson, p. 3)
Sustainable Development:
Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. (WCED 1987, p. 43)
Sustainable Communities:
“A sustainable community is the aggregate of functionally and socially connected individuals and organizations that share collective resources in such a way that engages members in self-determination governance processes resulting in the equitable provisioning of the health, educational, and material well-being among its residents while not negatively affecting future generations or other communities’ uses of these resources” (Mischen et al., 2019)
Sustainable University:
A sustainable university is an educational institution that:
- educates its communities for sustainable development,
- offers relevant insights into urgent societal challenges,
- actively assesses and strives to reduce the negative and enhance the positive environmental and social impact of its campus operations and growth,
- empowers students, faculty, and staff to act, and
- makes sustainability a central priority.
