Project Summary

As part of the Graham Institute's overall efforts to integrate academic activity to campus operations at the University of Michigan—and to help advance the cause of environmental sustainability on our campus—the Graham Institute partnered with the Office of Campus Sustainability (OCS) on a Campus Sustainability Integrated Assessment (IA).

The project involved students, faculty, staff, and other stakeholders in examining and making recommendations regarding:

• Buildings
• Energy Sources
• Transportation
• Land & Water
• Food
• Purchasing & Recycling
• Culture (Funding support for the Culture Team provided by the U-M Institute for Social Research)

Project Goals

• Involve the full U-M community in capturing ideas for a campus sustainability strategy
• Identify opportunities to use the U-M campus as a learning laboratory for campus sustainability
• Identify opportunities for potential projects to foster campus sustainability research and learning
• Educate the U-M community on campus sustainability issues, and identify the means to change culture as appropriate
• Publish a final report in an appropriate journal to share what we have learned as a community

Resources

• Campus Sustainability Goals Page: President Mary Sue Coleman announced an ambitious new commitment to U-M sustainability on September 27, 2011. Click on this article to read about her speech laying out U-M's goals and aspirations for sustainability, to learn more about the two-year Campus Sustainability Integrated Assessment, and to discover some of the university's latest green initiatives.
• Campus Sustainability Integrated Assessment Fact Sheet (PDF): This two-page printable document provides a summary of the IA process and outcomes in the four primary theme areas: Climate Action, Waste Prevention, Health Environments, and Community Awareness.
• Campus Sustainability Integrated Assessment Final Report (PDF): This comprehensive report provides an in-depth presentation of the IA including specific goals and potential sustainability actions. The report was prepared as a navigable electronic resource with multiple internal links between the potential sustainability actions and the detailed information provided by the Phase 2 Analysis Team Reports. Printing has been disabled but it is possible to download and save the document locally.
• Campus Sustainability IA Interim Report (PDF): This interim report summarizes work completed by the seven Analysis Teams during Phase 1 and charts the course for Phase 2 focusing on desired sustainability goals with measurable impact. Phase 1 Analysis Team reports are included in the appendix. Printing has been disabled but it is possible download and save the document locally.
• Campus Sustainability IA Project Presentation (PDF, as shown at the Town Hall meeting on January 28, 2010).
• Map of U-M Campus Areas Involved in the IA Project (PDF)
• Campus Sustainability Integrated Assessment Evaluation Report (PDF): This report provides helpful perspectives on the perceived value of the process used to conduct the integrated assessment as well as insights to improve future collaborative, interdisciplinary initiatives. It is important to note this report is an evaluation of the process used to complete the assessment, not an evaluation of progress toward the goals established through the Campus Sustainability IA. The Office of Campus Sustainability provides goal progress and other related information at: ocs.umich.edu/sustainability-goals/.