UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA
2017
CAMPUS SUSTAINABILITY REPORT
welcome
The 2017 Sustainability Report is a testament to the advanced and ongoing sustainability work that our student and faculty researchers, as well as our staff and community partners, are accomplishing at the University of South Carolina. Our leadership and commitment to a restored and healthier planet extends to everything from climate issues to energy to environment to green construction to environmentally-friendly campus food systems and more.
On any given day, a stroll through our historic campus — home to 6,800 trees with 90 different species — will find students walking, jogging or biking. Our commitment to campus wellness extends to our weekly farmers’ market where students select locally grown fresh fruits and vegetables, to our food donation program. Our smoke-free campus is also on a path to zero waste by offering many opportunities to recycle and compost. You’ll find our students studying in new and restored buildings with LEED Silver and Green Globes certifications. In fact, the Darla Moore School of Business recently became the first LEED Platinum certified building in the entire state of South Carolina.
From our Green Quad, the world’s first green dorm and home to many of our highly energized student conservation groups, to our exceptional academic programs, we are preparing our university, surrounding communities, state, and nation for the complex, multi-faceted challenges that we will surely face in the years ahead.
Please join with us in our quest to be garnet, black and green!
Harris Pastides
President, University of South Carolina
CAMPUS GOALS
greenhouse gas emissions
20% REDUCTION BY 2025
waste
45% waste diversion rate by 2025
waTER
40% REDUCTION BY 2025
food & beverage purchasing
20% real food BY 2025
emissions & energy
in progress
Projects currently underway to improve performance and efficiency include campus-wide electric sub-metering, pilot LED lighting tests, installation of pressure independent control valves and M2G boiler controls, and Metasys® Building Automation System network controller and software upgrades.
Recent years have shown that our energy future must allow us to adapt to a changing climate. By reducing our energy footprint through careful planning, our campus will ensure sustainable development and safety for every member of our community.”
​
-Derrick Huggins, Vice President for Facilities and Transportation
​
Get to know our campus energy and water consumption in our Campus Utilities Dashboard, an interactive website designed by USC Energy Management.
Research is the heart and, perhaps, soul of USC; it adds depth to our classes and expands our minds. When it is also incorporated into a campus Climate Action Plan, we can develop a pathway for laboratory energy efficiency and water conservation allowing researchers to be a part of USC’s sustainable solution."
​
-Dr. Gwendelyn Geidel, Research Professor and Undergraduate Director for the School of the Earth, Ocean, and Environment
​
​
in progress
Ongoing Fumehood Sash Position Awareness evaluations encourage our award-winning researchers to shut laboratory fume hoods when not in use.
operations
USC has over 2.3 MILLION square feet of GREEN BUILDING SPACE, equal to 27 Historic Horseshoes
Delve into our Gamecock Grown food system in Something to Chew On, a documentary by USC alumni Cole Haltom, Ryan Gaucher, Coleman Krietemeyer, and Colin Rex.
$80,000 of produce purchased by nearly 40 local farms through Carolina Dining by Sodexo's flagship program
By supporting local farmers, encouraging healthy eating habits on campus, composting our organic food waste, and welcoming student interest in engaging with our campus food system, we are demonstrating that USC is a progressive university dedicated to supporting and creating a responsible, sustainable future.”
​
-Helen Zeigler, Associate Vice President for Business Affairs
teaching & learning
500
courses
28
DEGREE PROGRAMS
Including sustainability themes
“As part of USC 's Galapagos - Sustainability program, students learned about the importance of biodiversity [by] snorkeling with rich marine life, hiking active volcanoes, and experiencing the culture of the Galapagos during their community engagement activities and home stays."
​
-Dr. David Cardenas, Associate Professor, College of Hospitality, Retail, and Sport Management
How does a story...convey a message that is both urgent and thoughtful, targeted and open? The receiver of the story must find her own place in it, learn something, and be invited to contribute to our collective, sustainable growth and progress. Humanities and arts practices know how to conceptualize, engineer, create and distribute stories that have the potential to move large numbers of people towards greater understanding of sustainability challenges."
​
-Dr. Laura Kissel, Professor of Film and Media Studies and Director, Cotton Road
We are committed to equipping our students with the skills, competencies and creativity needed to solve real challenges. This education in the classroom and beyond the classroom is the path forward towards a more sustainable and successful future.”
​
-Dr. Joan Gabel, Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost
CITIZEN STUDENTS
Inspiring a New Generation of Sustainability Leaders
Through the Classroom
​
November 3-4, 2017
Darla Moore School of Business
USC is recognized by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education as a Regional Sustainability Across the Curriculum Center.
​
"This year MBA students conducted a sustainability materiality assessment for Sonoco – a key input for Global Reporting Initiative. Undergraduates worked with an automotive supplier to complete an initial B Corp assessment, design a stakeholder survey, and recommend actions for certification."
​
-Dr. Kealy Carter, Darla Moore School of Business Sustainability Initiative
"When I first started the course ‘Green Engagements’ my view of sustainability was singularly related to the environment, global warming, pollution and things of that nature. However, upon engaging in the course, I was able to develop a greater understanding for what sustainability actually is. Through this [class], I was simply given the opportunity to define sustainability in a broader, more unique sense which in every way relates back to the true essence of sustainable living.” ​
​
-Ariella Izzo, '20 International Studies
The noted author Jeffrey Sachs says that ‘Sustainable Development is both a way of looking at the world, and a way of helping to save it.’ In the years ahead, we all will need to become leaders in sustainable development in our homes, communities and countries around the globe. Today’s students will be the problem solvers of tomorrow, helping find a path to economic progress that is both fair and environmentally sustainable.”
​
-Michael Fanning, President, USC-Business Partnership Foundation and former Global Director for Sustainability, Michelin Group
leadership & engagement
96%
of students agree they are able to reflect on how their experiences within the classroom connect to their practical experiences with Sustainable Carolina
Sustainable Carolina has helped me realize I can combine my two loves into a career! I have a huge passion for the fashion industry and sustainability. I always thought those two items had to be separate, but now I realize how many opportunities there are to work for sustainable companies in my field.”
​
-Lilliann Pineda, '17 Retailing
100%
of students agree they know how to communicate the skills they have developed to future employers.
The social side of Sustainable Carolina has allowed me to be more interactive and build more leadership qualities for the future. It has even allowed me to try to add it into my future goals! I now want to try and combine computing and sustainability as a career. Thanks to Sustainable Carolina, I am more prepared for the future than I ever thought I would be.”
​
-Justin Gallman, '19 Computer Information Systems
Meet our impressive student leaders and learn about all things Sustainable Carolina in our 2017 Student Engagement Video Report.
4900+
service, research, leadership, and project development hours contributed by 46 Sustainable Carolina leaders in 2016-17
Over my four years in Sustainable Carolina, I have been inspired to educate our children, the foundation that grounds our society, on the many varieties of sustainable initiatives and the value of promoting them. These aspirations, along with the experiences I was given, led me to become a marine science instructor at the Catalina Island Marine Institute in California."
​
-Nick Smillie, '17 Environmental Science
Sustainable Carolina has encouraged me to explore the concept of a 'sustainable mindset,' which refers to a sense of mindfulness in all that people do. One of my favorite ways to practice maintaining a 'sustainable mindset' is through the countless community service opportunities we do here.”
​
-Courtney Cooper, '18 Public Health
RECOMMENDATIONs
our vision for a sustainable campus:
​
-
Instill a commitment to sustainability within every University of South Carolina student, faculty, staff, and community partners.
-
Adopt sustainability as a core principle into all aspects of our business, academic, and student operations.
-
Double the amount of sustainability-related research conducted by USC faculty and staff by 2025.
-
Reduce university-wide greenhouse gas emissions by 20% by 2025 based on a 2006 baseline through climate action planning.
-
Achieve a 45% campus waste diversion rate by 2025 and build an interactive waste diversion facility to educate the campus community about recycling and composting.
-
Reduce campus-wide water consumption by 40% by 2025 based on a 2006 baseline.
-
Introduce 20% real food purchasing to campus dining halls by 2025.
-
Manage 50% of campus landscape areas under a sustainable landscape management program by 2025.
-
Reduce campus-wide energy consumption by 2% annually.
-
Adopt comprehensive sustainable transportation targets, including conversion of campus fleet to 100% emissions-free vehicles and decreasing the number of commuting vehicles to campus by 20% by 2025.
​
our recommendations for short-term action:
​
INSTITUTIONAL PLANNING:
-
Conduct a third-party verified sustainability feasibility study for the University of South Carolina.
-
Integrate sustainability into all of USC's strategic planning initiatives.
-
Develop a sustainable investment policy.
-
Develop and adopt a community stakeholder engagement framework for governance, strategy, and operations.
​
HUMAN RESOURCES:
-
Employ a Chief Sustainability Officer reporting to the Office of the President or Office of the Provost.
-
Employ a fully-staffed Office of Sustainability, including but not limited to a Director, Faculty Associate, Assistant Director for Program Management, Assistant Director for Leadership and Engagement, Garden Manager, Business Manager, Marketing Assistant, and four Graduate Assistants.
-
Formally connect Recycling Coordinator, Sustainability Coordinator for Housing, Carolina Food Co. Sustainability Coordinator, Darla Moore School of Business Sustainability Initiative, and Green Quad Learning Center staff to Office of Sustainability.
-
Employ a full-time campus Greenhouse Gas & Green Buildings Specialist.
-
Employ a full-time Alternative Transportation Manager by 2018.
-
Provide appropriate staffing for a rapidly growing campus waste diversion program.
-
Organize and deploy professional development and new employee trainings focused on sustainability.
​
ACADEMICS AND RESEARCH:
-
Create Carolina Core sustainability module to ensure all students are exposed to sustainability in the classroom.
-
Integrate sustainability literacy assessments into university curriculum.
-
Institutionalize Sustainability Across the Curriculum workshop and recognition program by aligning with the Office of the Provost.
-
Incentivize faculty to conduct sustainability related research, including recognition of interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary, and multidisciplinary research in faculty tenure and promotion decisions.
-
Develop Center for Sustianability to coordinate and pursue interdisciplinary academics and research.
​
ENGAGEMENT:
-
Create Graduation with Leadership Distinction Sustainability pathway.
-
Create and implement the Student Sustainability Fund.
-
Develop an institutionalized Community Engagement platform to easily identify community partners seeking resources and/or opportunities in sustainable development.
-
Collaborate with City of Columbia Climate Protection Alliance, Bike Pedestrian Advisory, and Food Policy Councils to ensure USC's representation in the development of a sustainable Columbia.
-
Provide university transportation in support of the Carolina Survivors Initiative's New Carolinians program.
​
OPERATIONS:
-
Develop a campus-wide strategic energy plan by 2018 with focus on renewable energy and greening campus laboratories.
-
Establish campus Sustainable IT standards by 2018.
-
Implement a Life Cycle Analysis process to select projects and strategies based on Return on Investment for all energy and water projects.
-
Establish a Green Revolving Loan Fund of at least $500,000 - $1,000,000 by 2018 to improve energy efficiency and new building performance.
-
Implement re-commissioning and retro-commissioning plans which prioritize UofSC's lowest performing buildings.
-
Develop a Sustainable Transportation and Parking Plan by 2018.
-
Implement Anti-Idling policy by 2018.
-
Complete conversion of all parking garages to LED lighting by 2018.
-
Provide discounted or free COMET passes to all students and staff members.
-
Develop a Sustainable Operations & Maintenance Plan based on LEED EBOM for campus buildings.
-
Include a Life Cycle Cost Analysis requirement into the early design stage of all new and existing buildings projects.
-
Implement Campus Sustainable Building Design Policy, including waste diversion planning activities.
-
Develop a comprehensive stormwater management plan by 2018.
-
Include stormwater priorities into all new construction projects.
-
Implement construction and demolition waste and recycling reporting for all construction and renovation projects by 2018.
-
Develop recycling policy addendum for construction projects.
-
Scale Don't Waste Food SC Grand Marketplace composting pilot across all campus dining halls.
-
Reduce the square footage of campus covered with grass and mulch with permanent, low-maintenance plantings.
-
Increased recycled content copier paper requirements from 30% to 50% by 2018.
-
Develop an Environmentally Preferred Purchasing Policy and training document to be available online.
-
Develop minimal environmental standards and practices policy for vendors and contractors.
​