Make Silver and Blue the New Green

Lead in environmental expertise and campus sustainability

Strategy 1

Establish Reno-Tahoe as an epicenter of sustainability education, research and leadership

A. Enhance our interdisciplinary centers for research, education, advocacy of climate change, water preservation, drylands agriculture and environment sustainability

B. Partner with community organizations, leveraging proximity to Lake Tahoe, to provide sustainable tourism education

C. Extend on a global scale the faculty’s proven thought leadership on the impacts of climate change, including those specific to Nevada and western states, as well as international concerns (i.e., fires, droughts, clean water scarcity, earthquakes, etc.)

D. Retain and add to the University’s environmental sustainability-related external designations, such as Tree Campus USA, Bicycle Friendly University designation, among others

Strategy 2

Amplify our environmental sustainability, biodiversity and climate change leadership

A. Develop an action plan to decrease the University’s carbon footprint and make progress towards achieving an Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS) rating

B. Embed sustainability within the University’s policies, procedures and operations, beginning with updating the University’s environmental and sustainability policies

C. Establish an advisory body that includes students, faculty, staff and local leaders to inform sustainability efforts

D. Increase access to and incentivize the use of eco-friendly modes of transit on campus and around the Lake Tahoe region

E. Assess embedding Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) principles into the development or modification of physical spaces on campus

F. Establish the University as a research and policy leader in sustainability in the mountain west region

G. Partner with nonprofit policy centers and institutions to inform government agencies and educate and train undergraduate and graduate students in environmental and public land policy

Directional outcomes and metrics

❑ Complete an update of the University’s environmental sustainability policies by FY2023

❑ Begin STARS reporting to AASHE by FY2025

❑ Decrease the University’s greenhouse gas emissions to mitigate climate change

❑ Increase the number of climate-specific media segments or publications featuring faculty and/or staff

❑ Increase number of and enrollment/attendance at programs offered through interdisciplinary center