Policy Number: AUS-090401.011.001
Sponsor: Office of Sustainability
Effective Date: September 3, 2021
I. POLICY RATIONALE
1. The Sustainability Policy represents AUS’s enduring commitment to advancing sustainability through the life of the university. The policy enhances the management and growth of AUS’s academic enterprise by becoming a leaner, stronger, and smarter campus. Advances in campus sustainability reflect AUS’s core value of stewardship of economic and natural resources.
2. AUS transforms lives and provides for social, economic, and technological advancement across the US and the world. The policy strengthens the interface of sustainability with the university’s land grant mission of teaching, research and innovation, outreach and engagement, and responsible resource use on campus.
II. POLICY STATEMENT
AUS commits to sustainability as a core value to be integrated into institutional processes, administration, teaching, research and innovation, outreach and engagement, and campus operations. AUS will grow the intellectual and academic scope of the university while using fewer resources. AUS will be a leader in and model for fiscal responsibility, social equity, and environmental stewardship in the local and global community. The university will advance and monitor sustainability through a systems thinking approach. Implementation of the policy institutionalizes sustainability into the university’s mission. The policy calls for proactive management and pursuit of sustainability to reduce life cycle costs, further human well-being, foster sustainability literacy and produce career-ready graduates equipped to address complex local and global challenges.
III. POLICY PROCEDURES
A Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) is issued by the President and the Executive Vice President to provide specific guidance for implementing the policy. The SOP is regularly reviewed and appropriately modified. The Environmental Sustainability Unit is the lead coordinating body for the policy and the SOP. The Office of Sustainability and the Environmental Sustainability Unit conducts annual reporting of sustainability status.
