TO: Campus community
FR: President’s Sustainability Advisory Council
RE: Sustainability and Climate Action Plan update
Sonoma State University is making big strides towards environmental sustainability. In the past year, SSU launched 3-stream recycling (sorting trash into landfill, recycling, and compost) and has awarded a contract for a 400 megawatt solar micro-grid project. The solar project is pending permitting approval and we hope construction will begin in summer 2022. The council is also collaborating on a bike-share program that links from SSU to the SMART train. These initiatives help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and environmental impacts of campus activities.
In April of 2022, the SSU Sustainability Pledge will be released to our campus community. The pledge is science-based and gives you the information you need to decide what actions you will take to create a sustainable future. Look for it during an event-packed Earth Week in 2022.
We have also met key milestones in creating the SSU Climate Action Plan (CAP) which will be finalized in April of 2022. The CAP identifies goals, strategies, actions and metrics for achieving carbon neutrality, improving regional resilience to climate change, and infusing sustainability into the curriculum. We will be seeking input from everyone on campus on the draft CAP in early February.
We hope you will contribute to this important planning effort by giving us your input and ideas on the work completed so far. Now through January 31, please send us input on the following CAP components to sustainablessu@sonoma.edu.
Carbon Neutrality Roadmap
Regional Resilience Assessment
Climate Action Plan Goals and Themes
Remember to sign up for the Sustainability listserve (sign up here), visit the website (Sustainable SSU) and follow Sustainable SSU on social media including Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @sustainablessu.