September 22, 2016

Dear President Rawlings,

The President’s Sustainable Campus Committee (PSCC) is pleased to present this annual progress report. We

appreciate your acknowledgement of our institutional commitment to sustainability and the role Cornell plays in

working toward a sustainable global future.

Cornell’s campus sustainability efforts are making steady progress. Our annual performance data reported to

the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment, and Rating System, the basis for most higher-education sustainability

ratings, has steadily improved and has consistently received a Gold rating. We are examining how Cornell could

strategically become one of the nation’s first universities to achieve a Platinum rating.

We continue to make strides in mitigating carbon emissions through projects that demonstrate our quadruple

bottom line principles (i.e. people, planet, prosperity, and academic purpose). These include the recent

commissioning of two solar farms (4Megawatts, 20 acres) with dedicated research assets and data access, and

the Energy Conservation Initiative, which is holding campus energy use flat despite a 15 percent increase in

building square footage since 2000. Our student-run Green Revolving Fund invests in energy conservation

projects and captures energy cost savings for reinvestment. Its first sponsored project is the replacement of

steam pipe insulation in Sage Hall. All told, Cornell's Climate Action Plan has led to a 30 percent reduction in

greenhouse gas emissions since 2008. The president’s sustainable campus committee will serve the key

implementation role under the Senior Leaders Climate Action Group strategic guidance for achieving campus’

accelerated 2035 carbon neutrality goal.

There is much to celebrate beyond our progress toward carbon neutrality. Our Forest Home Garage was the first

ever university parking garage to receive Green Garage certification, and we tripled the number of LEED

Platinum-rated buildings with the completion of the Warren Hall renovation and Law School Learning Center

Addition. The Cornell Chapter of the Food Recovery Network has partnered with the local Friendship Donations

Network to help redistribute thousands of pounds of edible food that would otherwise be composted, and

Procurement Services engaged MBA students from the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management

who worked with four diverse businesses to help them boost sales with Cornell and review their business plans.

While these advances are exciting, there is significant work ahead to fulfill the many objectives and expectations

of our stakeholders. Our 2015 new student sustainability literacy survey indicates that respondents feel strongly

that Cornell has a responsibility to reduce its environmental footprint, and 82 percent understand the concept

of the sustainability triple-bottom line. We look forward to continued engagement with the senior

administration and deans in our work to promote a culture of sustainability on campus and a campus that is a

living laboratory for sustainability.

Sincerely,

Kyu-Jung Whang Mike Hoffmann

Vice President, Infrastructure, Properties and Planning Executive Director, Cornell Institute for

Climate Smart Solutions

Table of Contents

President’s Sustainable Campus Committee .......................................................................................................................... 3

Campus Sustainability Indicators ........................................................................................................................................ 3

Ithaca Campus Sustainability Plan .......................................................................................................................................... 5

Think BIG, Live Green Sustainability Engagement Campaign ............................................................................................. 7

Climate Action Plan ................................................................................................................................................................. 7

CAP Update and Progress Report ....................................................................................................................................... 8

Greenhouse Gas Inventory ................................................................................................................................................. 8

Ratings and Reporting ............................................................................................................................................................. 9

AASHE STARS ....................................................................................................................................................................... 9

Sierra Magazine Cool Schools ........................................................................................................................................... 12

Princeton Review .............................................................................................................................................................. 13

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President’s Sustainable Campus Committee The President’s Sustainable Campus Committee (PSCC) was established to 1) provide high-level oversight on

administrative decisions that impact campus and regional sustainability and 2) facilitate communication and promote

synergies across relevant University functions and constituencies. The PSCC works to promote a culture of sustainability

on campus through effective collaborations among staff, students, faculty, and regional partners, and it advocates for

policies and programs that enhance Cornell’s commitment to be a living laboratory for the environmental, economic,

and social dimensions of sustainability.

Campus Sustainability Indicators

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*An usually cold winter in 2014, compared to an unusually warm winter in 2012, led to an increase in net emissions from heating.

**Composting increased in 2014 with the incorporation of manure from the new Teaching Dairy Barn. Recycling overall is down primarily

due to a successful campaign to reduce paper waste. The bump in recycling in 2013 is due to recycling large amounts of construction and

demolition waste from building renovations.

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Operational Strategies Highlights

Partner with units, colleges, and programs that advance sustainability-related initiatives

• Think BIG Live Green sustainability engagement program initiated in College of Human Ecology: “Towards a Sustainable Organization”. The campaign’s energy competition resulted in >100k pounds of GHG reduction.

• Initiated Cornell/Avangrid partnership with ACSF and community leaders for demonstration projects and research under the NYS Reforming the Energy Vision initiative.

• Participate on collaborative teaching team for ALS 2000 – Leadership for Campus Sustainability

• Instruct the Sustainability module for the Cornell Management Academy

Support the ten Focus Teams and the Executive, and Communications Committees

• Hosted the annual Fall and Spring PSCC Summits with more than 100 faculty, student, staff, and community leaders in attendance.

• Hosted 3 networking lunches for Focus Team leaders

• Facilitated annual strategic planning meetings with each Focus Team’s co-chairs

• Ad hoc working groups formed to generate white papers/recommendations on an internal carbon fee and offsetting travel emissions

• A new Climate Action Advisory Group is working with University Relations on increasing external visibility and accessibility of Cornell’s climate experts and successes

Track sustainability metrics across all areas of sustainable operations, research, education, and public engagement

Completed annual AASHE STARS data collection, received “Gold” rating. The Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System™ (STARS) is a transparent, self-reporting tool for colleges and universities to measure their sustainability progress. The system includes environmental, economic, and social indicators, which are divided into four categories related to campus activities: Education & Research, Operations, Planning, Administration & Engagement, and Innovation.

Increase Cornell’s recognition in national media through public sustainability reporting

• Annual reporting through AASHE STARS feeds multiple rating and ranking systems (Sierra Club, Princeton Review, SEI, etc.)

• Recognized as an AASHE “Top Performer”

• #2 ranked Ivy League institution in Sierra Club “Cool Schools”

• Cornell is Ranked 6th on The Princeton Review's New "Top 50 Green Colleges" List

• Cornell was recognized by BestColleges.com as one of America's Greenest

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Faculty Involved in Sustainability Research

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Universities for 2015.

• Cornell’s renewable energy program and staff are featured as case studies and speakers at multiple conferences and panels

Support implementation of the University-wide sustainability initiatives including, but not limited to, the 2010-2015 Strategic Plan, Climate Action Plan, and Campus Master Plan

• Worked with the Campus Planning Office to identify long-term siting needs for CAP implementation

• Facilitated creation and documentation of 2016-17 next steps for all CAP actions

• Collaborated with ACSF on topical lunches on bioenergy, Earth Source Heat, and sustainability curriculum integration

Promote awards, volunteer recognition, and training to encourage and empower sustainability leadership among students, staff, and faculty

• Student staff coordinated the student sustainability summit leading to the creation of the student Environmental Collaborative

• Presented annual CU Partners in Sustainability Awards to students, staff, and community leaders

Ithaca Campus Sustainability Plan The Ithaca Campus Sustainability Plan is a guiding document that supports Cornell University’s efforts in

environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable leadership. Cornell’s commitment to sustainability spans the

core areas of the university – research, education, public engagement, and campus operations. The following seven

strategies provide a broad overview of Cornell’s long term aims across research, education, engagement, and campus

operations.

1. Internationally recognized for cutting-edge sustainability science and education

2. Environmental sustainability serves as a guiding principle in planning and decision-making

3. A campus culture of sustainable and inclusive behavior

4. Excellence in academic/operations partnerships

5. Achievement of interim benchmarks on the path to climate neutrality

6. Development of a dense, green, and compact campus

7. Contributions to a just and sustainable future for the Finger Lakes region and New York State

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Focus Area Highlights

Buildings • Students in DEA 6250 (Human Dimensions of Sustainable Buildings) conducted Group Projects focusing on Existing Building Operations and Maintenance (EBOM) Policy & Stakeholder Engagement for Cornell’s Climate Action Plan. There were five groups and they looked at different scopes and options for potential EBOM policies. After reviewing the reports, it was determined that an EBOM policy is not feasible at this time.

Climate Action • Developed a position paper outlining several potential options for an internal carbon charge

• Annual CAP Progress Report submitted

Energy • Commissioned the 2MW Cornell Snyder Road Solar Farm in Lansing, the 2MW Cornell Sutton Road Solar Farm at Geneva, and 90kW of rooftop solar on Klarman Hall and the Human Ecology Building

• Executed contracts to construct an additional 6MW solar PV on Cornell property, and executed a contract to gain research access and purchase the electricity generated by the community-developed 16MW Black Oak Wind Farm

• Thermal Resources and Heat Distribution studies completed

• Campus-wide LED lamp replacement, saving 22,000,000 kWh, $1.8 million in energy costs, and $290,000 in O&M costs annually

Food • Undergraduate students examining the sustainability of Cornell's food purchases by the criteria provided by the Real Food Calculator

• Introducing more plant based foods to Cornell Dining

• Cornell Dining is now having workers distribute meat rather than having students get meat by themselves. Students can only get a set portion of meat one at a time (but can come back as many times as they want)

• Surveying North campus to find out students' opinions about implementing Meatless Mondays

People • Real Estate initiated a sustainability campaign in the Business and Technology park including measured/mapped walking trails, green business practices education for tenants, shred day events, green office certification, committed to using all sustainable projects in annual Party by the Pond, and general promotion of green business practices

Purchasing • Work with suppliers to find ways to support Cornell’s sustainable campus initiative resulted in new programs from three suppliers: W.B. Mason, The Computing Center, and Fitzgerald Brothers Bus & Limo Company. These programs promote purchasing green products, recycling, and reducing fuel emissions

• Promoting ACH payments and eInvoicing to reduce amount of paper invoices and printed checks

Transportation • Green Garage Certification for Forest Home Garage

• Added EV charging, and LEV preference spaces stations to Hoy Road Parking Garage

Waste • The Carol Tatkon Center has been working with R5, the Sustainability Office, and Facilities to have better recycling/trash signage and receptacles for the Center.

• Ithaca Area Wastewater Treatment Plant and CVM are planning to apply jointly for a DEC Environmental Excellence award, based on the synergistic success of the replacement of the incinerator with a digester, and treating the “hydrolysate” effluent in their recently-upgraded biogas-to-energy system.

Water • Completed a study on the impact of road salt discharges in storm water networks to Cascadilla Creek

• Faculty and students are working with the USGS and City of Ithaca to develop a flood risk assessment that will help the City identify areas especially at risk of flooding

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Think BIG, Live Green Sustainability Engagement Campaign Think BIG, Live Green (TBLG) is the university-wide sustainability engagement campaign. It strives to achieve resource

conservation and community wellbeing impacts in the colleges and administrative units through customized

programming. These programs utilize peer to peer education, leadership development strategies, and community-based

social marketing to engage the campus community. The campaign is comprised of 6 programs: the College Engagement

Program, the Green Office Certification Program, the Green Lab Certification Program, the Cornell Building Dashboard,

the Green Ambassadors Program, and the student EcoReps program.

During the 2014-2015 academic year, the College of Human Ecology (CHE) established its TBLG College Engagement

Program entitled “Towards a Sustainable Organization”. Pre and post surveys were administrated to the college that

yielded 189 and 158 useable responses, respectively.

CHE Campaign Highlights

• An average of 59% of CHE respondents indicated they had already participated in the sustainable behaviors that

were supported by the TBLG College Engagement Program

• An average of 17% of CHE respondents indicated to have participated in new sustainable behaviors because of the

TBLG College Engagement Program

• Over $24,800 of projected savings were avoided through the participation in the 2015 Energy Smackdown

competition

• Composting in the College of Human Ecology increased by over 200lbs per week

• Over 180 people participated in the Green Lab and Office Certification programs within CHE

• 81% of CHE respondents believe it is personally important to work for an employer who values sustainability

• 75% of CHE respondents believe that sustainability is personal passion

• 35% of CHE respondents now engage in more sustainable practices in their homes because of participation in the

TBLG program. This indicates there is an opportunity to encourage personal and home-specific sustainable

behaviors within the TBLG campaign

• Over $168,000 avoided during the 2015 Winter Setbacks program

In fall 2015, in collaboration with Student and Campus Life, all new students were asked to watch a 4-minute video on

sustainability and participate in a sustainability literacy survey.

New Student Survey Highlights

• 82% of respondents understand the concept of sustainability and the triple bottom line

• Respondents view food security as the highest priority environmental issue.

• Respondents feel strongly that human activity plays a strong role on the climate and our natural

environment, and that Cornell has a responsibility to lower its environmental footprint.

Climate Action Plan The Climate Action Plan (CAP) is Cornell’s overarching plan to move to a low carbon future. The original CAP was

developed in 2009 by Cornell faculty, students, and staff with funding from the state energy authority, NYSERDA in

accordance with Cornell’s commitment as a founding signatory of the American College and University Presidents’

Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) (now known as the Climate Leadership Commitments). The plan enhances the

university’s core mission of education, research, and outreach, while cutting net carbon emissions to zero.

In May 2015 a Senior Leadership Climate Action Group was formed to consider how we might use our campuses more

fully as “living laboratories” to increase the impact of our efforts.

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CAP Update and Progress Report Per the requirements of The Carbon Commitment, Cornell reviews and updates the CAP biennially and submits a

Progress Report to the Second Nature reporting system. A public report was submitted in January 2016. An internal

detailed report was also prepared including:

• Internal progress report highlighting changes, challenges, and successes

• Updates and two-year goal-setting for all 60+ CAP actions

• Updates to key calculations and graphs

• Thermal Resources Study to evaluate the range of carbon-neutral options for supplying heat to Cornell’s Ithaca

campus

• Thermal Distribution Optimization Study to evaluate strategies to incorporate low/no-carbon heating into the

district energy system and maximize energy efficiency

Greenhouse Gas Inventory Per the requirements of The Carbon Commitment, Cornell prepares and submits greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory

updates. In addition, more detailed annual energy Fast Facts are published on the Cornell Energy & Sustainability

website. The January 2014 GHG inventory shows a slight increase in net emissions over 2012 due a 20% increase in

heating degree days (HDD), i.e. it was significantly colder. Despite the colder temperatures, steam use only increased

10% due to energy conservation efforts.

Ratings and Reporting Cornell reports data annually to the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System™ (STARS) - a transparent, self-reporting framework for colleges and

universities to measure their sustainability performance. STARS hosts the Campus Sustainability Data Collector, the result of the collaborative efforts of four

organizations: the Sierra Club, the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), the Sustainable Endowments Institute (SEI),

and the Princeton Review. It is an amalgamation of all four organizations' questionnaires of recent years. Cornell’s March 2015 submission is based on FY ’14

data.

AASHE STARS STARS Scorecard for March 22, 2016 submission: https://stars.aashe.org/institutions/cornell-university-ny/report/2016-03-22/

Green= Score improved in 2016

Yellow= Score did not change Red= Score declined in 2016

Categories Score 2014 (v2.0)

Score 2015 (v2.0)

STARS Changes

Academic Total 71.3% 71.2%

Curriculum 63.3% 63.2%

The percentage of courses that include sustainability and the number of academic departments that offer sustainability courses decreased slightly. However, the number of students who graduated with sustainability learning outcomes increased. Additionally, unlike last year, some credit was gained on our sustainability literacy assessment.

Areas of Improvement: Develop a campus-wide set of learning outcomes that include sustainability or have each college develop sustainability learning outcomes.

Research 88.9% 88.9%

No change. At this time, there is no Open Access Policy at Cornell. The Atkinson Center for a Sustainability Future continues to award grants and provide other support for faculty members conducting research in sustainability. They are continuously accepting faculty fellows; 37 new fellows were added during 2015.

Areas of Improvement: Develop an Open Access Policy (e.g. free availability on the internet, permitting any user to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search or link to the full texts of articles).

Engagement Total 82.3% 86.3%

Campus Engagement 79.5% 86.2% We were able to provide the total number of hours student educators are engaged in peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education activities annually, which increased our score.

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Categories Score 2014 (v2.0)

Score 2015 (v2.0)

STARS Changes

Areas of Improvement: Develop method to more accurately measure the number of hours student educators are engaged in peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education activities; provide all entering students (including freshmen, transfers, and graduate students) an opportunity to participate in orientation activities and programming that prominently includes sustainability.

Public Engagement 85.0% 86.5% The percentage of students engaged in community service as well as the total number of community service hours contributed increased slightly.

Areas of Improvement: Collect service data from students who are not affiliated with the Public Service Center.

Operations Total 44.3% 47.6%

Air & Climate 51.2% 53.1% No changes in specific data for this category. Updates to STARS data will coincide with biennial Second Nature (ACUPCC) reporting, new data in FY 16. Slight adjustments were made in the weighted campus user data.

Areas of Improvement: Expand scope 3 GHG reporting and continue to reduce GHG emissions. Buildings 41.1% 42.9% Increased number of square feet of building space that is LEED Certified.

Areas of Improvement: LEED for existing buildings or another similar system for existing buildings. Dining Services 29.7% 29.7% No change.

Areas of Improvement: Increase local and community-based food and beverage expenditures within 250 mile radius.

Energy 27.6% 27.6% No changes in data for this category. Updates to STARS data will coincide with biennial Second Nature (ACUPCC) reporting, new data in FY 16.

Areas of Improvement: Increase amount of clean and renewable energy generated Grounds 66.3% 71.3% We were able to include more land managed organically after clarifying definition

Areas of Improvement: Need updated IPM/Sustainable Landscape Management Plan (in planning for 2016).

Purchasing 53.0% 58.2% Slight increase in expenditures on Green Seal and/or UL Environment (EcoLogo) certified cleaning and janitorial products (as well as on all cleaning and janitorial products). Decrease overall on office paper expenditures.

Areas of Improvement: Adopt a Green Seal or "green" clean program in future or increase expenditures that are certified "green" seal. Reduce paper use overall and increase expenditures for 30% post consumable recycled paper.

Transportation 66.1% 65.0% This year we increased our reporting and have included most of the fleet at Cornell instead of just IPP Fleet Services.

Areas of Improvement: We continue to report 2007-2008 survey numbers. A new transportation demand survey is being planned. Need to integrate the use of more hybrid and plugin vehicles into Cornell's fleet, as these numbers have not increased.

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Categories Score 2014 (v2.0)

Score 2015 (v2.0)

STARS Changes

Waste 41.0% 36.9% There was a slight adjustment to weighted campus use data figures that was previously reported. We were reporting 36 residential employees instead of 505, which is the correct number. Otherwise, data did not change from last year (FY14).

Areas of Improvement: Need to increase materials recycled, composted, reused and decrease materials disposed in a solid waste landfill or incinerator as well as decrease construction and demolition materials landfilled or incinerated.

Water 38.0% 66.1% We reduced the gallons of water due to water conservation efforts and less irrigation due to weather in FY 15.

Areas of improvement: Begin naturally handling wastewater (natural wastewater systems include, but are not limited to, constructed treatment wetlands and Living Machines). Wastewater must be treated to secondary or tertiary standards prior to release to water bodies in order to qualify for the credit.

Planning & Administration

Total 73.4% 71.1%

Coordination, Planning & Governance

100.0% 100.0% Cornell has a current sustainability plan and measureable objectives moving forward to meet these goals.

Full points, no improvements at this time.

Diversity & Affordability

96.9% 96.3%

The percentage of entering students that are low-income and the percentage of students graduating with no interest-bearing student loan debt decreased. The graduation/success rate for low-income students and the percentage of students that participate in or directly benefit from the institution’s policies and programs to support low-income and non-traditional students increased.

Areas of Improvement: Increase percentage of entering students that are low-income and the percentage of students graduating with no interest-bearing student loan debt.

Health, Wellbeing & Work

81.4% 71.9%

Since last year, the amount of reportable workplace injuries and occupational disease cases increased due to better reporting. Additionally, due to better reporting, the number of staff and faculty covered by sustainable compensation standards, guidelines, or policies; and/or collective bargaining agreements decreased.

Areas of Improvement: Decrease number of reportable workplace injuries and occupational disease cases. Bring employees who are not benefits eligible under sustainable compensation standards.

Investment 1.6% 1.4% The percentage of sustainable investments (of the total investment pool) decreased slightly. We do not pursue two credits in this category (Committee of Investor Responsibility and Investment Disclosure).

Areas of Improvement: Create a committee on Investor Responsibility, increase Sustainable Investment, and make annual investment holdings snapshots publically available.

Innovation Total 100% 100% BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS

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Categories Score 2014 (v2.0)

Score 2015 (v2.0)

STARS Changes

Procurement Services BRC

1/1 1/1 Procurement Services has enlisted MBA students to consult with local businesses to help Cornell's departments spend more with suppliers and businesses owned by women, minorities, and veterans.

Solar Advocacy 1/1 1/1 Cornell worked as a leader and an advocate to change NY utilities' net-metering tariffs and regulatory interpretation through the Public Service Commission.

Cornell-Verizon Geothermal Heat

Pump 1/1 1/1

In collaboration with Verizon Wireless, Cornell began operating a geothermal heat pump system to provide cooling to a Verizon cellular tower shelter on the Cornell campus.

Forest Home Parking Garage

1/1 1/1 In July 2015 Cornell’s Forest Home Parking Garage became one of seven parking garages to receive the first Green Garage Certification from the Green Parking Council.

TOTAL 68.46 70.05 Average of 3 main categories + innovation points

Cornell University earned its fifth gold in the annual STARS report in March 2016. Cornell scored 70.05 – earning a gold – to become one of 96 schools with Gold

status out of 290 schools.

Among the highlights, providing the total number of hours student educators are engaged in peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education gained, and

community service hours gained several points as did an increase on Green Seal/EcoLogo certified cleaning and janitorial products. A significant improvement in

water use scores resulted from a reduction in water usage from reduced irrigation (largely due to weather). The Investment category is Cornell’s lowest

performance area.

Sierra Magazine Cool Schools Sierra magazine's annual coverage of America's greenest colleges. Cornell slipped to 32nd in 2016 from 29th in 2015. Participation in Sierra magazine's Cool

Schools ranking is open to all four-year, degree-granting undergraduate colleges and universities in the United States. In 2015, Sierra received 153 complete

responses from qualified colleges. Cornell received a total score of 648.88 points out of a possible 1000. The highest ranked school is College of the Atlantic with

783.41 points. Cornell’s performance in each ranking category is as follows:

Year Co-Curricular

Energy Investments Food Innovation Academics Planning Purchasing Transport Waste Water

2015 92% 65% 27% 72% 100% 83% 100% 60% 73% 72% 63%

2016 92% 53% 0% 71% 100% 73% 100% 49% 73% 82% 69%

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Princeton Review Cornell University is one of the most environmentally responsible colleges according to Princeton Review and ranks 6th in the 2016 "Top 50 Green Colleges"

ranking list. The Princeton Review used data from its institutional survey and its surveys of students at the 353 colleges in the book to tally the ranking list.