Incorporating sustainability and climate change into undergraduate education is essential for preparing students to address the complex challenges of the 21st century, fostering a sense of responsibility, and ensuring that the future workforce is equipped with the knowledge and skills needed for a sustainable and resilient future.

Note: This requirement may simultaneously satisfy other general education requirements. Changing part of the undergraduate core curriculum may need NSHE approval.

Requirement Aims

• Equip students with a comprehensive understanding of sustainability's social, ecological, and economic dimensions.
• Develop critical thinking skills
• Become adept at analyzing and addressing multifaceted sustainability problems.

The institute would explore being a grant-funding body for internal sustainability and climate action academic and research projects.

Institute Operations and Features

• A faculty fellow or director position would manage the institute
• The institute would house a Faculty Learning Community program. This would be an annual faculty think tank focused on moving an idea to action within a single academic year (one semester of research/one semester for implementation) to further the mission of the Institute.

A governing body will keep an accurate, up-to-date inventory to monitor progress on sustainable academics and research. The inventory may also serve as a subject matter expert database for communicators. If a sustainability institute exists, this inventory would be housed under the institute.

Inventory Items

• Courses related to sustainability and climate action (by college, department, division, etc.)
• Faculty teaching or researching sustainability and climate-related courses
• Faculty with an academic background in sustainability or climate action and their contact information

Efforts to enhance our university’s educational programming include:

• Establishing comprehensive sustainability and climate change degree programs
• Registering with the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS) Program
• Promoting our campus as a living laboratory
• Providing offer hands-on interdisciplinary learning opportunities

Degree Program Aims and Examples

The sustainability and climate change degree programs encompass various disciplines to address the multifaceted challenges of our changing environment. Examples include:

• Bachelor's degree in sustainable studies or climate science. This degree could integrate courses in environmental science, renewable energy, policy analysis, and sustainable business practices.
• Master's program in climate and sustainability management that includes specialized areas such as climate policy, environmental economics, and sustainable development.
• Doctoral program in climate and sustainability sciences that could focus on advanced research methodologies and the development of innovative technologies. This program can produce experts who contribute to academic discourse and lead groundbreaking initiatives.

Benefits of Registering With the STARS Program

Registering with the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS) program will allow UNLV to track sustainability efforts, engage the community, create a baseline for continuous improvement, and integrate sustainability into teaching, learning, and research.

How to Promote Our Campus as a Living Laboratory

Utilize UNLV’s infrastructure and operations as living environments for multidisciplinary learning and applied research that advances sustainability on campus.

Aims for Hands-On Interdisciplinary Learning Opportunities

Interdisciplinary research opportunities, practical fieldwork, and collaboration with industry partners would be key components of these programs, ensuring students gain hands-on experience and contribute to cutting-edge solutions.

The Office of Sustainability will be responsible for the following:

• Overseeing the implementation and oversight of the Rebel CAP
• Acting as a clearing house for all efforts related to sustainability occurring in Clark County, and therefore encouraging partnerships and avoiding the, and duplication of efforts.
• Participating in creating all major contracts such as the one that provides food service (ex. official food service vendor contract).
• Institutionalizing the creation and submission of annual reports to the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System, managed by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Education.

By joining the Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council (SPLC), we will be able to do the following:

• Support the enhancement of our sustainable procurement program to ensure it delivers measurable, meaningful impact.
• Leverage their procurement for positive environmental and social benefits through coaching, peer learning groups, in-person summits, etc.
• Collaborate with peers and leaders across the value chain to innovate, aggregate demand, and amplify impact.

The sustainable investing policy will integrate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors into the investment decision-making and management processes. ESG factors consider a material impact on the financial performance of an investment, as well as the environmental and social outcomes of the investment. This results in the alignment of investment practices with its sustainability values.

Additional Focus Areas

• Engage with external managers responsible for managing UNLV’s endowment funds on their sustainable investing practices.
• Set expectations for Expect the external managers to consider relevant ESG factors in the portfolio analysis and monitoring, and to have a willingness to dialogue with employees on sustainability issues.
• Evaluate external managers on their performance based on their ESG integration and impact and reward those who demonstrate leadership and innovation in sustainable investing.
• Communicate the sustainable investing policy and practices to all shareholders.

Identify space for college programs to store supplies so they can be reused rather than disposed of after events (e.g., course supplies, theater sets, etc.).

Efforts will include providing food waste education, creating workshops, updating the Sustainable Purchasing Program page, and changing verbiage on the UNLV Dining Sustainability page.

Education Effort Details

• Food waste education: Prevent food waste by informing UNLV and its community about the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act of 1996 (42 U.S. Code § 1791) which provides limited liability protection for people who make good-faith donations of food and grocery products to nonprofits that feed the hungry. The act also provides limited liability protection, both civil and criminal, for those who distribute food and groceries, such as food banks.
• Workshop creation: Create workshops for campus departments to learn how to select products and services (i.e., those not required to go through the bid process) that align with our Rebel CAP goals.
• Updates to the Sustainable Purchasing Program page: Include new purchasing policy, verbiage related to sustainability in RFPs, what is tracked, etc.
• Changes to the UNLV Dining Sustainability page: Include more specific language.

Items will include equipment, appliances, and instrumentation. This effort will also Identify departments currently using older equipment and appliances and help them replace this equipment with energy-efficient items.

Improved Communication Efforts

• Allow students to opt-in to text message notifications that let them know when food left from events is available for free.
• Make aspects of UNLV’s contract with the campus food vendor related to sustainability transparent on our webpage.
• Work with the campus food vendor to add sustainability-related verbiage to customer surveys.
• Work with UNLV’s social media team to share the surveys and encourage respondents to address their preferences for plant-based food offerings.

Request Campus Food Vendor Data

• Request the data the campus food vendor tracks related to sustainable choices made to supply food services at UNLV. For example, purchases from small and diverse business owners, food purchased directly from farms, the percentage of meals served that are plant-based, etc.
• Request the same for the companies the campus food vendor contracts with to provide food services to UNLV.

Impose Sustainability Requirements to Campus Food Venues

• Require all food venues on campus to use reusable or compostable utensils and food containers.
• Require all food venues on campus to allow customers to use their own refillable cups and food containers for their purchases. These containers could be distributed as UNLV swag items.
• Prohibit plastic bags and styrofoam food and beverage containers in all food service establishments.

Create Partnerships and Obtain Certifications

• Partner with Zero Foodprint.
• Obtain Green Restaurant® Certification for the Dining Commons and Rebel Grounds.

These enhancements will include the following:

• Provide professors with best practice guides and technical bulletins that include information on energy-efficient and sustainable laboratory operations. These resources are available from the International Institute for Sustainable Laboratories.
• Combining laboratory safety inspections with sustainability audits. The biosafety/chemical hygiene officer could partner with a professional in the Office of Sustainability to create related policies and procedures, and the laboratory inspections could be performed at the same time.
• Having professors align their laboratories with the My Green Lab programs in support of the Rebel CAP sustainability goals.
• Achieving Green Lab Certification.

Effort will include the following:

• Purchasing smart devices to reduce phantom loads.
• Promoting best practices for e-waste disposal and opportunities for students, faculty, staff, and community members to participate in e-waste recycling events.
• When possible, using EPEAT Climate+ registered products, which meet criteria that indicate that they have a limited impact on climate change. These criteria are based on the lifecycle impact of electronic products. The EPEAT Climate+ designation is used for products that can be independently verified against these criteria.
• Installing smart room equipment to regulate energy use.

Our Social Sustainability and Supplier Inclusion program promotes the inclusion of diverse suppliers. Those suppliers, and their larger corporate counterparts, are required to provide the university with green alternatives to commonly used products and are highly encouraged to introduce innovative green solutions based on our requirements.

Proposed Enhancements

• Add language to contract templates that reflects our goal to engage with suppliers who are environmentally responsible and diverse in ownership.
• Require a sustainability statement from service vendors when submitting a proposed contract, bid, and RFP. Offer preferable consideration on contracts, bids, and RFPs to firms submitting viable, cost-effective, environmentally responsible responses.
• During the upcoming and future bids and RFPs for transportation services, explore additional options or efforts suppliers are making to provide carbon-neutral services. Understanding the current status and direction of the transportation services industry can help inform future procedures and considerations when contracting these services.
• Publish comprehensive information on our website to assist vendors in complying with UNLV’s sustainability policies.

Improvements will include the following:

• Instating an institution-wide policies to:
  • Purchase cleaning products with a Green Seal (tm) or EcoLogo (tm) certification.
  • Purchase all paper, timber, and card products that are deforestation-free by purchasing only 100% Recycled or FSC-certified goods when technologically compatible.
• Sourcing supplies in plastic containers that Republic Services is able to recycle or sell.
  • For example, #1 polyethylene terephthalate (PET), #2 high-density polyethylene (HDPE), and #5 polypropylene (PP), can often be recycled due to durable end markets.
• Exploring reusable items for UNLV swag.
• Reviewing purchasing categories to ensure similar items are being tracked reliably. This will enhance the data quality needed for tracking green purchasing practices.
• Tracking and evaluating all small dollar purchases. The purchasing group provides units with examples of common purchases that have advantages relating to their sustainability.
• Bundling small department/unit purchases at the university level. This effort will lead to volume discounts and the potential for requiring more sustainable choices.
• Having a purchasing task force for each department that will create internal policies for purchasing small dollar items that have sustainability-related advantages.

Efforts will include:

• Expanding bike locker installations throughout campus to increase safety for bike riders and encourage increased use of alternative forms of travel on campus.
• Implementing a bike path around campus to promote bicycle and scooter usage while increasing pedestrian safety through proper signage and segmentation of intracampus traffic.

Work with RTC to increase the number of campus community members who can use the RTC’s U-Pass Program. These enhancements will include discussions about:

• The feasibility of a Park-and-Ride Shuttle service to UNLV
• Increasing bus routes to campus to encompass all parts of the city.

Continue working with Nevada Energy to take advantage of their various incentive programs to increase the number of electric charging stations on campus.

Goals

• Identify other funding sources to help mitigate the costs of future installations.
• Continue to install updated infrastructure when required.
• When projects like new parking lot construction or modifications are budgeted for, installing the EV infrastructure should be considered.

This park-and-ride shuttle program will allow commuters to park their vehicles at strategically selected locations around the city and board a shuttle that will take them directly to UNLV.

Shuttle Operations and Features

• Shuttles will run on a set schedule so that commuters can conveniently be returned to their vehicles when campus business has been completed.
• Shuttle service locations will be equipped with secure bike lockers/cages for patrons utilizing the service.

Data tracking and metering will allow us to do the following:

• Identify areas of continued high water consumption.
• Locate undocumented portions of UNLV’s water delivery network, including pipes, nodes, and valves to support sub-meter installations.
• Obtain funding to support equipment that generates pipe location date information that can be integrated into UNLV’s data systems.
• Implement a survey to locate current water leaks in the distribution system and within buildings.
• Communicate and share UNLV’s most recent water audit with planners to identify areas with the most feasible, cost-effective conserving steps (for example, reduction of water leaks).

We will continue UNLV’s efforts to replace non-functional high-water turf grass with low-water use vegetative round covers by doing the following:

• Engage with UNLV’s Alison Sloat on possible ways in which UNLV can participate as either a research site or a test implementation site for Sloat’s $5 Million urban forest initiative.
• Obtain additional outside expert engagement and advice through scheduled campus meetings with individuals who have the appropriate expertise, such as:
  • SNWA’s Kent Sovocool, who has expertise in landscape irrigation conservation and water-conserving technologies,
  • UNLV’s Dale Devitt, who has expertise in water conservation for landscape irrigation, especially turf,
  • UNLV’s Landscape Architecture faculty,
  • City of Las Vegas’ staff implementing their urban tree program.
  • Springs Preserve staff
  • Norm Schilling of Schilling Horticulture
  • Dr. Fred Landau (retired UNLV Life Sciences professor).

Schedule a meeting with SNWA to evaluate the potential to obtain subsidies to replace cooling towers and install climate-appropriate (native) shade trees.