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.

To comprehensively embed climate action, social justice, and sustainability into the UNLV community, it is recommended that these topics be included in new student, faculty, and staff orientation programs. By incorporating dedicated sessions within the orientation framework, UNLV will provide essential education on the current state of the environment, social justice, climate change impacts, and each individual’s role in addressing these challenges.
 

UNLV will support multidisciplinary learning and applied research that advances sustainability on campus by utilizing campus infrastructure as a laboratory for education opportunities. By connecting operational emissions reduction projects and programs to course curricula and co-curricular learning, UNLV is preparing students to address similar issues in their personal and professional lives. 

Aligning online courses to the same day of the week reduces campus commutes and directly impacts emission reduction goals related to commuting. UNLV academic departments and programs will coordinate the online course schedule to create consistency among in-person versus virtual learning experiences.

Learning outcomes help students gain a specific skill set and level of knowledge around a particular topic or series of topics. Intentionally designing learning outcomes related to sustainability and climate will ensure all UNLV students understand these concepts and how to apply them on and off campus. Dedicated institutional learning outcomes also support “U 5: Accreditation Considerations” as they give accrediting bodies an assessment standard.

UNLV will adopt and administer a sustainability-focused literacy assessment tool to the entire student body. An assessment gives UNLV the opportunity to determine if its sustainability-related educational opportunities impact students, the level of impact, and insight into areas of improvement. 

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.

• 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.
• Use UNLV’s social media channels 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. 

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.

Establish a procurement task force to re-design the UNLV procurement policy to include robust data tracking of all campus purchases, adoption of environmental certification programs for janitorial, paper, and electronic certification programs, prioritization of reusable or recyclable items, guidance on SWAG purchases, and best practices for bundling small purchases. Improvements will include the following:

• Instating an institution-wide policies to:
  • Purchase cleaning products with a Green Seal™ or EcoLogo™ 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. Purchasing will provide 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.

To provide the campus community with access to non-traditional modes of transportation to not only satisfy their commuting needs, but to decrease emissions released by traditional forms of transportation, UNLV will work with local transit agencies to expand bus services access to encompass all areas of Las Vegas. 

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.

UNLV will adopt a policy to purchase electric and hybrid vehicles and equipment when fossil fuel-powered vehicles and equipment reach the end of life. Transitioning the campus fleet to low- and zero-emission vehicles supports emissions reduction goals and has a co-benefit of improved local air quality as a result of less vehicle exhaust.

UNLV will explore the viability of installing solar panel-covered walkways over highly trafficked pedestrian walkways on the main campus.

Transportation-related GHG emissions are a major contributor to UNLV’s carbon footprint. UNLV will actively implement policies and incentive programs to reduce overall commuting and university-funded air travel. Programs will include opt-in and voluntary offset programs to further reduce Scope 3 emissions for commuting and air travel.

By expanding and standardizing auditing practices, UNLV can identify areas of improvement. Establish a data collection protocol for tracking volumes of waste minimization, waste diversion, waste disposal, and issuing annual reports on findings. Expand waste auditing to capture data at the building level.

Establish waste minimization and waste diversion goals. These goals should be broad and specific to each university’s waste minimization and diversion program and align with the UNLV Rebel CAP. 

To increase waste diversion, UNLV will expand its current composting infrastructure and operations.Expansion will require post-consumer composting to be available in all buildings, including educational spaces, dorms, office kitchens, etc. 

Hire a Zero Waste Manager and the appropriate support staff to help guide waste decisions across campus. This new role would oversee student-facing Zero Waste programming and institutional sustainability efforts,such as developing Zero Waste training for staff and coordinating zero waste events.

Commission a diverse and empowered Waste Education Task Force, composed of faculty, staff, and students, to focus on:

• Development of cost-effective, accurate, and sustainable ways to document the amount and types of waste leaving the campus.
•  Writing a Zero Waste Strategic Plan to divert and reduce waste streams.
• Development of outreach programs to educate the campus community through events and focused campaigns about waste reduction initiatives (i.e., toner cartridge recycling, source reduction, clean and dry recycling habits, etc.
• Creation of social media accounts and campaigns to engage the campus community, educate the general public about waste management and waste management efforts at UNLV, and promote events.
• Organization of waste management-related competitions to increase participation and education.
• Outlining zero waste event protocols
• Educating campus about zero waste and each unit’s role in accomplishing the goals.

Expansion and standardization efforts will include:

• Expanding the number of outdoor recycling bins and increasing staffing to handle additional bin collection.
  • Communicative bins, such as BigBelly, would allow the current staff to likely maintain collection at additional bin locations or sustain daily communication with landscape and grounds staff. The most efficient and effective method would be for Grounds to empty the bins and bring the clear or light-colored bags to the recycling center.
• Working with the custodial team to pilot recycling bins in classrooms.
• Expanding construction and demolition waste recycling, food waste diversion, and municipal solid waste recycling.