Attendees: 

Ryan Knutson, Dr. Lee Spangler, Dr. Jennifer Thomson, Lucas Oelkers, Megan Sterl, Carly Tolson (proxy for Kara Landolfi), Dr. Steven Swinford, Kristin Blackler, Terry Leist, Paige Tolleson, Paul Edlund, Rose Vejvoda.

  1. Welcome and announcements
  2. Introduction of new members.
    1. Jennifer Thomson, Faculty Senate Chair
    2. Lucas Oelkers, ASMSU President
    3. Lee Spangler, Research Office Representative
  3. Discussion
    1. Expectations for CSAC Members
  1. The focus of this committee is based on MSU’s Sustainability Framework. We have 3 main goals that guide our work:
    1. STARS Platinum by 2035. Using the sustainability rating system provided by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, Montana State University aims to attain the highest level: Platinum. 
    2. Zero Waste by 2035. Montana State University’s zero-waste target is the internationally recognized standard of a diversion rate of 90%.  
    3. Carbon Neutrality by 2040. Recognizing the urgency of the climate crisis and need for an immediate, rapid, and sustained response based on the best available science, MSU will reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040. 
    4. To achieve these goals, we will need to delegate tasks to various sub-committees and campus constituents to reach our sustainability goals. The CSAC committee serves as the center point, but our work involves all of campus.
    • Update on MSUAF Sustainable Investment Policy
  1. Two students worked with an MSUAF working group in order to make MSU’s investment policy more aligned with the goals in MSU’s Sustainability Framework. The investment board voted unanimously to make a more sustainable investment plan and is working with the board of governors and Wilshire to update the policy.
    • Sustainability Tracking and Reporting System (STARS) Report
  2. Office of Sustainability reports every 3 years. This past year we delayed submitting to report on FY 22 rather than FY 19 data. While FY19 data was allowed, it felt too out of date to be relevant and accurately capture our campus’ efforts. The report will be submitted soon, and our final rating will be known a few weeks after that. The STARS report is specifically designed for university reporting. MSU uses STARS as a progress report, it is not the only metric for how we are doing in sustainability campus-wide.
  3. STARS is administered by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) and updates on a regular basis. The current version is 2.2. Version 3.0 is under review and open for public comment right now. There are four categories to report under include Academics, Engagement, Operations, and Planning and Administration. Within these four categories, there are over 25 subcategories. The staff at the Office of Sustainability works with constituents across campus to accurately report.

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    • Update on FY 22 Working Groups
  • Last year we created 3 working groups based strictly on our greenhouse gas inventory. Scope 1, 2, 3. Scope 1 emissions are what we generate on site for us this is the steam plant and other sources of natural gas on campus and direct travel from vehicles we own. Scope 2 is what we purchase: Northwestern Energy and WAPA. Scope 3 is everything else commuting, travel, wastewater, and purchases.
  • What we learned:
    1. Scope 1, Megan Sterl: Scope 1 Emissions are direct emissions on campus, such as the natural gas used in the heating plant and other firm natural gas used in dining halls and other buildings, and direct fuel usage in our fleet. The Scope 1 Task Force focused on understanding where and how natural gas is being used on our campus which will inform decisions about how to transition buildings off of natural gas in the future.
    2. Scope 2, Kristin Blackler: This task force focused on understanding MSU’s relationship with Northwestern Energy and our existing contracts with Northwestern Energy and WAPA. We also explored the relationship between Scope 1 and Scope 2 and how that will change as more buildings rely less on natural gas and more on electricity.
    3. Scope 3, EJ Hook and Paul LaChapelle: This task force tied their research with a guided independent study class, and students delivered a report on commuter habits. Specifically, commuter travel, and air travel and a small look into waste. Waste needs to be its own stand-alone goal outside of scope 3.
    1. Proposed Sub-Committee Structure for FY 23
      1. CSAC
        1. Office of Sustainability
          1. Campus Energy (Scope 1 and 2), Zero Waste, Scope 3 Data Collection, Education, Outreach and Summit
    2. The Campus Sustainability Consortium (CSC) was poorly attended and time-consuming to plan. In order to keep our broader sustainability community informed and engaged we would like to create a newsletter instead of the CSC meetings.
    3. The committee members have been tasked with reviewing the restructure, providing feedback, and then we will vote on the new structure at the November meeting.
    4. Other business – none
    5. Public comment – none