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The Sustainability Council met on December 12 to share updates from the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Sustainability (OVCS), discuss upcoming initiatives, and review council operations for the coming year. The Council also toured the East District Energy Plant.

OVCS Updates and Leadership

OVCS announced the hiring of a new Director of Sustainability. The office also shared significant progress on the Carnegie Elective Classification for Sustainability, a new national sustainability designation developed through a partnership between the American Council on Education (ACE) and the Carnegie Foundation.

Unlike existing sustainability rankings such as STARS, the Carnegie classification is designed to be more inclusive of diverse institutions and less dependent on quantitative scoring. It evaluates sustainability across operations, curriculum, and research.

CU Boulder will serve as the host institution and external representative body for the new classification, playing a central role in refining the framework, managing application reviews, and supporting the award process. This positions CU Boulder to help shape how sustainability is defined and recognized across higher education nationally.

Key milestones include:

• March 2026: Public announcement and opening of applications
• Fall 2026: Application deadline
• 2027: Announcement of selected institutions

Approximately 300 universities are expected to apply, including CU Boulder.

Council Agenda and January 1 Proposals

The council discussed planning outreach in January to increase participation in proposal submissions and targeted marketing and outreach efforts. Members volunteered to participate in upcoming tabling opportunities to raise awareness of the proposals, and additional promotion will take place through campus newsletters and digital signs. Creative ideas, such as flyers in restroom stalls, will also be explored.

Council leadership also discussed identifying the meeting leaders for next semester. 

Council Membership and Structure

The council reviewed membership needs for the upcoming year, noting the goal of maintaining balanced representation:

• Students
• Faculty
• Staff

Members ideally serve staggered three-year terms, with three representatives from each group. One faculty seat is scheduled for recruitment in the spring ‘26 semester, as Dr. Pete Newton concludes his term. The recruitment process should begin at the beginning of the spring semester, follow the same approach used last spring with a subcommittee making recommendations to the larger council, and include outreach to exemplary faculty who applied in the previous cycle.

All staff positions formally began in 2025. To establish staggered terms and support continuity, it was discussed that one staff term would conclude in Spring 2027, one in Spring 2028, and one in Spring 2029. Assignment of individual staff members to these terms has not yet been identified.

The council is exploring opportunities to increase student representation, including a spring pilot that expands eligibility for the two set student positions. The E-Board Chair and CUSG Sustainability Chair will continue to hold these positions, while participation may now also be extended to any Environmental Board members or CUSG tri-executives if either Chair is unable to attend a meeting.

It was also discussed that exploring microcredentials for members could be valuable.

A document outlining member expectations should be developed to guide both current and future council members.

Open Forum and Communications Updates

During the open forum, members noted that there is currently one proposal submission under review. The proposal was resubmitted by Dr. Pete Newton with revisions from last year and in the new Qualtrics format. 

³§¾±²Ô³¦±ðÌý, updates to proposal flyers were recommended, including clearer deadlines. The current FAQ document is located only in the Qualtrics form, but will be hosted on the sustainability website once it has gone through an update for increased visibility and access.

The meeting concluded with a focus on transparency, engagement, and aligning council efforts with CU Boulder’s broader sustainability vision.