About
Brad Haydel, CSULA Campus Sustainability
Cal State LA’s Campus Sustainability Committee (CSC) was created in 2016 in order to promote collaboration among faculty, students, and staff in the adoption of best practices, policies, projects and technologies to improve the environmental, social, and economic sustainability of the campus community.
Category of Humanitarian Benefit: Environmental Improvement
Short Biography/Background
The CSC serves in an advisory capacity to the President, and is charged with 1) educating and engaging campus stakeholders and external partners on sustainability issues, 2) integrating sustainability into campus policies and procedures, and 3) facilitating communication of initiatives, strategic plans, assessments, and updates on campus sustainability efforts, both internally and externally. To learn more about Cal State LA’s Campus Sustainability Committee, see Administrative Procedure 428: https://www.calstatela.edu/sites/default/files/groups/Sustainability/ap_428_interim_3-17-17.pdf
Project Name and Description
On April 4, 2016, Cal State LA became a signatory member of Second Nature’s Climate Commitment. The Climate Commitment includes: 1) the publication of annual Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions inventories, 2) a campus-community resilience assessment, 3) active support of a joint campus-community task force, 4) development of a comprehensive Climate Action Plan, and 5) the annual evaluation of progress toward carbon neutrality with climate resilience goals.
Cal State LA is committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2045, and to remain carbon neutral in perpetuity thereafter. Cal State LA is also committed to achieving climate resilience by adapting to Los Angeles’s changing climate with the completion of its strategic adaptation priorities by 2040. The University also commits to develop its community partnerships, curriculum and research opportunities to better integrate concepts of sustainability, carbon neutrality and climate resilience.
Benefit
Climate change has already effected many ecological processes around the world, and it is expected to intensify changes in social, political and economic systems in the near future. Cal State LA has a unique role to play in climate change mitigation and adaptation. As an internationally recognized center of knowledge, innovation and research, the University has a responsibility to engage its local, regional and global communities on the topic of climate change.
Cal State LA’s Campus Sustainability Committee is actively collaborating with the City of Los Angeles in a Campus Resilience Challenge to ensure the University’s resilience planning efforts promote and encourage innovative actions that advance physical resilience and social cohesion. Cal State LA’s Campus Sustainability Committee is committed to improving campus operations, developing its community partnerships, and expanding its cutting-edge academic programs to create a more just, sustainable and resilient world.
Website
Cal State LA’s 2019 Climate Action Plan: http://reporting.secondnature.org/media/uploads/cap/279-capfile_HRTubRK.pdf Cal State LA’s Second Nature Reporting Platform: http://reporting.secondnature.org/institution/detail!279##279 Cal State LA’s Sustainability Website: https://www.calstatela.edu/sustainability Cal State LA’s Climate Commitment: https://www.calstatela.edu/sites/default/files/groups/Sustainability/second_nature-climate_leadership_statement.pdf