Discussion Draft—November 11, 2005
(slightly modified Nov. 14)
Draft Preamble:
Throughout its history, Marlboro College has kept a small environmental
footprint, has lived frugally, and has attracted students, faculty and staff
attuned to the beauty of the landscape and the environmental values implicit
in our location and scale. These things have always come naturally to us,
unselfconsciously and without explicit statements of intent and policy. As
we have grown and diversified, we have moved away from an easy
environmentalism and have fallen out of the habit of individual and
institutional environmental practice. Meanwhile, the discourse of
sustainability seems omnipresent in the world of higher education. We
therefore believe it is appropriate and desirable to remind ourselves in a formal way of our core environmental values and to adopt a statement of goals and policies that--in an era of renewed sensitivity to sound environmental practices and sustainability—gives us formal direction as we think about our institutional patterns of resource use and our individual and collective behavior.
Draft Environmental Mission Statement:
Marlboro College, in fulfilling its mission, acknowledges and celebrates the inherent connections between the educational work we do and the places where we do that work—on campus, in the community, and as citizens of the world. The college endeavors to be an environmentally responsible institutional actor, and we, as its resident and affiliate members, endeavor to foster among ourselves a sense of stewardship for the natural resources on which we depend, and to educate ourselves and others about the roles and responsibilities we have as citizens of a sustainable world.
Standing Committee:
(Note: This might be constituted initially as a Campus Working Group on Sustainability.)
The college should establish a standing Campus Sustainability Committee, the membership of which might include:
Director of Plant Operations or designee
Dean of Students or designee
Member of SBC
Two members of the EQC
One representative of food services
Two faculty
Two students
The Committee, co-chaired by the Director of Plant Operations and a faculty member, will
*Advise the president regarding sustainability issues
*Recommend policies and procedures that implement the environmental mission
statement
*In cooperation with the EQC, promote sustainability awareness throughout the
college community
*Conduct regular assessments of sustainability of the college
The implementation of the mission statement requires further development. Franklin and Marshall offers a three-part charge: To change the way we think; to change the way we act; to change the way we interact. Bowdoin has a three-part charge: sustainable awareness, sustainable education, and sustainable policy.
Out of some better-articulated vision will flow a variety of specific tasks and challenges. Those that come to mind initially are those that have visibility and possible budgetary impact.
*Developing recycling and composting programs that are understandable and
functional over the long-term.
*Developing policies and practices that address purchases of renewable supplies,
such as paper, light bulbs, cleaning chemicals
*Developing a publications policy that addresses the use of recycled paper
*Developing a plan for implementing the design and construction standards
stated in the Campus Master Plan.
There are additional tasks associated with educating present and in-coming members of the community on good practice, responsible purchasing, and so on.
Finally, there is the curricular challenge to the faculty as to whether there is a commitment to address and rebuild Marlboro’s reputation as a college with a special curricular strength in environmental studies.