Three new sustainability hubs to focus on improving Ohio University's environmental impact

The Office of Sustainability’s new structure will focus on improvements to infrastructure, administration, and living conditions.

[dropcap txtcolor="#234a83"]T[/dropcap]he Office of Sustainability has announced changes to the implementation of the Ohio University Sustainability and Climate Action Plan. The plan ensures the fulfillment of Ohio U’s institutional commitments to environmental, social, and economic well-being, as mentioned in its mission statement.The restructuring will divide the office into three subgroups targeting sustainable infrastructure, sustainable administration, and sustainable living.The plan is part of Ohio U President Nellis’ strategic pathway in enhancing the university’s national position as a leader in sustainability, as highlighted in his initiatives.“The first [goal] is to make our campus into a laboratory for sustainability on a national level,” Theresa Moran, an assistant professor and the sustainable living hub coordinator, said.[AdSense-A]Future plans involve creating what President Nellis calls a university engagement ecosystem, according to Moran. Another goal is to ensure the university meets the sustainable tracking assessment ratings program (STARS), a self-reporting framework for universities to measure their sustainability performance, Moran said.As stated in the Ohio U Compass report, the Sustainable Infrastructure hub will focus on the sustainability of buildings, energy, water, and waste. The Sustainable Administration hub will focus on climate, procurement, investments, and human resources. The Sustainable Living hub will focus on food, transportation, grounds, and student affairs.“We want to enhance the student experience, we want to encourage consumer behavior around food choices that will sustain the student for lifelong health and also sustain whatever local economy that they go to,” Moran said.The Sustainability Office will hold a series of monthly events, the first one being a Sustainable Administration Hub seminar by Ryan Fogt, the coordinator of the hub. It will be held at Front Room in Baker on Feb. 19 and will discuss the hubs’ initiatives. Editor's note on Feb. 12, 2019: This article was amended to fix errors regarding the university's plan to fix the current sustainability model. The university at this time is not announcing a revised plan.