Sustainability Committee

The Sustainability Committee of Student Government functions to implement projects, host events, and promote sustainability on campus. We meet on Tuesdays from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m.

Throughout the year, we work on implementing sustainability initiatives in collaboration with other university stakeholders, which include:

Composting initiatives
Reducing plastic consumption in the dining halls
Increasing the number & visibility of recycling bins in Parks Library
Education campaigns
And others that our committee members are passionate about.

The committee also participates in events put on by the Office of Sustainability such as Earth Day events, Sustainapalooza, and other opportunities that may arise.

Our three subcommittees this year are Waste, Resource Management, and Education & Outreach! We are so excited to get projects started and engage students from all over campus.

If you have a project idea, question, or concern related to sustainability on campus, I encourage you to reach out- it is important to me that the committee is working on projects that students care about. You can do so by emailing edsmith1@iastate.edu or isusustainabilitycommittee@gmail.com, OR by filling out this form: https://forms.gle/XJrBp4UTBr4LrZk38

Sustainability Committee also works with the Green Initiatives Fund Committee. The committee will review Green Fund proposals and ultimately vote on whether or not to approve the proposal. To find additional information as well as the application, visit https://www.livegreen.iastate.edu/funding/green-initiatives-fund. More information is also provided below! After the application is submitted, it is then reviewed by the Sustainability Committee; other campus stakeholders have the opportunity to ask questions, but the Committee makes the decision. If it is passed, the application is then reviewed by Finance Committee.

Examples of Past Green Initiatives Fund Projects:

Placing additional recycling bins in Parks Library to reduce the volume and number of recyclable materials being disposed of in the trash,
Growing to Give, a project focused on growing produce during the winter months to be donated to Food at First, ensuring that the Ames community has access to fresh produce during the off-season
Composting project in Freddy Court
Lake Laverne restoration project

To access our meeting minutes and agendas, use this link: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1M2L3UX50U87tsT18sd3lrUxuhw8-dIjh?usp=sharing (Note: You must be logged into your Iowa State account to access the folder.)

Statement from the Previous Committee Chair:

This year, the Sustainability Committee is focusing on the impact our projects have by connecting them to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and STARS criteria (Sustainability Tracking, Assessment, and Reporting System), which is a division of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) and allows universities to quantify their sustainability. Our committee will work with students, organizations, faculty, staff, and campus administration to see projects through to fruition, and student insight is a valuable component of that. Please feel free to reach out with any questions related to sustainable issues, how to get involved with sustainability on campus, STARS, or anything else! We would love to work with you.