Sustainability Action Plan

The Office of Sustainability led the development of ESF’s college-wide Sustainability Action Plan (SAP) during the 2023-2024 academic year.

We developed the plan based on interviews with over 85 campus community members and were also deliberate in ensuring alignment with AASHE STARS v3.0, NYS Executive Orders 22 and 32, the ESF Strategic Plan, SUNY requirements, and Office of Sustainability goals.

Our campus engagement event — the SAP Social — drew more than 150 attendees and resulted in 173 comments and over 4,100 tallies denoting actions that were of “value” or caused “concern.”

Explore the Sustainability Action Plan

Sustainability Action Plan Annual Update (24-25)

The SAP includes 248 actions nested within five functional areas:

Enhancing Academic Coursework and Empowering Research and Scholarship of Tomorrow

Responsive Administration, Proactive Leadership, and Transparent Planning

Thoughtful Campus and Community Engagement

Sustainable and Welcoming Facilities and Operations

Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Access, and Belonging

Our plan is grounded in a broadened sustainability definition that includes economic, social, and environmental actions. Sustainability is not to be defined as achieving certain actions for a short duration of time, but by sustained efforts and resources punctuated by assessment and improvement over time.

The Office of Sustainability will publish annual updates, outlining progress made in achieving SAP actions. It will also update the SAP itself each year, based upon community feedback.