In an email sent to members of the Brandeis community at the end of August, it was announced that Brandeis’ Office of Sustainability was being shut down. The message noted that “Our Sustainability Office has been eliminated unfortunately. Nevertheless, sustainability standards and practices will continue through the ongoing efforts of all division departments. For example, the new residence hall is being designed to Passive House energy standards, regional sourcing for campus food service has increased over the past two years, and there continues to be reduced pesticide use in grounds caretaking.”
The Hoot reached out to Lois Stanley, Vice President for Campus Planning and Operations, to learn more about several topics related to the office’s closure.
Regarding the reasons for the office’s shutdown, Vice President Stanley said that “the long-time director of our sustainability office left for a role in private industry more than a year ago. She had done an excellent job instilling sustainable practices throughout the university, which continue to this day. While the closure [of] the one-person sustainability [office] was necessary due to the budget reduction earlier this year, it’s my job to ensure our sustainability standards and practices will continue.”
When asked how Brandeis will continue functioning sustainably, Stanley said that “sustainability is factored into every one of my division[‘s] departments, ranging from standards for design and construction to incentives for our dining program to chemical usage in custodial and grounds. In some cases, like recycling for example, sustainability standards and practices have been in place for many years, and in other cases just a few years, like the reduction of red meat purchased for the dining halls. The university has reduced its carbon footprint and building operating costs as a result. ”
The Hoot also asked why the university’s climate action plan, Vision 2030, was no longer available online. Stanley said that the plan “will soon be located on the Campus Planning and Operations website.” As of the time of writing, The Hoot was still unable to locate the plan online.
