Based on meetings with the interns at Cedar Crest, Lafayette, Lehigh, Moravian, and Muhlenberg, the following overall goals are common to the campus sustainability efforts at all Lehigh Valley campuses:

1. Document where the college is with respect to sustainability

• Inventory of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions using the Clean Air-Cool Planet tools
• Completed checklist of indicators in all elements of sustainability

2. Increase awareness

• Organize events, including speakers, films, and public forums
• Encourage classroom discussion and assignments related to sustainability
• Publicize efforts to become more sustainable

3. Get a Commitment to Sustainability

• American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment
• Talloires Declaration
• Sustainability section on college website

3. Implement Specific Actions for Sustainability

(Specific programs will vary from campus to campus and may include some or all of the following)

• Reduce waste & promote recycling, including programs to reduce waste and encourage reuse when students move out at the end of each year
• Reduce consumption of
  • Electrical power
  • Fossil fuels
  • Paper
  • Water

• Adopt 'Green' Building Standards [LEED Silver or better, for example]
• Incorporate elements of sustainability in curriculum
• Increase commitment to local, organic, and Fair Trade products
• Reduce the number of trips by private automobile
• Encourage and support events that promote sustainability

4. Communicate ideas, challenges, successes with other csi interns and with other colleges

• Maintain this wiki site
• Ensure coverage in campus publications
• Provide information and articles to the newsletter

5. Ensure Continuity

• Promote a sustainability task force (or work with the task force if one already exists)
• Identify CSI internship candidates
• Ensure that the college or university develops a process for annual updates to the GHG inventory and reporting to all stakeholders

A note on AASHE (Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education)

AASHE membership can contribute to success with all these goals, by providing

• Tools and information for assessing sustainability
• Tools and strategies for implementation of the Presidents Climate Commitment and other approaches to sustainability
• Information about efforts at other colleges and universities, as well as successes and barriers encountered
• AASHE Bulletin
• Access to strategies and policies developed at other colleges & universities