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About Sustainable UF
The University of Florida has a special obligation to meet the challenges of sustainability for three interrelated reasons. First, as educators we play a leading role in training the scientific, social, political and cultural leaders, professionals and policy-makers who will make a difference in the world. Second, we consume significant resources here on campus. Third, the students we educate and socialize at UF will have major environmental impacts as consumers and conservers when they leave campus with the knowledge and skills we impart. Whether the world is a better or worse place when our students become its citizens, parents, and leaders will be, in no small part, a function of the values, knowledge and skills they receive here.
To achieve the goal of a sustainable UF, we are committed to encouraging and facilitating the collaborative efforts of faculty, students, and staff to generate knowledge, acquire skills, develop values, and initiate practices that contribute to a sustainable, high quality of life on campus, in the state of Florida, and across the globe. In keeping with this commitment, the UF Office of Sustainability brought together representatives of diverse stakeholder groups across our campus to develop a collaborative vision for campus sustainability. Each group of representatives focused on a different topic area, all of which are represented individually and collectively in the sections of the Vision for a Sustainable UF.
Vision for a Sustainable UF
Implementation
Vision For A Sustainable UF
The challenge before us is to make the University of Florida, in its operations, pedagogy, research, and service, serve as a model laboratory for sustainability. There is an adage that the “hand teaches the heart.” It also teaches the mind. Here at UF we have the opportunity to foster experiential, inquiry-based learning that actively engages students to develop the knowledge-base, technological know-how, and socioeconomic skills and practices that further sustainability. This is also a grand opportunity to form partnerships with local and regional stakeholders, as well as provide international leadership.
Embracing sustainability is a matter of ensuring that UF stands at the cutting edge in generating the knowledge and technology that will be in the greatest demand for the foreseeable future. Embracing sustainability is not simply a matter of practicing what we preach, though it is that. The University of Florida has the responsibility, and vested interest, to impart the values, generate the knowledge, and develop the skills that will prepare students to contribute to a high quality of life in this country, and around the globe. We are responsible to prepare our students for the future. By addressing the environmental and socio-economic impact of our operations as well developing our teaching and research mandates, we can enhance rather than undermine that future while ensuring the best education for our students.
Document: Vision For A Sustainable UF
Implementation of the Vision
These implementation plans chart a course towards UF’s goal, as outlined in the Vision for a Sustainable UF. In 2006, the UF Office of Sustainability brought together representatives of diverse stakeholder groups across campus to develop a collaborative vision for campus sustainability. Each group of representatives focused on a different topic area related to our Guiding Principles, all of which are represented individually and collectively within the report.
Following the visioning sessions, the office reconvened stakeholder groups to identify specific actions for each desired outcome to include in a three-year plan. The implementation plans below outline actions toward the outcomes identified in the Vision. In some cases, multiple topics identified in the vision share one implementation plan (i.e. Equity, Health, and Wellbeing, or Stewardship and Campus Culture).
Action plans for waste are underway as part of a comprehensive plan to meet UF’s Zero Waste goal. A foundation for a plan regarding sustainability in Academics and Research was laid by the work of Dr. Kim Tanzer and Dr. Tom Ankersen. Conversations in this area are ongoing via the UF Sustainability Committee.
The actions for all plans lay a framework towards meeting UF’s sustainability objectives, but are non-binding. The implementation process is meant to be inclusive and adaptive, and the implementation plans “living” documents. For each action, stakeholders are identified and a lead department/unit is noted in bold. Actions will be assessed regularly by the stakeholders to determine appropriateness and/or progress toward the goals, and modified as needed to reflect the best path to a sustainable UF. The Office of Sustainability will review overall progress annually and lead efforts to identify new actions and develop implementation plans every three years.
UF Sustainability In Agriculture Implementation Plan
UF Sustainability In Built Environment Implementation Plan
UF Sustainability In Energy Conservation & Climate Change Implementation Plan
UF Sustainability In Equity, Health & Wellbeing Implementation Plan
UF Sustainability In Land and Resource Management Implementation Plan
UF Sustainability In Procurement Implementation Plan
UF Sustainability In Service and Outreach Implementation Plan
UF Sustainability In Stewardship Implementation Plan
UF Sustainability In Transportation Implementation Plan
More Plans Coming Soon