Senate Document Number 0803F

Date of Senate Approval 11/13/03

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Statement of Faculty Senate Action:

UPC 2:     Proposed UNCA Environmental Sustainability Resolution

RESOLUTION
FROM THE FACULTY SENATE AT
THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT ASHEVILLE

WHEREAS, recognition that all life forms are mutually supportive and interdependent and dedication to the well being of the natural environment are the duties of all responsible humans as the stewards of natural resources;

Whereas the University of North Carolina at Asheville (the University) has pledged to promote the learning and personal growth of all its members;¹

Whereas North Carolina's governor, in 1998, ordered the state government to set an example of environmental stewardship in the way agencies, including state universities, operate and conduct business per executive order 156;³

Whereas it is essential that the University provide a safe, high-quality environment for the more than 5,000 members of the university community;⁴

Whereas, it is a Goal of the University to serve as a model of environmental awareness and responsibility ^2,5 and

Whereas the University recognizes that community participation is a responsibility of a public university⁶ and that such participation includes the promotion of environmental well being throughout the region, country, and the world;

Now, therefore the Faculty Senate proclaims this Environmental Sustainability Resolution, to the end that the UNCA community commit to the protection and enhancement of the environment through its teaching, research, service, and administrative operations.

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Faculty Senate encourages the Chancellor and Administration of the University, through campus operations, to commit itself to:

Use environmental concerns to help guide university decision making;

Research and apply sustainable practices that ensure a high quality of life for future generations;

Preserve natural resources, restore environmental quality, reduce, and ultimately eliminate waste;

Protect regional biological diversity and the habitats of local native species;

Employ sustainable design principles in physical planning and related activities including land use, construction, and renovation;

Consider environmental background and stance in key hiring decisions;

Integrate environmental literacy into curricula and promote environmental literacy;

Collaborate with sister universities and community organizations to advance environmentally sound causes; and

Continuously improve environmental performance.⁷

²Guiding concept III, Faculty Senate Document # 3201S.

³Executive Order Number 156: State Government Environmental Sustainability, Reduction of Solid Waste, and Procurement of Environmentally Preferable Products. See http://www.sustainablenc.org/main/orders.htm#156.

⁴Guiding concept III, Faculty Senate Document # 3201S.

⁵UNCA Institutional Goal # 6: Senate Document # 0701F.

⁶Guiding concept X, Faculty Senate Document # 3201S.

⁷ This is the definition provided by the European Environmental Agency, a body of the European Union:

"...The basic idea [of environmental performance] is to identify indicators (environmental, operational and management) which can be measured and tracked to facilitate continuous improvements."

Including this language in the UNCA document is consistent with the large and growing body of literature on environmental sustainability.