8:30 am – Breakfast and Registration

9:00 am – Welcome and Introductions

9:30 am – Sustainability Planning

As universities continue to invest in sustainability through operational, academic, and outreach initiatives, the need for coordinated planning increases.  Session One will brainstorm the need for and benefits of strategic planning around sustainability in higher education. This session will address questions regarding effective planning frameworks, how to best integrate sustainability into existing planning processes, how to make the case for creating sustainability-plans to upper administrators, and which metrics and goals are most useful.  Breakout sessions will address where to begin the planning process, using STARS and other reporting to guide planning, and developing advanced stakeholder relationships to enhance the planning process.

10:30 am – Breakout Session 1

11:45 pm – Lunch

1:15 pm – Engaging the Broader Campus Community

Whether you are a student, faculty member, or sustainability professional, we all are faced with engaging the broad campus community in our sustainability initiatives.  In this session, we’ll discuss how to reach various constituencies across campus and how to “sell” our message to them.  This will include discussions on using marketing, websites and social media, events, and more in order to gain interest and build support for sustainability over time.   Breakouts will include more targeted discussions on reaching the main groups on campus: faculty and academia, staff, and students.

2:15 pm – Breakout Session 2

3:15 pm – Setting Statewide Objectives

The third session will begin with small-group discussions about how to strengthen the network of college and university sustainability initiatives in Texas. A larger group discussion will determine common goals with respect to Energy & Water Conservation, Green Building, Landfill Waste Diversions, Curriculum Development; and an action plan for moving forward to achieve these goals statewide.

4:15 pm – Breakout Session 3

5:00 pm – Closing

5:30 pm — Networking Reception