University of Vermont president Daniel Mark Fogel announced today that he is elevating the university's commitment to sustainability with two new high-level structures that will recommend policies, guide investments, and coordinate projects and programs related to climate change and environmental responsibility.

A new President's Commission on Sustainability will make strategic recommendations about policies and activities requiring significant operational changes or allocation of financial and other resources within the University to advance environmental goals.

"The planet is in crisis," said Fogel. "The new office and commission will help us make the difficult choices about how we invest university time and money, both to reduce our own negative environmental impacts from operating the campus and to engage faculty and students in finding solutions for society as a whole. The Commission and Office of Sustainability will ensure we do this work in an open, collaborative manner, and that we report regularly on progress."

The commission is expected to begin work in the spring; a chair will be announced within the next four weeks.

The commission's first order of business will be to create a Climate Neutrality Working Group that will develop a plan within two years for reaching climate neutrality at UVM. Last summer President Fogel signed the Presidents Climate Commitment, sponsored by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, which requires an institution to develop a plan within two years for achieving carbon neutrality.

A second new structure, the new Office of Sustainability, will support the Commission's development of an overall environmental sustainability strategy, track performance indicators and best practices, oversee the selection and implementation of the best ideas for reducing environmental impacts, and educate and involve the campus and Vermont community through programs, websites, events, and publications.

Gioia Thompson, currently the university's Environmental Coordinator, will direct the new office, which will be staffed by outreach and project assistants and graduate students. Thompson is the author of two UVM reports, Greening UVM and Tracking UVM, which have analyzed UVM's environmental performance to date. She has worked with dozens of graduate students and undergraduates on research projects and public education campaigns at UVM, all aimed at raising UVM's green performance.

"With this new administrative commitment, we will be able to tackle the challenges of climate change and sustainability in a comprehensive way to accelerate the development of best practices," Thompson said.

As environmental coordinator, Thompson has worked with the broadly representative Environmental Council since its formation in 1996. The council, which will be renamed the Environmental Forum, will advise the Office of Sustainability and continue its work at the grassroots and middle management levels, taking on responsibility for coordinating a Clean Energy Fund proposed by students, in addition to hosting greening events, promoting campus-wide awareness, and tracking environmental data.

The University of Vermont has a long tradition of environmental leadership upon which the new organizational structures will build. In recognition of UVM's long standing commitment to the environment, the Sustainable Endowments Institute recently ranked it among the top six schools nationally for green practices and policies, giving the school an overall grade of A- in its College Sustainability Report Card.