University honors Campus Sustainability Month

In honor of October being Campus Sustainability Month, three important minds in sustainable development will give presentations today in Lillis Hall.

Keynote speaker Will Toor is the award-winning director of the University of Colorado Environmental Center, a class instructor and an active political figure. In addition to his many committee and board memberships, Toor has been the mayor of Boulder for six years.

Josh Skov and Bob Doppelt, important local figures in the field of sustainability, will also give a presentation. Skov is the research director at Good Company, a local consulting firm that advises institutions of higher education, corporations and the government about sustainability issues.

Doppelt is an associate professor at the University, the director of the Program on Watershed and Community Health and the UO Institute for a Sustainable Environment and the author of "Leading Change toward Sustainability: A Change-Management Guide for Business, Government and Civil Society."

Toor, Skov and Doppelt will speak about ways college campuses can lead society in creating a growth pattern that reduces fossil-fuel dependence and consumption of natural resources.

Toor's lecture will focus on what he believes are key areas in campus sustainability -- climate neutrality, auto dependence, transportation issues and sustainable material use. Toor said he plans to provide examples of different college campuses where students spearheaded real environmental changes and to inform University students of how they can do the same.

"I will give real life examples of how to take environmental values and turn them into the realm of reality quickly," Toor said in a telephone interview.

The event is sponsored by Steve Mital, a faculty member in the Environmental Studies program and the campus sustainability coordinator at the University. Mital said sustainability means "meeting our needs without compromising future generations from meeting their needs."

Doppelt will focus on how to use a systems approach to create positive organizational change. He expressed concern that too often people use a "quick-fix" mentality in dealing with environmental problems.

"Some 'green' building projects undermine our ability to get at the root cause of the problem ... and divert money from the main problem -- getting off the energy grid," he said.

Skov will speak about the current state of environmental practices at the University.

"Our work at Good Company is about sustainability assessment. We take a snapshot of an institution's performance and prioritize change strategies," he said.

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