Office of Sustainability to host Sustainability Summit

The first annual Sustainability Summit at MSU, hosted Monday, April 18, and Tuesday, April 19, will bring together members of the Office of Sustainability, campus managers, students and community members to inform the public about the university’s progress on sustainability targets established in the fall.

In addition to reporting on those goals, which are part of MSU’s new Sustainability Framework and include carbon neutrality and zero waste, the summit will provide an opportunity for students, faculty and community members to better understand the work of the Office of Sustainability, share sustainability research by students and learn about sustainability in campus facilities. “We want to invite collaboration moving forward activities involving sustainability,” Kristin Blackler, director of the Office of Sustainability, said. 

The Office of Sustainability was created in 2012 and has spent the past decade working to make MSU and the surrounding community as sustainable as possible. “We try to lessen the disconnect between what students learn in the classroom about sustainability and what they experience when they walk outside,” Blackler said.

The Sustainability Framework includes such goals for becoming a Sustainability Tracking, Rating and Assessment System (STARS) platinum university by 2035, being zero-waste by 2035 and carbon neutral by 2040. Some areas of focus listed in the framework include curriculum, food systems, transportation and planning. 

The summit will include keynote speaker Chad Pregracke, founder of the large-scale river cleanup organization Living Lands and Waters, tours of various MSU facilities that are making changes to be more sustainable (including two miles of tunnels running beneath campus) and student presentations regarding research being done in the field. 

“We can make ourselves a resource for when faculty and students are interested in sustainability academic pursuits,” Paul Edlund, program manager of the Office of Sustainability, said. “You don’t have to wait until you graduate to make a difference in this field,” Blackler said.

Another goal of the summit is to bring more visibility to the office and to sustainability in general. “This is structured to inspire students with the sustainability research that’s being done,” Edlund said. “In a crisis-driven 2022, the need for understanding how to support local communities is growing. This is an opportunity for our community to come together and understand how sustainability can support our community.” 

The event will center on an optimistic outlook. “Oftentimes it can get overwhelming when you look at the negative impacts. We’re trying to inspire people that you can have positive impacts,” Blackler said.

The event is free, and attendees are able to come and go to the various presentations as they please. Registration is encouraged whether you attend a portion or the full event. To learn more about the event or register, visit montana.edu/sustainability/summit.