A group of University of South Carolina students, faculty and staff are set to begin engaging the university in work to become a national leader in sustainable practices.

After a seven-year hiatus, South Carolina has re-established the President’s Council on Sustainability, whose members are charged with providing “input and expertise to the Office of Sustainability regarding goals, programming and evaluation of sustainability at the university.”

The timing of the council’s re-launch is especially important as the university embarks on a strategic plan that includes a priority to create a sustainable campus infrastructure and a goal to promote a framework for national leadership in institutional sustainability.

“Reactivating the President’s Council on Sustainability is as important operationally as it is symbolic,” says Kirsten Kennedy, associate vice president for student housing and sustainability. “The council’s efforts raise the visibility of sustainability efforts on the UofSC campus, which require both awareness and action from everyone in the campus community.”

Larry Cook, director of the Office of Sustainability, will lead the council. Other members include undergraduate and graduate students, faculty and staff from across the university. The group’s input will inform the continual development of the Campus Sustainability Plan and to update the president on progress toward goal achievement.

“I’m looking forward to the committee pushing the institution in its sustainability efforts – probably in ways we can’t even yet imagine,” says Kennedy.