Ourselves: Embed sustainability into the One VCU culture

Strategy: Incorporate a wide range of sustainability topics throughout the academic curriculum

• Develop a system to track courses that incorporate sustainability content, prioritizing ease of use for faculty and students.

Strategy: Embed sustainability into VCU and VCU Health operations

• Expand sustainability as a component of student and employee orientation.
• Develop a resource for current students and employees to learn about the One VCU Sustainability Plan and how sustainable behaviors can be incorporated into our daily lives. 
• Develop new well-being resources that encourage healthy lifestyles and support the needs of the VCU community.

Strategy: Optimize VCU’s physical infrastructure

• Continue to employ green building standards (e.g., LEED, VEES) for new construction and renovation projects.
• Establish “green labs” processes and procedures.
• Increase the biodiversity of our campus footprint by expanding usage of native plantings in landscape design.

Strategy: Establish a standing One VCU sustainability advisory committee

• Committee membership will consist of representatives from VCU and VCU Health and include employees, students and community members.
• The committee will be charged with setting strategic priorities for plan implementation, monitoring progress and regularly communicating updates to the VCU community. 

Our community: Enhance student, patient, workforce and community health and well-being by restoring the natural environment and minimizing VCU's environmental impact

Strategy: Reduce greenhouse gas emissions and work to achieve carbon neutrality.

• Establish a project team with representatives from VCU and VCU Health charged with identifying and modeling viable options, including interim targets, to achieve carbon neutrality in line with the university's 2050 goal.

Strategy: Transform VCU into a zero-waste campus.

• Improve campus recycling infrastructure and procedures.
• Establish waste reduction and diversion targets, focusing on single-use plastics and other disposables in athletics, dining, housing and laboratories. 
  
• Increase diversion of food waste through composting and food recovery.

Strategy: Reduce stormwater runoff and potable water consumption to protect the James River

• Employ stormwater strategies to reduce runoff from buildings and grounds.

Strategy: Enhance biophilic connection

• Utilize signage and outreach campaigns to educate the public on campus ecology.
• Reestablish Tree Campus Higher Education recognition through the Arbor Day Foundation.

Strategy: Expand engagement with local communities to address economic, environmental and social sustainability challenges.

• Initiate partnerships with external institutions to build a network of collaboration and information sharing.

Our world: Inspire innovation in research, education and healthcare to advance environmental health, human health, health equity and economic vitality

Strategy: Increase cross-disciplinary sustainability research

• In alignment with the One VCU Research Strategic Priorities Plan, strengthen research infrastructure to support cooperation and encourage researchers to develop joint sustainability projects.

Strategy: Foster sustainability-focused partnerships at VCU, in our community and around the world

• Support research that directly contributes to positive economic, environmental and health outcomes in local communities.

Strategy: Broadly share VCU’s sustainability impact

• Develop and execute a strategic communications plan.