Chelsea ColleyIn January, we kicked off our efforts to update the University’s Sustainability Strategic Plan, documented here in the first installment of SSP updates on WholeSum. We then conducted focus groups with student leaders, faculty, and staff to understand their opinions on what a shared vision of sustainability should look like at UK, the most important sustainability issues we will face, and potential goals we could set to address those issues. You can read about the development process here in the second installment of SSP updates on WholeSum. As the Sustainability Strategic Plan began to evolve and take shape, task forces were assembled and assigned to support each of the five guiding principles. You can read about Guiding Principle task force operations here in the third installment of SSP updates.
We are now 10 months into the process of updating UK’s Sustainability Strategic Plan. Task force co-chairs have led efforts to propose a comprehensive list of goals and subgoals. Key stakeholders were asked to provide feedback on those targets. We are now preparing to release a draft document for leadership review and this will be followed by a period of campus-wide and community feedback. Continue reading to learn more about the details of these processes in this fourth installment of Sustainability Strategic Plan Progress updates.
The five task forces worked tirelessly throughout the summer to produce their sets of goals and subgoals that aligned with the values of their assigned guiding principle. Beginning in late August, each of the five task forces submitted a proposed list of goals and subgoals to the Office of Sustainability and SSP Steering Committee. These lists were then consolidated into a parent sheet, creating a comprehensive bank of 142 proposed goals and subgoals
More feedback
More than 60 responsible parties (units or individuals) were then identified as stakeholders that would be involved with the implementation of one or more of the subgoals and were contacted with a request to provide feedback. This feedback will be vital to the progress of the Sustainability Strategic Plan because it helps ensure that the goals can be achieved and implemented within the indicated time frame. By early September, more than 50 of those units or individual parties had submitted a total of 150 comments and concerns, providing co-chairs with plenty of suggestions to begin reviewing and integrating.
The Next Steps
After the task forces addressed the 150 comments from responsible parties, t the Office of Sustainability began the process of creating the first draft of the Sustainability Strategic Plan and preparing it for the review process. This multi-step process of feedback, review, and revision is a vital, though often unnoticed, step in creating a plan that sticks. By the time the draft plan reaches the broader community, it will have already received a multitude of revisions from varying stakeholders across UK’s campus.
Get Involved
The draft of the Sustainability Strategic Plan is set for public release later this spring. Providing feedback on the draft plan is an excellent opportunity for YOU to voice your opinions on the future of sustainability at the University of Kentucky. Subscribe to WholeSum updates at the bottom of this page to be notified when community feedback begins and continue following along with the progress of the Sustainability Strategic Plan!
