Environmental sustainability plan for the University of Southern California

The purpose of this project was to compare the characteristics of environmental sustainability programs at leading institutions with those already in place, while not formalized, at the University of Southern California (USC). The comparisons led to recommendations for campus sustainability within ten primary areas of university operations as well as a collection of baseline values that could be used to chart progress once a formal program is established at the institution.; In order to help understand the potential impact of sustainability initiatives on the environment, this paper initially distinguishes between environmental sustainability, and social or economic sustainability. Furthermore, it explores the links that universities have to the cities with respect to housing, transportation, waste generation, land use, energy use, and various other operational activities. In addition, the connection is made regarding academic goals of training future leaders while serving as working laboratories to test green technologies and policies.; Following the review of best practices, processes and practices were identified at USC which could be considered sustainable or on which larger initiatives could be based. Finally, a three year plan is presented as a roadmap for developing a formal sustainability program at USC which would capitalize on the academic and administrative programs already in place at the university.