Southern Oregon University and Sustainability
“The mission of the Sustainability Council is to advise, encourage, and coordinate the operations, research, and campus culture of Southern Oregon University in a manner that is consistent with the values and practices of environmental stewardship and sustainability; promoting individual, institutional and community well-being.”
That is the mission statement of the Sustainability Council at Southern Oregon University. Founded in 1995 by a group of SOU students, the Council has made it their mission to make SOU’s campus as environmentally sustainably as possible. Coordinated by Raynna Jackson, Southern Oregon has quickly become one the most ecofriendly universities in the country and is making bigger and bigger strides each year to reducing the school’s GHG emissions.
Nationwide, Southern Oregon University has been recognized for their unwavering commitment to campus sustainability. Over the past few years, SOU as received several awards for environmental sustainability and has launched several new programs to educate students on stewardship and positive use of the environment In 2015, SOU was awarded with the Best Case Study Award by the Association for the advancement of Sustainability in High Education (AASHE). SOU’s ecofriendly innovation even stretches to its architecture as well. Housing on campus is now rated LEED Gold. To attain LEED Gold, a building must earn 60–79 points on the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating system.
Southern Oregon University has dedicated a lot of time and resources to lowering the greenhouse gas emissions on campus. One of the biggest and most effective ways the university reduces its carbon footprint is by installing a large quantity of interlinked solar arrays across most of the major buildings on campus. This push for more sustainable and clean energy began in 2000 when the first solar panel array was installed on the Hannon Library. At the time, the array consisted of 24 panels generated 7,646 kWh annually before being expanded in 2019 with the purchase of 159 new panels. As of 2021, most of Southern Oregon University’s buildings are equipped with solar arrays, including the SRC/Lithia Motors Pavilion which is equipped with 180 SolarWorld 350 XL panels and are aided by 90 optimizers to enhance the building’s performance.
Southern Oregon University generates clean sustainable energy through the use of these photovoltaic panels. In total, the university uses and maintains over 1,000 individual units that all together generate 340,000 kWh annually.
The United Nations held the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992. In that summit, over 180 countries adopted Agenda 21, a plan of action to build an international partnership for sustainable development to protect the environment and improve the lives of humans. Over time, the United Nations developed the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) in order to further the decades of work done by countries around the globe under Agenda 21. The SDGs are 17 goals for worldwide change in order to improve the lives of people in all countries; developed and undeveloped, as well as maintain sustainable and ecofriendly practices. The SDGs reach a wide range of topics from gender equality and justice reform to affordable clean energy and the end of poverty and hunger. These are some lofty goals but certainly not impossible.
In regard to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, Southern Oregon University has obviously exceeded in Goals Four, Five, Seven and Thirteen. These four goals are Quality Education, Gender Equality, Affordable Clean Energy, and Climate Action. SOU has been dedicated to providing a quality education at a fraction of the cost of larger 4 year universities. Its campus and environment is one of the most inclusive spaces of any kind due in large part to the progressive nature of the city of Ashland as a whole. People of all genders and orientations are welcome at the university without the threat of bias or discrimination. Southern Oregon University has dozens of programs and initiatives dedicated to the lowering of greenhouse gas emissions and downsizing its carbon footprint. For a large institution like a 4 year university to implement that number of sweeping changes should be seen as a tone setter for other organizations and schools. SOU has set an example of what an ecofriendly campus can be and they are not done improving yet.
And as we have already discussed, SOU takes a lot of pride in its use of clean energy as well as its programs and educational courses designed to teach young people about living on the land and stewarding a healthy cohabitation with ourselves and the world around us. Southern Oregon University is a clear example of what large groups of innovative minds can do when presented with a goal. Their goal is to be as sustainable and welcoming as possible and the work they have already done is nothing short of fantastic.
