University City Sustainability Plan

WashU affiliated authors: Raymond Ehrhard (Dept. of Energy, Environmental, and Chemical Engineering), Sustainability Exchange teams

Executive Summary: The project focused on the creation of a new sustainability plan for University City. Through research and consultation with local experts, this plan was created to reflect the updated agenda of the citizens of University City and improve upon the previous targets of the 2012 Sustainability Plan. Jenny Wendt, the liaison for the University City Green Practices Commission and senior project manager, served as an advisor, along with Washington University in St. Louis Senior Lecturer Raymond Ehrhard to the two teams of Sustainability Exchange students.

In the Fall of 2020, a team of students created the foundation and background for the proposed University City Sustainability Plan. They divided the sustainability plan into six sections: Biodiversity, Energy & Emissions, Food Access, Waste & Materials Management, Healthy Transport, and Water & Green Infrastructure. Over the course of the Fall 2020 semester, they completed the Energy & Emissions and Water & Green Infrastructure sections. Additionally, they created transition materials to assist the Spring 2021 team in completing the remaining four sections of the sustainability plan.

During the Spring 2021 semester, the four remaining sections were completed, and all findings are summarized in this final report. Each section of the sustainability plan includes two to three main targets, along with a brief explanation of how they will be met. Relevant hyperlinks to additional information and resources are included throughout.

The finalized plan will be delivered to the University City Green Practices Commission and will be reviewed before implementation.

Link to view: https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1013&context=sustainabilityexchange