Mission
Campus Sustainability strives to propel NIU to become a regional and national leader in sustainability by centering collaboration, resiliency, excellence, and justice. To accomplish this mission, Campus Sustainability creates opportunities for growth for the campus and the students that are served by:
- Improving campus infrastructure by upgrading campus facilities and developing campus standards and policies for long-term sustainability
- Creating a campus culture of sustainability though engagement opportunities and communication strategies to showcase NIU’s sustainability efforts
- Establishing partnerships that promote engaged learning, workforce development, and leveraging the university as a living laboratory
- Centering environmental justice to ensure all campus sustainability initiatives are inclusive, accessible, and responsive to the needs of all students, faculty, and staff
- Tracking NIU’s progress using national and global reporting systems to analyze improvement progress and campus models to assess campus perceptions, needs, actions, and outcomes that lead to further improvement
Vision
Campus Sustainability is part of NIU’s broader vision for sustainability.
Campus Sustainability’s vision is to be a guiding force in sustainability efforts that lead to the accomplishment of goals and commitments set by the university, demonstrating critical care for our students, staff, and faculty, our campus, and our planet. These are outlined in the Sustainability and Climate Action Plan (SCAP).
Values
Curiosity and creativity
- We instill the knowledge and values of sustainability into our entire community through programming, involvement initiatives, and communications
- We are open to continuous education on the principles and possibilities of sustainability and are willing to pursue innovative solutions
- We use our campus as a living laboratory for the NIU community to engage in learning about sustainability
Equity and inclusion
- We center environmental and climate justice as a guiding framework
- We use inclusive decision-making processes to develop and implement sustainability goals and initiatives
Ethics and integrity
- We uphold and create campus standards that align with NIU’s mission, vision, values, and goals to create a more sustainable NIU
- We commit to transparent reporting of our sustainability goals, initiatives, and progress to the NIU community and beyond
- We help build an educated workforce trained to consider sustainability broadly
Service and stewardship
- We steward the land that the university rests upon by restoring sections of campus to native habitats, creating green spaces that foster connections to the natural world, promote health and wellness, and engage students, faculty, and staff in experiential learning and research
- We share our findings, engage in meaningful conversations, and develop campus/community connections