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to increase the fuel efficiency of the vehicle fleet; and
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to cooperate with communities toward sustainability
All of these initiatives may be located within the first two stages in the five stages of Sustainable University Communities or the narrowest confines of the lower half of the model. They are expected responses, moving towards evidential responses. All have reputational or pecuniary value in the higher education marketplace. Moving beyond this level to consider the relationship of sustainability initiatives to CSU’s research profile, there is as yet no senior appointment specific to sustainability or attempt to bring CSU Green into the academic fold. However, among the higher research degrees on offer at CSU is a doctorate in Sustainable Agriculture. Furthermore, there also aspirational and third stream activities linked to major infrastructural investment occurring in different schools and on individual campuses. Notable among these is the Thurgoona campus at Albury/Wodonga on the NSW/Victorian border. The Thurgoona site, purchased in 1993 and purpose built to meet the needs of the university has been comprehensively designed and built with regard to environmentally sensitive principles, including the use of windmills and solar collectors. Buildings have been constructed from rammed earth and recycled materials, creeks rehabilitated and wetlands developed. There is on-site management of water and waste (including composting toilets) and attention to minimal energy use. The recently completed Academic Accommodation building is the first public building in inland Australia to be rated as six green stars. New residential buildings at other CSU campuses reflect some of the same principles (although they co-exist with more conventional buildings of less favorable design). These initiatives directly impact upon the sustainable functioning of the university and its identity. They impact most particularly in terms of their use and the university’s capacity to directly engage students and members of the external community. The Inland Living Experience described earlier in this report is exemplary of upper level third stream activity, the design of the campus, the engagement of the involved academics, and the principles of EfS coming together to enable ongoing outreach interactions with the university’s host community.
Griffith University Griffith University opened in 1975 on land secured for the purpose at Nathan (10 kms south of central Brisbane) in South East Queensland. Griffith was the first university in Australia to offer a degree in Environmental studies and now has more than 5600 environment alumni. The university has since expanded and grown to incorporate other institutions. Currently it services more than 40 000 students and offers more than 300 degrees (including undergraduate, postgraduate and research) across five campuses – Gold Coast, Logan, Mt Gravatt, Nathan and South Bank. The university is one of a group of six Innovative Research Universities (IRU) in Australia. These institutions were all founded in the 1960’s and 70’s and work together to establish research concentrations and investment across the group. They
The Functional Dynamics of Green Universities
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