Environmental Stewardship Advisory Committee

About the Environmental Stewardship Advisory Committee (ESAC)

On August 10, 2004, then-University of Washington President Mark A. Emmert confirmed the UW’s commitment to environmental stewardship by announcing to the President's Cabinet and the Board of Deans that he had supported and adopted the University's "Policy on Environmental Stewardship" and its related Environmental Stewardship Advisory Committee. This was the culmination of a campus effort begun with a grass roots movement of staff, faculty and students, coordinated initially by the Program on the Environment, continuing with a Task Force on Environmental Stewardship established by Executive Vice President Weldon Ihrig, and finally gaining additional support and momentum when the Sustainable UW Alliance was formed.

The members of the Environmental Stewardship Advisory Committee (ESAC), which reports to the Executive Vice President and the Provost, were carefully appointed to make the Policy a reality on campus and to represent a broad array of environmental stewardship interests and expertise among UW faculty, students, and staff.

The Policy statement charges the committee with:

  • Advising the Provost and EVP on the progress towards each of the expectation areas noted in the policy statement;  
  • Developing, in collaboration with appropriate university units, benchmark measures of efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and the impact of activities in these areas;
  • Identifying long-term goals and standards by which the UW community can examine its effectiveness and short-term progress towards agreed-upon goals as well as timelines for evaluation of progress;
  • Identifying emerging opportunities for collaboration between academic programs and operational interests;
  • Identifying mechanisms by which the UW community, through collaborative efforts across academic and service units, can be made aware of the progress being made throughout the institution;
  • Interacting with and receiving information from existing environmental stewardship committees/activities throughout the University, including the University SEPA committee, the Montlake Landfill Oversight Committee, the Solid Waste Advisory Committee, and relevant academic units;
  • Reporting annually to the Provost and EVP as well as to the University community on activities and accomplishments.