![]() ![]() One of the best things you can do, possibly even before you accept the job, is to talk to the person who did it before. For example, a university could have a well developed academic program, but pioneering operational sustainability and emerging civic engagement sustainability. ![]() Your strategy as sustainability officer is very different depending on which stage your institution is in and different parts of the institution can be in different stages at the same time. In the institutionalizing stage, sustainability initiatives become established programs and are integrated into the operation of the institution. In the pioneering stage, a full time sustainability coordinator is often hired and small pilot projects are undertaken. A committee might be formed and conversations are had about values and priorities. Is sustainability an emerging, pioneering, or institutionalizing area at your institution? In the emerging stage, people are becoming conscious of the value of sustainability. One of the first things to understand is which stage your institution is at in terms of sustainability. If you don’t take the time to learn what people care about, you may find yourself working on the wrong things or the right things in the wrong ways. Therefore the first six months on the job need to be devoted heavily to understanding priorities and developing relationships. You may have your ideas of what campus sustainability means, but what does it mean to the stakeholders of your institution–the president, administration, faculty, students, and most importantly your boss? Sustainability is not a one (wo)man job relationships are crucial for getting things done. In this article I share some of my insights on surviving the first year and also the hard won advice from sustainability in higher education professionals in the field. This makes the first year all the more important (and stressful). Because sustainability is often a new area, you have to prove what you do is valuable and that it’s worth keeping you around. Having been in the position of new sustainability coordinator three times, I know first hand how confusing and overwhelming this situation can be. There are hundreds of things you know you could do, but where should you start? In what order should you do things so that you set yourself up for success in the long run? Also very likely, you are the first person to hold this newly created position. Very likely, you have no one reporting to you and no colleagues in the same department. Your job description includes developing new initiatives to save energy, water and resources, conducting education and outreach on environmental issues, and coordinating with other departments on sustainability programming. Congratulations! You have been hired as ABC University’s sustainability manager.
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