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Caltech Sustainability Advisory Council

In spring 2023, Caltech created a council to plan, prioritize, and oversee sustainability initiatives and programming.

The sustainability advisory council has three responsibilities:

  1. Assess the state of Caltech's current footprint.
  2. Prepare a plan by summer 2024 that sets measurable goals and identifies initiatives and resources to achieve further sustainability in the areas of energy, water, materials, waste, land use, mobility, and emissions.
  3. Coordinate and oversee the plan's implementation, tracking progress toward stated goals, and the continuing evolution of sustainability initiatives and programming.

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Council Membership and Reporting

The council reports to Caltech president Thomas F. Rosenbaum, the Sonja and William Davidow Presidential Chair and Professor of Physics. It has 12 members:

  • Charlie Lane (co-chair), vice president and chief operating officer
  • David Tirrell (co-chair), provost, Carl and Shirley Larson Provostial Chair, Ross McCollum-William H. Corcoran Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering
  • Emily Choe, undergraduate student in Computation and Neural Systems and president of Venerable House
  • Neil Fromer, executive director of programs for the Resnick Sustainability Institute
  • David Kang, associate vice president of Facilities
  • Ryan O'Connor, Student Auxiliary Services business operations officer and chief of staff
  • John Onderdonk, assistant vice president of Facilities Operations and Services and chief sustainability officer
  • Jonas Peters, Bren Professor of Chemistry and director of the Resnick Sustainability Institute
  • Alex Sessions, Nico and Marilyn van Wingen Professor of Geobiology
  • Angelike Stathopoulos, Professor of Biology
  • Paul Wennberg, R. Stanton Avery Professor of Atmospheric Chemistry and Environmental Science and Engineering, executive officer for Environmental Science and Engineering, and director of the Ronald and Maxine Linde Center for Global Environmental Science
  • Christopher Yeh, graduate student in Computing and Mathematical Sciences and sustainability chair of the Graduate Student Council