Sustainability Advisory Council
The Sustainability Advisory Council (SAC) developed strategic priorities which align the university’s mission, current campus strategic plans, the 2010 Sustainability Initiative Task Force Report, the Second Nature Resilience Commitment, and our legacy of resource stewardship to advance sustainability at UW–Madison.
Strategic Framework
Our Culture
Make sustainability principles part of our day-to-day interactions, operations, and decision-making.
Our Purpose
Elevate sustainability as a discipline, support collaborative research, and expand learning opportunities.
Our Practice
“Walk the talk” with policies, procedures, and systems that build a sustainable university.
SAC Documentation Details
The Sustainability Advisory Council proposed a strategic sustainability plan as the culmination of their first year of work
The SAC set strategic priorities in Fall of 2021 and the Living Report contains a summary of these priorities, details on action plans and progress updates.
Intended to be a living document, this page will be updated as details and progress updates are available.
View living report
In response to requests for increased student participation, an all-student subcommittee was established to support student members of the SAC and provide feedback on the SAC’s work.
View report
Listening sessions for the SAC were intended for the UW–Madison community and were open to the public. Currently no additional listening sessions are scheduled.
Schedule and Recordings
| 10/14/2020 | 12:00-1:00pm | Listening Session #1A | Watch the recording |
| 10/15/2020 | 7:00-8:00pm | Listening Session #1B | Watch the recording |
| 10/20/2020 | 7:00-8:00pm | Listening Session #1C (UW–Madison students only) | Watch the recording |
| 3/18/2021 | 12:00-1:00pm | Listening Session #2A | Watch the recording |
| 3/23/2021 | 7:00-8:00pm | Listening Session #2B | Watch the recording |
| 3/25/2021 | 7:00-8:00pm | Listening Session #2C (UW–Madison students only) | Completed |
October 7, 2020: Kick-Off Meeting
Agenda Executive SummaryNovember 17, 2020: Meeting #2, Prioritization Process
Agenda Executive SummaryDecember 11, 2020: Meeting #3, Academics and Research
Agenda Executive Summary Academics and Research Focus AreasJanuary 15, 2021: Meeting #4, Engagement
Agenda Executive Summary Engagement Focus AreasFebruary 12, 2021: Meeting #5, Operations
Agenda Executive Summary Operations Focus AreasMarch 12, 2021: Meeting #6, Planning and Administration
Agenda Executive Summary Planning and Administration Focus AreasApril 9, 2021: Meeting #7, Prioritization
Agenda Executive SummaryMay 14, 2021: Meeting #8, Recommendations
Agenda Executive SummaryNovember 9, 2021: Fall 2021 Update
Agenda Executive Summary PresentationMarch 23, 2022: Spring 2022 Update
Agenda Executive Summary
SAC meetings and listening sessions were recorded and are available to watch online.
Watch recordings
Methodology & Documentation
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SAC members were identified based upon a preliminary gap analysis of our first STARS report with a goal of ensuring representation from across the university. Feedback from student groups informed the final structure including 3 student seats and an all student subcommittee.
With inspiration from Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes, Provost Karl Scholz, and Vice Chancellor Laurent Heller the work of the SAC began in Fall 2020.
The SAC defined unifying values to guide the implementation of initiatives that support the strategy.
The first set of public listening sessions sought input from university and community members on the structure of, and outcomes from, the SAC.
Focus areas represent collections of issues to be addressed, coupled with potential solutions, and were defined by a review of peer best practices, results of our first STARS report, Office of Sustainability staff experience, and feedback from the campus community during public listening sessions.
After discussions SAC members individually ranked each focus area from most important to address to least, rankings were averaged to develop a preliminary prioritization
The second set of public listening session sought feedback from university and community members on the preliminary prioritization of the focus areas.
Based upon the focus area prioritization, feedback from the student subcommittee, and feedback received during the listening sessions the SAC summarized their work into priorities to advance sustainability across our culture, our purpose, and our practice.
To support implementation of the recommendations the SAC reached consensus on a definition of “sustainability” for UW–Madison.