Over the summers of 2004 and 2005, a total of 56 indicators were completed. Most of these are from the Ecosystem section of the framework. Of these indicators, only 41 had either a short-term or long-term benchmark defined. The short-term benchmarks were met for 9 out of the 41 indicators. The long-term goals were met for the following four indicators: 100% designated indoor smoke-free environment; yearly cleaning of air handling units; no pesticides use in outdoor managed greenspaces; and only native species planted in managed greenspaces.
The assessment highlights several areas where UTM is performing very well. In particular, UTM scored very well on many of the indicators in the Land Section, demonstrating our commitment to protecting and restoring valuable on-campus greenspace. UTM also scored well in the Air Section of the framework, particularly those indicators dealing with the protection of indoor air. Although UTM is still below many of the short-term benchmarks in the Energy Section, our commitment to exploring new and cleaner energy technologies suggests a substantial improvement should be seen in this section in the near future.
For all of the details regarding these studies, please download the report under Progress Reports.
The framework is meant to be a dynamic and constantly evolving tool. To this end, it is currently being rewritten by Yann Louvel, as a part of his thesis project. A link to his thesis website can be found under Resources.
Data collection and research for the CSA are being continued in the summer of 2006. Incorporating the project into related course work is another avenue of research being pursued that would provide undergraduates with an opportunity to conduct research while contributing to a large, on-going and rewarding project.