About Us

ESAC Committee Purpose

On August 10, 2004, the then newly arrived, University of Washington President Mark A. Emmert ushered in a new era when he confirmed his and the University's commitment to environmental stewardship as a fundamental University of Washington value 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 permanent Environmental Stewardship Advisory Committee. This was the culmination of a several year campus effort that had started with a grass roots movement of staff, faculty and students, first coordinated by the Program on the Environment, then continued through 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 on campus.

Charged with making the policy a reality on campus, the members of the Environmental Stewardship Advisory Committee (ESAC), which reports jointly to the Executive Vice President and the Provost, were carefully appointed to represent a broad array of environmental stewardship interest and expertise among faculty, students, and staff from the University's three main campuses.

Within the Policy statement, the committee is charged with accomplishing several objectives:

• Advise the Provost and EVP on the progress towards each of the expectation areas noted in the policy statement;


• Develop, in collaboration with appropriate university units, benchmark measures of efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and the impact of activities in these areas;


• Identify 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;


• Identify emerging opportunities for collaboration between academic programs and operational interests;


• Identify 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;


• Interact with and receive 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;


• Report annually to the Provost and EVP as well as to the University community on activities and accomplishments.