Campus Sustainability Office
The central coordinating unit responsible for connecting and supporting sustainability and climate change leadership goals, collaborations, and support coordination for the campus sustainability governance bodies.
The Campus Sustainability Office is Cornell University's central coordinating unit for all things campus sustainability - from operations and carbon neutrality to engagement programs, campus culture, and support for living laboratory research and teaching. Our mission is to equip, empower, and engage our campus community to co-create tomorrow's sustainable, carbon-neutral campus. Our award-winning, internationally acclaimed team includes leaders in higher education sustainability. The CSO serves the Ithaca, NY campus.
Get in Touch
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Email: sustainability@cornell.edu
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Visit: 129 Humphreys Service Building, Cornell University, Ithaca NY 14853 (Google Maps)
Door 9 is the closest entry. Limited in-person hours during COVID-19 -
Phone: +1.607.255.6375 | 9:00am - 5:00pm Monday - Friday | Contact information for staff below
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Sustainable Campus
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Sustainable Campus is our social media and engagement brand, encompassing all of the partners and programs working to advance Cornell's sustainable campus and culture. Our office coordinates and shares key news, opportunities, and events.
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Our Values and Team
Our Staff
Sarah Carson
Director, Campus Sustainability Office
Sarah is the Director of the Campus Sustainability Office with a vision for Cornell as a carbon-neutral living laboratory for sustainability innovation. Sarah has spent her career in the field of environmental compliance and sustainability in higher education. Her educational background is in environmental science and policy. As part of her current role, she leads Cornell’s renewable electricity supply projects, and is active in NY state energy policy related to renewable energy generation. Fun fact: Sarah's first job included driving a garbage truck to pick up recycling!
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Contact Sarah: sc142@cornell.edu | 607.254.2818 | Renewable Energy Development | Cornell's Solar Farms
Robert "Bert" R. Bland
Associate Vice President, Energy & Sustainability
Bert leads the teams that operate the Ithaca campus district energy system and produce the Climate Action Plan for a carbon neutral campus by 2035. He also manages energy and sustainability plans for the new Cornell Tech campus in Manhattan. He began his career as an environmental/energy engineer in the oil industry and then pursued research in the conversion of waste biomass to fuel ethanol. Bert is a Cornell grad; BS & MS Cornell engineering ’74 and ’80; Cornell MBA ’96. Fun fact: Bert owns an electric bike and is a competitive sprinter!
Contact Bert: rrb2@cornell.edu | Energy Conservation | Campus Energy Systems
Kimberly Anderson
Assistant Director
Kim leads sustainability education and engagement programs for the Cornell community, including climate literacy, behavior change, and volunteer programs for students and employees. Kim manages strategic sustainability projects, coordinates Sustainable Cornell Council teams, and advises student sustainability organizations and project teams. Connect with her for support with living laboratory projects and ideas, business or systems-level sustainability projects, and engagement needs. Fun fact: Kim has lived in / managed 18 residential communities at Cornell!
Contact Kim: kab94@cornell.edu | 607.255.6591 | Student Programs | Think Big, Live Green | Green / Sustainability Teams
Careen M. Arsenault
Sustainability Administrator
Careen supports the Associate Vice President, budget, HR, event support, and other administrative functions of the Energy & Sustainability department, of which the Campus Sustainability is a part of. Careen leads reporting on sustainability including STARS, Princeton Review, and Sierra Club, and assists with management of the Green Office & Green Lab program. Fun fact: Careen used to be a volunteer EMT for her local community!
Contact Careen: cma18@cornell.edu | 607.254.8722 STARS | Green Office & Lab | Sustainability Reporting | Event Logistics
Lisa Kilgore
Communications & Engagement Project Assistant
Lisa is the webmaster and newsletter coordinator and supports other strategic tasks that support the sustainability mission. Lisa provides core support for communication outreach including listserv management, social media, and more. Fun fact: Lisa’s favorite movie is Ishtar!
Contact Lisa: lkh9@cornell.edu | 607.255.6375 | Website Updates
Dani Bucci '23
STARS Coordinator
dnb64@cornell.edu
As the STARS Coordinator, Dani collects sustainability data for Cornell University's annual STARS report. Fun fact: Dani enjoys scuba diving.
Alora Erin Michelle Cisneroz '23
Sustainability Coordinator
aec248@cornell.edu
Alora will help CSO with strategizing ways to maintain student-led sustainability initiatives in the long-term. She will be particularly focused on ECO and The Residential Sustainability Leaders. Fun fact: Alora can play the harp!
Katrien de Waard'24
Sustainability Communications Fellow
kd348@cornell.edu
Katrien joins the team as a Sustainability Communications Fellow. She will be improving website functionality for CSO’s 2022 website update and crafting a communication strategy for the new Carbon Sinks and Sequestration Working Group. Fun fact: Katrien cares for 35 houseplants in her dorm. They all have names.
Delaney Hartnett '24
Sustainability Coordinator for Student Engagement
dh699@cornell.edu
Delaney will develop programs aimed to educate and empower students, individually and collectively, to advance sustainability on campus throughout the year. Fun fact: Delany works at an ice cream shop on the delightful Little York Lake in NY(look it up!)
Alison Mangano '23
Sustainability Student Waste Management Coordinator
atm72@cornell.edu
Alison will be coordinating large-scale events, leading sustainability sustainability outreach & engagement campaigns, and coordinating collaborative efforts between students, student organizations, staff, and faculty. Fun fact: Alison just started rock climbing, playing softball, and soccer!
Andrea Miramontes Serrano '24
Sustainability Student Engagement Coordinator
am2389@cornell.edu
Andrea will be focused on supporting our energy dashboard, behavior change programs, and student engagement initiatives. Fun fact: Although Andrea is from Spain she has not watched Money Heist.
Swathi Suvarna '23
Women Leaders in Sustainability Fellow
ss2936@cornell.edu
Swathi believes that innovative processes and thoughtful designs can generate productive dialogues and respond to the continual sustainability challenges of developing countries. Swathi is working on commuter survey projects, employee and student engagement, and sustainability initiatives.Fun fact: Swathi is a mother of 4 Guinea pigs!
Our Mission
The mission of the Campus Sustainability Office is to equip, empower, and engage our diverse campus partners in creating a more sustainable Cornell. Our focus on collaboration and empowerment enables a small team of staff to support 1,000s of projects each year. Our scope of work includes coordination of projects large and small, including overseeing the Climate Action Plan, Campus Sustainability Plan, engagement programs, campus operational initiatives, sustainability governance committees and implementation of a living laboratory for sustainability.
Our Values
Our office is part of a values-based organizational framework in Facilities & Campus Services that strives to uphold and embody the following core values:
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Truth: We say what we mean and do what we say
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Respect: We treat people as we want to be treated
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Excellence: We strive to be the best
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Teamwork: Together we achieve more
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Integrity: We do the right thing
In addition, the Campus Sustainability Office has adopted three more values that guide our work:
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Service: To others, the planet, and a sustainable future
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Joy: For the opportunity to create a better present and future
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Generosity: We share in abundance our knowledge, support, and collaboration
Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion
We are a values-based team committed to fostering a culture of inclusion, embracing diversity, and treating each other with respect. Our organizational values represent our expectations of how we work together to serve the University community and create a climate in which all staff can thrive and grow. As members of the Facilities & Campus Services Team, we are committed to the following statement of responsibility.
Sustainability Framework
People. Prosperity. Planet. Purpose. These four impact areas comprise Cornell's "quadruple bottom line" sustainability framework.
Cornell has embraced a sustainability framework that incorporates the three key areas of environment, economy, and equity (which we call planet, prosperity, and people), and adds a fourth area of consideration which helps us examine how we can best contribute to a more sustainable world as an educational institution - our purpose. This Quadruple Bottom Line Sustainability Framework is both an "ethos" for how we consider sustainability as part of our campus education and operations, but also a tool for decision making that can be used by anyone on campus.
We are working to integrate this decision-making framework across all University systems. This will help individuals examine the real costs of our choices, and make better decisions for today and the health of our planet and people for the future. This "sustainability framework" can help every unit make better decisions about the benefits and costs of a project, purchase, or process.
Learn more about our framework
