Sustainability director providing unifying voice to University's environmentally friendly initiatives

	Liz Christiansen, director of the Office of Sustainability at The University of Iowa. Photo by Tom Jorgensen.

Liz Christiansen is on a mission. As the University of Iowa’s first director of the Office of Sustainability, she’s working to make campus—and the larger community—a greener, more environmentally friendly place.

Of course, she’s not starting from scratch. The University signed onto the Chicago Climate Exchange in 2004, and has been working diligently to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Research that ties in with sustainability issues is happening all across campus; and the University has a long history of encouraging mass transportation and bicycling.

Christiansen says she’s excited to build on those initiatives as she develops new programs, coordinates efforts to formulate institutional goals and policies, and reaches out to the community as an advocate for sustainable practices.

Before joining The University of Iowa in December, Christiansen spent 18 years working in recycling, waste management, green government, sustainability, outreach, and education in both the private and public sectors.

She recently sat down with fyi to talk about her transition to The University of Iowa, the importance of sustainability, and what we can do to help make campus a better place.

Your last job was as deputy director of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.  What were your duties there?

I served as chief of operations for the organization, which means I worked with an executive team on the management of the budget, major personnel issues, and policy issues, and I handled any day-to-day issues and problems. I also served on about a half-dozen boards and commissions on behalf of the organization.

Why did you come to The University of Iowa—what was most appealing about this job, and the University in general?

I live in Iowa City, and I have full time since 1990, so for the past eight years I had been commuting to Des Moines. I must say, my commuting time is a lot shorter now!

But, regardless, the job was a tremendous opportunity to work at the University, which has some of today’s greatest innovative minds working on major issues such as global climate change and sustainability. There’s a great team of people here who are very supportive of sustainability efforts, and want to see The University of Iowa maintain its leadership role in that area.

Your position—director of sustainability—is a new one at the University. Tell us a bit about what you’ve done so far, and what you will be doing.

I just started in December, so for the most part I’ve been meeting people and explaining the role of the office and asking if they have any issues or efforts they want to get under way. I’ve also been working at building relationships with various student groups.

On April 2, I went with UI students to the Iowa Campus Compact event at the state capitol for the second annual Going Green event. We had a display showcasing efforts in renewables and energy conservation, and the new Certificate in Sustainability. Rep. Mark Kuhn, a Democrat from Charles City, stopped by to visit with the students. He was so inspired by their work to establish a new student garden that he filed an amendment to a bill that would establish a statewide local food and farm task force. His amendment would expand representation on that task specifically to include a representative from the student demonstration garden at The University of Iowa. The amendment, filed that day, was cosponsored by Reps. Dave Jacoby and Vicki Lensing, both of Johnson County.

I soon will be working with a sustainability advisory committee to tackle sustainability issues and address University policies.

What kind of feedback have you gotten from students, faculty, and staff?

It’s been tremendously warm and welcoming. I think there’s been a pent-up demand for this office. A lot of things have been happening through the Office of Civic Engagement, Facilities Management, and various areas of the University, but there really wasn’t a home for all of this information to come together. There wasn’t a unified voice, so people have been very glad to see this office established.

How did you become interested in sustainability issues?

I first really got interested in the issue of sustainability when I worked in waste management in Linn County. I worked on waste reduction and recycling programs, and then became the spokesperson for the solid waste agency during the landfill siting process. That was a very challenging time for decision-makers and citizens in that county as to what we were going to do with the waste. Would we build another landfill? Would we send the waste somewhere else?

The real answer, the sustainable answer, is to avoid the production of waste. Waste is inefficiency. We need to get more efficient systems that either avoid the production of waste or produce products that can be composted or recycled.

What can University faculty and staff do to contribute to sustainability efforts?

There are many things, but, to me, it’s really common sense. Look at your consumption habits, look at your transportation habits, and look at what’s happening in the world of policy. I always tell people, “Recycle more, drive less, and read more.”

What sorts of things can we expect to see the University doing over the next 5 to 10 years?

I think we’ll see a continued emphasis on energy conservation and energy efficiency. The University’s already made a commitment that new buildings will be built to a least a LEED silver standard, and if possible, gold or higher. That’s a tangible expression of the commitment of the University to sustainability.

We’ll see a new energy plant come on line that will be designed and built to accommodate a variety of fuel sources, from natural gas to synthetic gas to perhaps even biomass and other organic material.

We’ll see the expansion of recycling across the campus; we’ll see new and more rigorous purchasing policies that will drive the acquisition of better, more responsible products, like paper that includes a greater amount of recycled content. I’m convinced we’re going to see continued interest and activity from students. They’re very interested in sustainability, and they will continue to challenge the institution, which is good—that’s their role.

What do you like to do when you’re not at work?

It’s great to spend time with my husband. We love to be outdoors and enjoy birding and hiking. We’re also avid readers, and like to travel.

by Anne Kapler