POLICY | Uhcfp

At the University of Houston, the Student Government Association exists to serve as the official voice through which student opinion may be expressed and empowered in the overall policy, decision making process, and services offered at the institution. In the interest of creating a lasting effect on the sustainability of our University, we chose to pursue a permanent policy change by creating legislation through the SGA.

The first step in pursuing this change was to work with Senators in the Administration and Finance Senate Committee to draft a University Bill that requests the university be accountable for an annual inventory and mitigating its greenhouse gases. Simultaneously, members of the group worked closely with the stakeholders that would be effected by this policy change to ensure that the future gathering of data would go as smoothly as possible. The legislation and project was also introduced to the Campus Sustainability Task Force, which is tasked with helping direct sustainability policy on campus.

The final draft of the University Bill was presented to the Senate Floor at a SGA Meeting held 23 April 2014. Once it was introduced, the Senate passed the measure unanimously. The Bill has now been signed by the Student Body President and will soon be considered by the President and Chancellor of the University of Houston to be implemented into the University MAPP policies regarding sustainability.