CoE in Sustainability

Overview

The Center of Excellence in Sustainability (CoES), a pioneer Center in Greece, was established in 2011 with the aim of promoting sustainability on the ACG campus and beyond.

The CoES is serving all ACG entities (Deree – Pierce – Alba) and supports all academic programs. During the 11 years of its operation, CoES is connecting academic offerings with research, initiatives and operations on Campus.

An innovation element is the fact that the CoES is connected with 2 Programs of Studies through the Program Specifications, the Environmental Studies Program and the Biomedical Sciences, under the Department of Science and Mathematics. Sustainability elements are incorporated and taught in most courses of the two Programs, while they are served by four (4) recently renovated Labs. The CoES is also linked with the International Honors Program (IHP) course ‘Greening the Campus.’ Through their studies, ACG students have the opportunity to:

• engage in sustainability-related projects
• become involved in sustainability-related research
• establish and enhance a sustainability culture on campus and become future sustainability leaders

ACG is the only academic institution in Greece to have received a STARS Gold Rating by the internationally acclaimed US AASHE [Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education] in recognition of its best practices in five categories: Academics, Engagement, Operations, Planning & Administration and Innovation & Leadership. The Center of Excellence in Sustainability works within the academic, civic and private sectors to

• Promote environmental awareness, education for sustainable development and sustainability research on campus and beyond;
• Coordinate educational programs and activities while promoting experiential learning;
• Facilitate faculty and student collaboration between disciplines;
• Connect with other stakeholders and actors in the wider community in collaboration and coordination with the Office of Public Affairs.