Environ. Task Force | Net Impact | Environ. Security Assoc. | Private Reserves Network
"The Environmental Task Force (ETF) is dedicated to increasing awareness of environmental issues, thereby creating a conscious community at MIIS that strives to minimize and improve our environmental impact on the planet."
The Environmental Task Force (ETF) of the Monterey Institute of International Studies was established in February 2002 by President Chet Haskell. Made up of professors, a board of trustees member, maintenance staff, and two student council members, the primary goal of the ETF was to support the development of an integrated environmental strategy by evaluating the Institute’s current policies and practices and providing specific recommendations for improving the campus’s environmental impact. In April 2002, MIIS signed the Talloires Declaration, a declaration by university presidents all around the world expressing a commitment to creating a sustainable campus at their respective universities. Then in June 2002, the ETF delivered a report titled "An Institutional Environmental Strategy for the Monterey Institute of International Studies."
After a brief hiatus, the ETF was re-instated in September 2005 as a student-managed club and standing committee of the Student Council. In addition to improving the Institute’s environmental impact on the planet, the club’s mission has expanded to include increasing the awareness of environmental issues at the Institute and in the Monterey Bay community. The ETF chairperson attends Student Council meetings and has the ability to vote in the decision-making process to ensure that the Institute’s environmental impact is considered in all decisions.
The ETF has 7 active sub-committees that work to carry out the ETF’s mission:
The Campus Greening Initiative - The Campus Greening Initiative Committee, consisting of ETF members, Net Impact members, and one professor, evaluates the environmental implications of the Institute’s policies and practices and makes recommendations for improvements. This committee addresses topics such as green building, land stewardship, dining services, toxics and pollutants, resource use (water and energy), waste minimization (recycling and paper use), and community awareness and education.
Healthy Diet / Healthy Planet (HD/HP) - The HD/HP Committee strives to raise awareness on the effects that our food intake has on the environment and encourages the consumption of a higher percentage of locally grown, organic and whole foods, that are low on the food chain and therefore require fewer resources to produce. The HD/HP Committee also continues to make efforts to increase the amount of these food options provided at the Samson Center Food Service. In 2005, this committee developed the 50/50 food initiative that recommends that at least 50% of all food items provided by the Samson Center Food Service and receptions such as happy hours and graduation are plant-based.
Earth Day - The Earth Day Committee organizes an annual Earth Day event that is free and open to the public to raise environmental awareness at the Institute and in the Monterey community by providing an opportunity for participants and environmental organizations and businesses to establish local connections and partnerships for future action. In previous years, the Earth Day event has featured informational booths operated by local organizations, businesses, and students, environmentally-focused lectures and debates led by professors, an interactive computer game for measuring one’s eco-footprint, music, free raffles, an educational child activity center, environmentally-focused films, and an organic vegetarian cuisine sampling station.
Sustainability Guide - The Sustainability Guide Committee has developed and continues to improve a booklet, the Sustainability Guide, that contains advice on how to decrease one’s eco-footprint as well as information on stores where you can find "green" products or restaurants that offer sustainable options in the Monterey Bay area.
Volunteer/Outings - The Volunteer/Outings Committee organizes volunteer opportunities for ETF members as well as the MIIS community members that promote environmental awareness and reduce our impact on the environment. Past volunteer opportunities have included beach clean-ups and gleaning exercises with Ag Against Hunger in Salinas which coordinates the picking of high quality marketable crops that are left in the fields after commercial harvest and donates the produce to local food banks and pantries. This committee also organizes team building outings such as camping trips.
Events - The Events Committee is responsible for "greening" events such as the International Bazaar and providing other clubs on campus with information on how to green their own events. This year the Events Committee is collaborating with Net Impact to organize a "Carbon-Neutral" happy hour by strategically canceling the carbon emissions produced by the event.
Partnerships - In order to increase its outreach capabilities the ETF often collaborates with the student-run Net Impact club and contributes to the Institute’s Foghorn Newspaper. The ETF is also planning to work with the Institute’s Strategic Planning Committee to encourage sustainable resource use in future campus renovations and to ensure that sustainability is considered in future policy changes.
How you can help make the MIIS campus be more "green."
The Green Event Guide - This event guide provides tips on how to be environmentally-conscious when hosting an event on the MIIS campus.
For Professors- How to Green your Classroom - This guide provides advice for professors on how to be eco-friendly in the classroom.
Click 
for current ETF events.
For more information about the Environmental Task Force, email environmentaltaskforce@miis.edu.
