One of today’s biggest challenges for higher ed professionals is ensuring long-term strategies are agile enough to navigate today’s ever-evolving higher ed environment. Many institutions launch ambitious sustainability and climate goals only to see them stall when faced with leadership transitions, budget shifts, evolving campus priorities, and changing external climates.

At Lehigh University, we realized our rigid 2030 roadmap, drafted just five years ago, was no longer equipped to navigate the dynamic landscape of modern higher education. We didn't just update the plan; we disrupted the process and prioritized adaptability and resilience over a rigid structure.

This session details Lehigh’s comprehensive sustainability strategy assessment and pivot to a purposeful dynamic roadmap. We will share how we dismantled silos, increased stakeholder buy-in, and sought creative avenues to integrate sustainability further into Lehigh’s core institutional values. By establishing a cross-functional Sustainability Working Group built on four pillars—Research, Metrics, Communications, and Leadership—we transformed sustainability from an isolated initiative into a core institutional value that stakeholders were excited to be a part of.

Key topics we will cover:

- The Agility Framework: How to move beyond prescriptive targets toward a system of continuous refinement and adaptation.
- Informed Data: Optimizing data sharing, updating collection methodologies, and creating dedicated roles that help drive strategic insights.
- Strategic Alignment: Creating strategic alignment between sustainability goals and initiatives, broader university plans, and smaller departmental goals.
- Leadership Buy-In & Stakeholder Ownership: How to intentionally partner data analysis with strategic messaging to secure executive buy-in and stakeholder engagement.
- Silo-Busting: Practical lessons on navigating friction and increasing collaboration.

In this session, we will explore what it’s like to build an adaptable framework for modernizing data systems, fostering shared responsibility across campus, and ensuring their sustainability mission remains resilient in the face of institutional change. Join us to learn how Lehigh moved from routine compliance to a high-impact model of shared ownership and institutional agility.