Overall Rating	Silver - expired
Overall Score	57.78
Liaison	Julia Carlow
Submission Date	May 6, 2021
Executive Letter	Download

STARS v2.1

American University of Sharjah
EN-7: Employee Educators Program

Status	Score	Responsible Party
	3.00 / 3.00	Julia Carlow Acting Head of Sustainability Sustainability

"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Total number of employees (staff + faculty, headcount):

950

Number of employees served (i.e. directly targeted) by a peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education program (avoid double-counting):

950

Percentage of employees served by a peer-to-peer educator program:

100

1st Program

Name of the employee educators program:

AUS Green Office Program

Number of employees served (i.e. directly targeted) by the program (headcount):

950

A brief description of the program, including examples of peer-to-peer outreach activities:

In Spring 2021, AUS launched the "AUS Green Office Program" across all campus offices with the support of AUS' senior leadership team. With the help of the Deans and Directors, AUS Sustainability was able to identify one "EcoAmbassador" per department/office. The EcoAmbassadors represent their respective department/office in the Green Office Program and form the communication link between the AUS Sustainability Office and all AUS employees. The Green Office Program was kicked off with an initial EcoAmbassador Workshop, educating the participants on - the definition of sustainability - the importance of sustainability in higher education - the role of the EcoAmbassadors in the AUS Green Office Program - how to build a sustainable office culture at AUS - how to use Community-based Social Marketing to be an effective peer educator At the end of the workshop session, the EcoAmbassadors were asked to identify behaviors that should be encouraged or discouraged through their peer education activities to promote a sustainable office culture at AUS. The team of AUS Sustainability is consolidating the ideas generated during the workshop to formulate focus areas for the Green Office Program and provide all EcoAmbassadors with the additional resources for effective peer education and outreach.

A brief description of how the employee educators are selected:

Following a call by the AUS Sustainability office, employee educators are nominated by their supervisors, with the goal to represent their respective office/department in the campus-wide AUS Green Office Program.

A brief description of the formal training that the employee educators receive to prepare them to conduct peer outreach:

EcoAmbassadors were trained in the principles of "Community-based Social Marketing", a method based in social psychology which draws from the idea that sustainable behavior change is most effective when it involves direct contact with people and is carried out at the community level. During the first EcoAmbassador Workshop, participants received a “crash course” in the CBSM method, providing them with essential knowledge from Doug McKenzie-Mohr’s Fostering Sustainable Behavior: An Introduction to Community-Based Social Marketing. This will serve as the foundation of the EcoAmbassadors outreach to their peers.

A brief description of the financial and/or administrative support the institution provides to the program (e.g. annual budget and/or paid faculty/staff coordination):

The AUS Green Office Program is managed by two staff members of the AUs Sustainability Office, who organize and hold one workshop per semester, communicate monthly with all EcoAmbassadors via email and share resources through a dedicated shared google drive folder.

If reporting employees served by additional peer-to-peer programs, provide:

2nd Program

Name of the employee educators program (2nd program):

---

Number of employees served (i.e. directly targeted) by the program (headcount) (2nd program):

---

A brief description of the program, including examples of peer-to-peer outreach activities (2nd program):

---

A brief description of how the employee educators are selected (2nd program):

---

A brief description of the formal training that the employee educators receive to prepare them to conduct peer outreach (2nd program):

---

A brief description of the financial and/or administrative support the institution provides to the program (e.g. annual budget and/or paid faculty/staff coordination) (2nd program):

---

Additional Programs

A brief description of all other employee peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education programs, including the number of employees served and how employee educators are selected, trained, and supported by the institution:

---

Optional Fields

Total number of hours employee educators are engaged in peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education activities annually:

---

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:

---

Additional documentation to support the submission:

AUS_EcoAmbassador_Workshop_FINAL.pdf

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

---