| Overall Rating | Silver - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 60.78 |
| Liaison | Jessica Bowen |
| Submission Date | March 4, 2019 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Aquinas College
EN-5: Outreach Campaign
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
4.00 / 4.00 |
Jessica
Eimer Bowen Director of Sustainability Center for Sustainability |
Has the institution held at least one sustainability-related outreach campaign during the previous three years that was directed at students and yielded measurable, positive results in advancing sustainability? :
Has the institution held at least one sustainability-related outreach campaign during the previous three years that was directed at employees and yielded measurable, positive results in advancing sustainability?:
Name of the campaign:
A brief description of the campaign, including how students and/or employees were engaged:
As a part of the American College and University Presidents' Climate Commitment, Aquinas College committed to becoming a zero waste to landfill campus by 2020. The Center for Sustainability and Students Striving for Sustainability (S3) partnered in 2012 to improve the waste diversion infrastructure across campus. Composting and recycling already existed campus wide, so efforts were focused on adding special collections (styrofoam, e-waste, batteries, ink cartridges, and goodwill bins) in every campus building. All trashcans have also been removed from classrooms (with the exception of a few rooms like art studios), to encourage personal responsibility for waste and get us closer to our zero waste goals. More importantly, we focused on achieving zero waste at all major events (using our zero waste team) and educating and training. All staff and faculty have had small, hands-on sorting trainings, and all incoming students received the same training at orientation (except in a "waste relay" style). Campus competitions and the zero waste guru network are other important components of our strategy.
A brief description of the measured positive impact(s) of the campaign:
The college has been aggressively working on the zero waste initiative. We removed several trash dumpsters, saving the college $2,000 per month in operations. The college’s diversion rate has improved from 45% to almost 70%, while simultaneously decreasing our total waste.
The website URL where information about the campaign is available:
Name of the campaign (2nd campaign):
A brief description of the campaign, including how students and/or employees were engaged (2nd campaign):
The college also hosts several other competitions throughout the year. The "Tip the Scale" competition is held between our largest residence halls in September. The Waste competition is held again between the houses on campus in February. The Great Guru Garbage Games, another waste competition, is held campus wide each February.
A brief description of the measured positive impact(s) of the campaign (2nd campaign):
Most buildings see measurable improvements in their waste diversion rates during the competitions.
The website URL where information about the campaign is available (2nd campaign):
A brief description of other sustainability-related outreach campaigns, including measured positive impacts:
The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.