California State University, Northridge
EN-6: Assessing Sustainability Culture

In September 2018, a campus-wide survey was administered. The survey included 17 questions, plus 4 additional demographic questions, that were developed to assess awareness, behaviors, beliefs and attitudes about CSUN’s sustainability initiatives and climate change, more generally speaking, based on the following categories: 1. Familiarity with the concept of sustainability 2. Awareness of CSUN’s sustainability efforts 3. Willingness to engage in and/or actual participation in CSUN’s sustainability efforts 4. Beliefs about personal responsibility 5. Attitudes about and support for CSUN’s sustainability initiatives

1. What does sustainability mean to you? 2. What sustainability efforts at CSUN have you heard about? Please list as many as you can think of. 3. How have you learned about sustainability on campus? 4. My knowledge about environmental issues has increased due to events, activities, courses, and/or signs posted on campus. 5. Environmental issues directly affect my life. 6. When it comes to environmental issues, I am 7. When it comes to participating in sustainability activities on campus, I am 8. My campus is a leader in sustainable practices among other universities. 9. I am well informed about what is being done to make the campus more sustainable. 10. I have a personal responsibility to help make a difference on environmental issues such as waste, pollution, resource consumption, and water use. 11. I have a personal responsibility to help make a difference on social issues such as safety and security, education, healthcare and overall wellness. 12. I have a personal responsibility to help make a difference on economic issues such as unemployment, inflation, fair and equitable wages, and local business/local economy. 13. Which of the following sustainability efforts at CSUN are you aware of (select all that apply) a. Waste (e.g., recycling, waste reduction efforts, compostable dishes, plastic-free initiatives) b. Energy and Building (e.g., conservation efforts, solar energy use, LEED-certified buildings) c. Dining Services (e.g., sustainable food options, community gardens, food composting, etc.) d. Water (e.g., low-flow faucets and toilets, “brown is the new green” initiative, hydrogel, etc.) e. Transportation (i.e., discounted Metro passes, Lime Bike, EV charging stations, etc.) f. Grounds (e.g., natural herbicides and pesticides, tree plantings, drought tolerant landscaping, composting lawn and green waste) g. Purchasing (e.g., Energy Star, green cleaning products, recycled and Forest Certified paper) h. Carbon emissions reduction initiatives 14. Please indicate how concerned you are with the following sustainability-related topics. Climate Change Very Concerned Somewhat Concerned Concerned Not Concerned Biodiversity Loss Very Concerned Somewhat Concerned Concerned Not Concerned Population Growth Very Concerned Somewhat Concerned Concerned Not Concerned Food Supply Very Concerned Somewhat Concerned Concerned Not Concerned Pollution Very Concerned Somewhat Concerned Concerned Not Concerned Social Justice Very Concerned Somewhat Concerned Concerned Not Concerned Public Health Very Concerned Somewhat Concerned Concerned Not Concerned Prosperity Very Concerned Somewhat Concerned Concerned Not Concerned 15. How important do you think it is for CSUN to incorporate sustainability in its planning and initiatives? 16. How important do you think it is for CSUN to add more sustainability-related courses? 17. I feel that CSUN makes sustainability a priority.

In September 2018, a link to our online survey was sent out via email to all faculty through the Provost’s office, all staff through direct emails to each department, and a representative sample of over 8,000 students through Associated Students. Participants were told that the purpose of the survey was to explore how our campus community thinks about sustainability, how effective our efforts have been in raising awareness, and that results would be used for internal benchmarking. Participation was voluntary, and upon completion participants had the chance to enter a drawing to win one of five $20.00 campus cash gift cards. We received 920 responses, with 917 fully completed surveys. The final sample included: 592 students (with 12 alumni), 115 faculty, and 210 staff.

Preliminary results suggest that our campus community is generally concerned about environmental (e.g., pollution, climate change) and social (e.g., social justice, public health) issues. Respondents expressed more concern for environmental issues than for social and financial (e.g., prosperity, employment) issues related to sustainability. However, general awareness of campus sustainability initiatives could be improved in certain areas. For example, awareness of Waste Diversion efforts (92%) and Sustainable Transportation options (85%) were relatively high compared to awareness of operational programs such as those involving Purchasing (23%), the Sustainable Office Program (25%), Grounds (23%), and Carbon Emissions Reduction efforts (13%). Roughly 30% of respondents agree they are not well informed about sustainability initiatives on campus. Additional analyses are still being conducted, and the results will help to guide the goals and measures of the Sustainability Plan and Climate Action Plan.