California State University, Northridge
EN-4: Outreach Materials and Publications

The Institute for Sustainability distributes a newsletter, The Footprint, on a monthly basis that covers campus and community sustainability initiatives including major campus projects, community or news items, volunteer and job opportunities as well as highlighting students, faculty, and staff working on sustainability related projects.

The Student Recreation Center (SRC) is LEED Gold certified with its efficient construction, floor plan, and day-to-day operations. To achieve Gold Status, the building must prove outstanding in five categories: sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, and indoor environmental quality. One aspect of the SRC’s mission is to create a facility that incorporates eco-friendly components that bridge architecturally and philosophically with the University Student Union. The SRC has a touchscreen panel near the lobby that shows the energy consumption, PV generation, etc. of the building. Tours of this facility are also available upon request.

https://www.csun.edu/node/62746 

The Associated Students (AS) at California State University, Northridge (CSUN) designed and constructed a 10,000 square-feet Sustainability Center that opened in September 2017. The AS Sustainability Center is a multi-functional space and use to serve as the central collection location for the campus recyclables. Recycling operations are now managed by the campus Facilities Management and the Sustainability Center has since shifted to hosting programs and services that focused on promoting a sustainable culture in the CSUN community. With so many key sustainable measures, the Sustainability Center acts as a symbol of sustainability on campus. The LEED Platinum certified Sustainability Center at CSUN is a multifunctional work space with several sustainable features and measures.

https://w2.csun.edu/as/departments/sustainability/sustainability-center 

The SRC and the Valley Performing Arts Center (the Soraya) are both featured on the Institute for Sustainability's self-guided sustainability tour (discussed below), and each has a plaque outside the building linking people to our website for more information on the building features. CSUN has also installed outdoor signs in planters designated as pollinator habitat. The signage describes the actions taken to make the space pollinator-friendly, and feature CSUN's status as a Bee Campus USA. Additional outdoor signage is installed at CSUN's tree nursery, highlighting the value of the maturing trees before they are permanently installed elsewhere on campus.

CSUN's Institute for sustainability created a "Self Guided Sustainability Tour" that includes a majority of the visible sustainability features the campus has to offer. This tour covers everything from our Bike Path to the Fuel Cells. An interactive version of this map was also made using Google Maps and is now available on our website as well. Users can view this map on their mobile devices and click on on each sustainability feature to learn more information.

https://www.csun.edu/sites/default/files/IS_SelfGuidedTour_0915-web.pdf 

https://cgsmaps.csun.edu/sustainability_map/CSUNSustainabilityMapI.html 

Associated Students Sustainability, the Residential Housing Association, and the CSUN Zero Waste team worked together to create a Green Resource Guide for all CSUN students living on campus or off campus. The guide goes over best practices such as composting, recycling, and sustainable living. There are plans to distribute this guide at the next move in date, along with strategic campaign efforts to further educate residents. Additionally, CSUN Sustainability partners with Residence Halls Association to host a Matador Move out Swap and Shop event, which aims to educate students and facilitate the collection and swapping of items.

https://w2.csun.edu/as/departments/sustainability/resources 

https://www.csun.edu/zero-waste/pledge/matador-move-out 

CSUN releases sustainability outreach videos periodically to help education the community, both on and off campus, about our efforts. We also have four different walking tours that highlight various trees found on our campus and publish brochures/flyers on our Sustainability Minor and career options in the the field of sustainability. 

Associated Students Sustainability has created and actively presents videos regarding how to use the Waste Wizard waste sorting program and how to practice sustainability as an event attendee.