| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 67.84 |
| Liaison | Noah Upchurch |
| Submission Date | March 1, 2024 |
Catawba College
EN-5: Outreach Campaign
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
4.00 / 4.00 |
Noah
Upchurch Senior Sustainability Specialist Center for the Environment |
Has the institution held a 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 a 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:
In December 2021, the College gifted reusable Yeti thermoses to all employees as the annual holiday gift. In 2022, the holiday gift was a reusable water bottle. These gifts are part of a coordinated effort to reduce the number of disposable coffee cups and water bottles used on campus. During the 2022 Employee Holiday Luncheon, the Executive Director of the Center for the Environment discussed how reusable coffee containers and water bottles will help our sustainability goals. The Executive Director reinforced the potential impact by providing statistics on the use of disposable water bottles and the impact on landfills and plastics in oceans. The Center has received very positive feedback from staff and faculty about this program. Now, all new Catawba employees receive a water bottle upon their hiring at the College.
To further the waste reduction mission of the campaign, the College installed 37 water bottle filling stations on campus. These stations encourage the use of refillable water bottles. The College is in the process of installed at least one water bottle filling station in each campus building that has a water fountain.
A brief description of the measured positive impact(s) of the campaign:
The College has tracked the use of the water bottle refill stations to estimate eliminated single-use plastic water bottles. Since installation, the College has avoided the use of ~10,000 bottles per month during the academic year through February 2024.
Name of the campaign (2nd campaign):
A brief description of the campaign (2nd campaign):
The College's Student Affairs Office has worked closely with Chartwells, Gallins Family Farms, and the Center for the Environment to strategically reduce food waste and make students aware of their consumption.
The multi-year effort to reduce and divert food waste from our landfills has seen the development of a significant post-consumption composting program and reductions in overall food waste since the start of the program.
In 2023, the College conducted food waste audits to determine the weight of food waste per week and reasons for food waste.
The College has also worked to develop a catered food donation program that works to limit the amount of food wasted after catered events on campus.
A brief description of the measured positive impact(s) of the campaign (2nd campaign):
Since beginning in 2017, the College has diverted 211.655 tons of food waste. The campus has seen a stark decline in food waste, reducing overall waste from 65.43 tons in 2019 to 19.355 tons in 2022. These numbers represent calendar year totals.
A brief description of other sustainability-related outreach campaigns:
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.