| Overall Rating | Gold - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 65.55 |
| Liaison | Susan Powers |
| Submission Date | Feb. 22, 2019 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Clarkson University
EN-5: Outreach Campaign
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
4.00 / 4.00 |
Alex
French Sustainability Coordinator ISE |
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:
A campaign and program to reduce solid waste during move out "purge" from student housing. The program was improved in 2015 including the use of a tent to move materials in from the dorms and out to new owners; including several non-profit organizations. No we have also included 10x10 pop up tents near each residence hall with pallets under them. Students leave materials in the small pop up tents and then volunteers bring everything to a large, central tent where people can browse and take what they'd like. All residential students are given a hand out and email reminders about the program. Many students sign up to volunteer with the program. All employees are sent emails inviting them to participate in the program by either donating materials, taking materials, or volunteering for the event.
A brief description of the measured positive impact(s) of the campaign:
Quantifying the mass of material diverted from the landfill is difficult, but the 10 tables in the tent are continuously covered with goods as they came in and out daily. The program has become very popular throughout the Clarkson community as well as the larger village of Potsdam. Several nonprofits come to our tents with trailers to take unwanted materials. Students and their parents are all aware of the program and we have consistent traffic through the tents. This means that most materials are now being taken from the small pop up tents before we can pick them up, weigh them, and bring them to the central tent. Materials left at the end of the program go on a roll-off waste container and are shipped to Syracuse for use and distribution by a larger non-profit. All residential students are targeted leading up to the event.
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):
Every 12-18 months we hold a sustainable office certification program for faculty and staff. We incentivize them with awards and recognition. Our certification program requires individual as well as department level engagement. We send Sustainability interns office to office to promote the program and typically have strong participation. We cahnge the activities around each time. In one version we had faculty and staff report on sustainable practices, watch short educational videos, and participate in a discussion forum. In our most recent version of the program we incentivized faculty and staff to take the 12 module LEED Green Classroom program to holistically understand sustainability at an institutional level. We use our Sustainability Fund to pay for expenses for the Sustainable Office Certification such as promotional materials, rewards for top performers, and in this case the registrations for the LEED program.
A brief description of the measured positive impact(s) of the campaign (2nd campaign):
Representatives from 24 departments throughout campus participated in the program. Participants discussed/reviewed material from the certification course during department meetings.
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 Campus Eco-Challenge took place from October 1st-31st, 2018. Teams of students were encouraged to participate with incentives including a lunch for the winning team with the President of the University. The students formed teams with no limit: Most took the form of Residence Halls or pre-existing clubs/organizations. The goal was to earn as many points total and per capita by performing the actions within the Eco-Challenge. The "challenges" were split up into daily tasks and one-time tasks. An example of the daily tasks included turning lights off when leaving your dorm room, or turning water off when brushing one's teeth. A one-time tasks included watching an environmentally themed documentary. There are many different challenges indivduals can partake in. Points were received by gaining team members, completing actions, writing posts, etc.
Around 20 different teams participated in the challenge, with around 110 total members. The top 5 teams saved 291 disposable cups, plastic straws, and plastic bottles from going to the landfill, 4616 gallons of water were saved, and 2692 lbs of CO2 were saved.
Students living in our Smart Housing units went through an outreach/training on water and energy consumption as well as a feedback tool (smart dashboard in the apartment). This training was carried out mid-semester in order to better measure impact. There was also a control group who didn't receive the training. As a result of this outreach campaign and providing students used 20% less hot water and 20% less electricity.
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.