| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 68.91 |
| Liaison | Susan Powers |
| Submission Date | April 10, 2024 |
Clarkson University
EN-5: Outreach Campaign
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
4.00 / 4.00 |
Susan
Powers Director of the Institute for a Sustainable Environment ISE |
"---"
indicates that no data was submitted for this field
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?:
Yes
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?:
Yes
1st campaign
Take It or Leave It
A brief description of the campaign:
"Take It or Leave It" is an annual campaign and program to reduce solid waste during move out "purge" from student housing. The program involves setting up satellite tents at each of the residences where students can drop off unwanted but good materials, E-waste, and textiles for recycling. There is a large 30'x30' central tent set up for the event where these materials are moved to and organized. 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. Local nonprofits and the community at large are invited to the large tent to come and take whatever they like, free of charge. Whatever is left towards the end of the event is made available for for-profit thrift stores. Any e-waste and textile recycling brought to the event is discarded appropriately.
A link to one of the many instagram posts made to inform students about the program: https://www.instagram.com/p/Crs09JAOm-r/?img_index=2
A link to one of the many instagram posts made to inform students about the program: https://www.instagram.com/p/Crs09JAOm-r/?img_index=2
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. Materials are often being taken from the small pop up tents before we can pick them up, weigh them, and bring them to the central tent. The program diverts a significant amount of tons of waste from the landfill but exact numbers are impossible to measure due to the popularity and decentralized nature of the program. An estimated 2000 people actively participate in the program. There are roughly 25 unique volunteers who help to run the program.
if reporting an additional campaign, provide:
2nd campaign
Clarkson and the SDGs
A brief description of the campaign (2nd campaign):
The SDG outreach campaign has two components: 1. An SDG workshop / training for students through the "SDG Launch" platform which earned participants an SDG microcredential. 2. Broad general social media and electronic posters highlighting the links between Clarkson academics, research, and operations, to the SDGs.
A brief description of the measured positive impact(s) of the campaign (2nd campaign):
1. 30 students earned an SDG microcredential from the SDG Launch workshop which contained both in person and remote work. 2. The entire Clarkson community was targeted with the broader social media, announcements, and poster boards.
Optional Fields
A campaign and program to reduce the amount of food waste that ends up in the landfill. With the passing of the NYS Food Donation and Food Scraps Recycling Law, Clarkson is considered a large quantity generator has to either donate edible excess food or recycle the food waste if there is an organic recycling facility within 25 miles. From 2020-2022, under a NYSP2I grant, Clarkson helped a local farmer establish a composting facility. Starting in the Spring of 2022 Clarkson began to collect its post-consumer food waste in dining halls and send it to the local composting facility. Since implementing the food waste collection stations in dining halls, this has had multiple outreach campaigns about the food waste collection program and food waste in general. In the Spring of 2022, the Sustainability Club at Clarkson helped the ISE with outreach for the apartment composting program by knocking on apartment doors and asking students if they would like to participate in the composting program. During October 2022, Clarkson conducted a school wide food waste audit as part of a NYSP2I research grant in which interns and volunteers educated students about food waste, counted places, and weighed food waste. In addition to the physical parts of the audit, there was also a social media campaign that promoted the importance of the audit and the problem with food waste.
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Data from FY23
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