| Overall Rating | Gold - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 65.89 |
| Liaison | Allie Schwartz |
| Submission Date | Aug. 29, 2018 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Columbia University
EN-7: Employee Educators Program
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
3.00 / 3.00 |
Allie
Schwartz Assistant Director, Planning and Outreach Environmental Stewardship, Columbia University Facilities and Operations |
Total number of employees (staff + faculty, headcount):
Number of employees served (i.e. directly targeted) by a peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education program (avoid double-counting):
Percentage of employees served by a peer-to-peer educator program:
Name of the employee educators program:
Number of employees served (i.e. directly targeted) by the program (headcount):
A brief description of the program, including examples of peer-to-peer outreach activities:
In support of the University's Sustainability Principles, Columbia is committed to foster a culture of sustainability. To shift the culture at the University, Columbia developed the Sustainable Leaders Network (SLN)- a forum of faculty, staff and students from across the University, to serve as an ongoing support and information-exchange network, and to help develop the SLN Workplace Certification Program. This program includes an online survey tool which provides a checklist of all the possible actions schools and departments can take at Columbia to support the University's sustainability goals as outlined in our plan.
The SLN was created in 2016 to help instill the University's first set of Sustainability Principles within all school departments. The primary objective of the SLN is to engage a wide range of stakeholders from across the campus to collaborate in developing and endorsing a set of these actions that can serve to guide Columbia’s schools to foster a culture of sustainability. Examples of peer-to-peer outreach activities include: 1) having Environmental Stewardship present to departments about sustainability at Columbia, and how the certificate program works. 2) having Environmental Stewardship conduct a Recycling 101 demo and/or participating in a Recycling Train the Trainer seminar organized by Environmental Stewardship 3) Ongoing mentorship using the Sustainable Leaders Network as a forum for information exchange and dissemination.
A brief description of how the employee educators are selected:
The Deans of Columbia's schools have identified three volunteers from each school to participate in this group: one faculty member, one student, and one administrator. For administrative departments, administrative leadership will appoint representatives to sit on the network.
A brief description of the formal training that the employee educators receive to prepare them to conduct peer outreach:
In support of the University's Sustainability Principles, Columbia is committed to foster a culture of sustainability. The Workplace Certification web form provides a checklist of all the possible actions schools and departments can take at Columbia to support the University's sustainability goals as outlined in our plan.
Each section of the checklist links back to the corresponding pages of the Sustainability Plan for further reading. This allows participants to learn the reasons behind—and the impact of—each action, as well as how it relates to the overall vision for Sustainable Columbia.
See the following link for information on the Sustainable Columbia Workspace Certification: https://sustainable.columbia.edu/content/sln
A brief description of the financial and/or administrative support the institution provides to the program (e.g. annual budget and/or paid faculty/staff coordination):
The Environmental Stewardship office will dedicate as many staff as are necessary to perform the relevant training and work with the Green Champions until they can be self-sufficient in promoting sustainability in their respective areas.
Name of the employee educators program (2nd program):
Number of employees served (i.e. directly targeted) by the program (headcount) (2nd program):
A brief description of the program, including examples of peer-to-peer outreach activities (2nd program):
Members of the Environmental Stewardship office (Operations Manager and Assistant Director of Planning and Outreach) present a "train-the-trainer" style "Know Where To Throw" recycling demonstration for interested offices, schools and departments looking to improve their recycling habits.
A brief description of how the employee educators are selected (2nd program):
Select members of the Environmental Stewardship office have been trained and work with the Department of Sanitation NY to stay up-to-date on recycling practices and rules.
A brief description of the formal training that the employee educators receive to prepare them to conduct peer outreach (2nd program):
Knowledge of these recycling rules is inherent in the roles of both Environmental Stewardship staff members. Additionally, these employee educators have worked with and attended trainings by the Department of Sanitation NY (DSNY).
A brief description of the financial and/or administrative support the institution provides to the program (e.g. annual budget and/or paid faculty/staff coordination) (2nd program):
The program has been developed so that there is no need for additional budget. The employee education has been built into the job descriptions of the two Environmental Stewardship employees.
A brief description of all other employee peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education programs, including the number of employees served and how employee educators are selected, trained, and supported by the institution:
n/a
Total number of hours employee educators are engaged in peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education activities annually:
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.