Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 65.89
Liaison Allie Schwartz
Submission Date Aug. 29, 2018
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Columbia University
IN-27: Innovation D

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 1.00 Allie Schwartz
Assistant Director, Planning and Outreach
Environmental Stewardship, Columbia University Facilities and Operations
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Name or title of the innovative policy, practice, program, or outcome:
Innovative Crowd-Sourced Signage and State Recycling Leadership Award

A brief description of the innovative policy, practice, program, or outcome that outlines how credit criteria are met and any positive measurable outcomes associated with the innovation:

Columbia's Environmental Stewardship office partnered with Facilities to make-over the recycling signage on campus. Rather than create standard signage, the University chose to go above-and-beyond in this endeavor by surveying the members of the Sustainable Leaders Network (SLN), comprised of representatives from across the 20 schools and myriad departments at the University, as to which items should be placed on the signage for each of the three bins. The members of the SLN voted on their top choices of icons (designed in-house at Columbia), and customized Columbia-specific labels and signage were designed, printed and placed on the bins in all public areas. By giving stakeholders from across the University a voice in the signage design, stakeholders have noted that they feel more bought-into the recycling process as they had a hand in designing the custom signage.

This innovative initiative, as well as the other endeavors taken by Columbia within the waste reduction sphere led to Columbia earning the Recycling Leadership Award by The New York State Association for Reduction, Reuse and Recycling (NYSAR3). Columbia University is noted for constantly improving waste management through its programs and services, from on-the-ground educational outreach to behind-the-scenes operational improvements. The Environmental Stewardship (ES) office partners with Operations Department to drive change in accordance with the University’s Sustainability Plan. Columbia is on track to align with NYC’s OneNYC waste-to-landfill goal by 2030.


Which of the following impact areas does the innovation most closely relate to? (select up to three):
Campus Engagement
Waste

A letter of affirmation from an individual with relevant expertise or a press release or publication featuring the innovation :
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The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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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.