| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 74.46 |
| Liaison | Ciannat Howett |
| Submission Date | Oct. 9, 2024 |
Emory University
EN-5: Outreach Campaign
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
4.00 / 4.00 |
Cyrus
Bhedwar Director Office of Sustainability Initiatives |
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?:
1st campaign
A brief description of the campaign:
The Zero Waste Ambassadors (ZWAs) program led by OSI has been vital in helping the Emory community reduce and divert landfill waste. At large Emory events such as Homecoming and Commencement, ZWAs use outreach and education to encourage proper waste disposal and create a more sustainable campus.
For instance, every year since 2010, Emory College and professional school Commencement events are organized as zero landfill waste events with the help of ZWAs. Commencement ceremonies are equipped with color-coded bins with clear signage for composting and recycling to help graduates, guests, faculty, and staff place their waste in the proper containers. They have ZWAs at their waste stations to help keep compostable and recyclable materials out of the landfills and to educate guests about the zero landfill waste event. In support of this effort, Commencement planners for the central ceremony have included encouraging waste sorting notices in the official Commencement program and in slides that rotate before the ceremony begins. Page 2 of the Commencement Program includes the statement “In support of Emory’s sustainability initiatives, we ask that you return any unneeded copies of this program to the program distribution tables and take the time to properly dispose of your recyclable and compostable waste items in the proper containers. https://commencement.emory.edu/_includes/documents/2023-emory-commencement.pdf
A brief description of the measured positive impact(s) of the campaign:
Zero Waste Ambassador’s volunteer efforts to sort waste at large Emory events such as Homecoming and Commencement as well as their continued education on proper waste sorting at Emory increased our landfill diversion rate from 56.1% in 2021 to 58% in 2022 during our Zero Waste Campaign. Some ground was lost in 2023, with a diversion rate of 49.12%.
if reporting an additional campaign, provide:
2nd campaign
A brief description of the campaign (2nd campaign):
In 2023, OSI’s Green Labs program motivated certified labs to participate in the Lab Freezer Challenge. The Freezer Challenge is a global competition for laboratories, including students, faculty, and staff, designed to promote best practices in cold storage management. It harnesses the spirit of competition within and between laboratories to achieve greater energy efficiency, sample integrity, sample access, risk prevention, and cost savings.
With the help of newsletters, direct emails, and social media outreach, OSI increased participation by 300% among the Green Labs community. To help Emory labs better prepare for the challenge, OSI also created an interview series online with peer labs who participated in the challenge before. The interview series can be found here: https://youtu.be/FH4l7QFPzT8?si=Paturvmy_18ObgDD
A brief description of the measured positive impact(s) of the campaign (2nd campaign):
Green Labs' efforts to reduce the energy consumption of their cold storage units during the 2024 International Lab Freezer Challenge led to an energy reduction of 104.75 kWh/day from one School of Medicine lab.
- kWh Saved for Full Defrosts: 27.8
- kWh Saved for Filters/Coils Cleaned: 14.95
- kWh Saved for Frost/Ice Cleared from Units: 12
- kWh Saved for Number of Samples Discarded: 20
- kWh Saved for ULT Freezers Chilled Up to -70 C: 0
- kWh for Units Retired: 20
- kWh for Units Upgraded: 10
- Total Estimated kWh Consumed by All Cold Storage Units in the Lab: 379
- Estimated Total kWh Saved for 2023: 104.75/day
Optional Fields
Don't Dump It, Donate It!: This event is coordinated by Emory Recycles in partnership with Housing, Facilities Management, Residence Life, and the Office of Sustainability Initiatives. This drive allows students to donate items such as clothes, bedding, or furniture they no longer have use for to local Atlanta charities. During the 2023 drive, the campus diverted almost 22 tons of recycled, composted, and donated items from the landfill. Children's Healthcare of Atlanta received the proceeds from selling the donated items that were collected. https://housing.emory.edu/_includes/documents/move/Eagle_Row_Donation_Map_2023.pdf
The Green Office Program: A voluntary program where participating students, staff, and faculty in offices and departments are given tools and training for making more sustainable decisions and changing behavior. In 2023, there are 14 active Green Office certified. More information can be found here: https://sustainability.emory.edu/programs/green-offices-at-emory/
The Green Lab Program: A voluntary program where participating students, staff, and faculty in labs are given tools, and training, and are eligible for funding to support more sustainable purchasing and behaviors. In 2023, there are 37 active Green Labs certified. More information can be found here: https://sustainability.emory.edu/programs/green-labs-at-emory/
Student Sustainability Guides: Offered for undergraduate, graduate, and professional students at the Atlanta campus and students at the Oxford campus. A two-page document offering tips for students on how to manage and sort waste (especially around move-in and move-out days), an overview of Emory’s sustainability commitments, information on different methods of transportation and dining options, and ways for students to get involved in sustainability initiatives at Emory.
Link to 2023 Student Sustainability Guide: https://sustainability.emory.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/CollegeSustainabilityGuide2023.pdf
Link to 2023 Oxford Student Sustainability Guide: https://sustainability.emory.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/OxfordSustainabilityGuide2023.pdf
In its annual Earth Month event on April 15 2022, the Office of Sustainability Initiatives celebrated a year of contributions to campus sustainability efforts by announcing this year’s recipients of the Sustainability Lifetime Achievement Awards, the Robert S. Hascall Sustainability Innovator Awards and the Outstanding Sustainability Representative Award.
Student Sustainability Showcase: During orientation, in the Weeks of Welcome program the Office of Sustainability Initiatives runs a showcase for incoming students to meet the Emory faculty, administration, and students who are leading sustainability efforts on campus.
A guide for the 2023 Student Sustainability Showcase can be found here: https://sustainability.emory.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Final_Sustainability-Showcase-Virtual-Guide-Fall-2022.pdf
Indigenous Language Path Input Sessions: A university-wide project to develop physical reminders and rituals on Emory’s Oxford and Atlanta campuses to honor the Muscogee language and knowledge as the indigenous language and knowledge of this land. These teach-in sessions have engaged the broader Emory community, not just staff, faculty, and students, and are an opportunity to learn from members of the Nation about Muscogee culture today.
Sustainable Food Fair: Each fall, students can enroll in a course in which they put on a Sustainable Food Fair, in collaboration with the Office of Sustainability Initiatives and Emory Dining. This lively midday event features music and roughly 40 stands of locally grown fresh food for sale, chefs offering delectable samples, stores featuring sustainably grown foods and other products, and nonprofits in the Emory area that are part of the sustainable food movement. For the fall 2023 semester, interested students enrolled in this 3-credit class, until it reaches the maximum of 18 students. They learn in classes two times a week leading up to the Food Fair about the food system. https://sustainability.emory.edu/event/sustainable-food-fair-3/
Plastic Free Emory and Break Free from Plastics Pledge: Plastic-Free Emory(PFE) is a student-led collaboration with faculty, staff, administrators, and practitioners at Emory dedicated to tackling single-use plastic campus-wide. PFE is using outreach, education, policy changes, and most importantly a “Break Free From Plastic” pledge, signed by Emory University President Fenves, to phase out unnecessary single-use plastic by 2026. https://sustainability.emory.edu/programs/plastic-free-emory/
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
All data reported in this section are from September 2020-August 2023
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.