Overall Rating Silver
Overall Score 51.51
Liaison Kirk Hemphill
Submission Date Feb. 12, 2024

STARS v2.2

Florida Institute of Technology
EN-5: Outreach Campaign

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 4.00 / 4.00 Ken Lindeman
Professor, Sustainability Studies
Ocean Engineering & Marine Sciences
"---" 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 

Name of the campaign:
Leave Green

A brief description of the campaign:
The Leave Green initiative originally started in spring 2015 as a SUS student senior research project and with the leadership of Residence Life and the campus Sustainability Office, expanded to a campus wide move-out program. In 2023, this student led coalition continued to lead recycling efforts with this end of year residence hall project that diverts and donates usable materials that would otherwise end up in the county landfill. Collection sites were strategically located in each housing area along with flyers to raise awareness of the collection efforts.

A brief description of the measured positive impact(s) of the campaign:
- 15 collection crates (approx. 6 x 6 x 4 ft) were used and the majority of donations were sent to the Goodwill Industries of Central Florida. Donated goods in good condition and deemed as high demand on campus were kept to be repurposed in the Live Green Market: a cost-effective and sustainable option for incoming freshmen to buy these items at more economical prices.
- The recycling of revenue collected from these sales will fund the needs of the Residence Hall Association, creating a self-sustaining cycle of environmental and social impact, where the project not only benefits students who purchase the items but the broader community.

if reporting an additional campaign, provide:

2nd campaign

Name of the campaign (2nd campaign):
Trick or Trash

A brief description of the campaign (2nd campaign):
- In the 2022-23 Academic Year Florida Tech participated in Trick-or-Trash™ program for the first time. The Trick-or-Trash™ initiative is run by Rubicon, a waste management innovator, in partnership with the National Wildlife Federation. The program allows schools and communities the opportunity to recycle candy wrappers. This is done by shipping the organization one or more boxes using UPS Net Zero shipping options, allowing the organization time to collect candy wrappers, then the box is shipped back to Rubicon using UPS net zero shipping where they recycle their unique recycling machines are able to break down the wrappers.
- The program at Florida Tech was focused around staff and faculty, which were contacted by email, informing them of the opportunity. They were encouraged to bring wrappers from home, especially if they have young trick-or-treater aged children. with three drop-off locations at:
- Panther Dining Hall, one of the highest foot-traffic areas of our campus.
- Evan’s Hall, a very centrally located area on our campus.
- Inside the Office of Human Resources, where staff and faculty may learn about other opportunities available to them, sustainability related or otherwise.
https://www.rubicon.com/trash-or-treasure/

A brief description of the measured positive impact(s) of the campaign (2nd campaign):
1.85 lbs of candy wrappers were recycled from Florida Tech in our inaugural Trick-or-Trash activity. Unfortunately, one of the three boxes was accidentally disposed of improperly towards the end of the collection period, limiting the amount of wrappers the institution was able to recycle. The reception of the program was positive with plans of enrolling again and expanding participation efforts

Optional Fields

A brief description of other sustainability-related outreach campaigns:
Other campus outreach activities occur each year, other examples can be found at www.fit.edu/sustainabilty.

Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Academic Year 2022-23.
Data compiled by the the Office of Residence Life, and the Office of Human Resources. Information provided by Jacqueline Zappala and processed by Christian Foster, Academic Sustainability Program.

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.