Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 65.91
Liaison Elizabeth Swiman
Submission Date Dec. 19, 2018
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Florida State University
EN-5: Outreach Campaign

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 4.00 / 4.00 Jamie Valentine
Partnerships Coordinator
Sustainable Campus
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Has the institution held at least one 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 at least one 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:
Take Back the Tap

A brief description of the campaign, including how students and/or employees were engaged:
Take Back the Tap (TBTT) is a student-run campaign aiming to transform Florida State University into a “bottled water free campus” by encouraging students and staff to use reusable water bottles. TBTT members and volunteers research and discuss various water related issues, such as conservation, quality, and access, along with the local economic, social, and environmental costs related to bottled water. TBTT develops and implements ideas and methods that can help the student body mitigate these water issues.

A brief description of the measured positive impact(s) of the campaign:
Through outreach efforts and increased demand, Take Back the Tap has seen a surge in the number and use of hydration stations around campus (currently over 100). TBTT is supported through Student Government Association to hold World Water Day, where hundreds of students engage with TBTT and sign the Food and Water Watch petition, pledging their commitment to clean drinking water for all. A high impact result TBTT has achieved is the construction of the university’s only outdoor hydration station on FSU’s central green space, Landis Green. Prior to the external hydration station, students enjoying Landis Green after class hours had limited water access options and typically purchased bottled water from the nearest food vendor.

The website URL where information about the campaign is available:

If reporting a second campaign provide:

2nd Campaign

Name of the campaign (2nd campaign):
Green Office

A brief description of the campaign, including how students and/or employees were engaged (2nd campaign):
The Green Office Certification Program assists faculty and staff assess their current office practices and make simple steps toward becoming more sustainable. Interested offices set goals and implement green practices in areas including: energy conservation, waste reduction, recycling, transportation, IT, and purchasing. By completing sustainability objectives provided on the certification checklist, offices contribute to the mission of FSU Sustainable Campus, promoting resource conservation while benefiting via cost savings.

A brief description of the measured positive impact(s) of the campaign (2nd campaign):
Over 25 offices have recommitted to sustainability and have implemented initiatives aimed at reducing the footprint of their office. The University Libraries system has developed a Green Team which makes recommendations to all library offices, including purchasing new recycling bin infrastructure in the main library.

The website URL where information about the campaign is available (2nd campaign):

Optional Fields 

A brief description of other sustainability-related outreach campaigns, including measured positive impacts:
Recycle Mania is a friendly competition and benchmarking tool for college and university recycling programs to promote waste reduction activities to their campus communities. Over an 8-week period each spring, FSU reports the amount of recycling and trash collected each week and is ranked among other colleges in the competition. In 2017, Florida State collaborated with the University of Florida to challenge one another to a recycling competition. FSU and UF universities ‘battled’ back and forth on social media, increasing recycling and awareness through friendly competition. During the 2018 competition, FSU recycled a total of 204,017 pounds (or 102 tons) of paper, cardboard, cans, and bottles. This is equivalent to the reduction of 375 metric tons of CO2.

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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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.