| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 73.66 |
| Liaison | Amber Saxton |
| Submission Date | Feb. 22, 2024 |
George Mason University
EN-5: Outreach Campaign
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
4.00 / 4.00 |
Greg
Farley Director of Sustainability University Sustainability |
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?:
Name of the campaign:
A brief description of the campaign:
Since 2014, when George Mason University joined the Atlantic 10 Conference, Mason has held an annual ‘Green Game.’ This game serves as our entry into RecycleMania’s national GameDay Basketball competition, and is an exciting collaboration between the Office of Sustainability, Mason Athletics, Sodexo, Mason Recycling and Waste Management, and EagleBank Arena. Mason's goal every year is to hit the ‘zero-waste’ mark, which means that 90+ percent of waste is diverted from trash to composting and recycling.
A brief description of the measured positive impact(s) of the campaign:
With the help of volunteers and the dedication of Mason’s partners at EagleBank Arena, Mason Athletics, Sodexo on January 25, 2023, the university achieved 84.2% waste diversion from trash to recycling and composting.
Name of the campaign (2nd campaign):
A brief description of the campaign (2nd campaign):
Patriot Packout (PPO) is Mason’s annual end-of-the year donation initiative. PPO provides on-campus donation resources for all students, faculty, and staff affected by student move-out. PPO diverts usable items from trash and redistributes them to Mason students, faculty/staff, and community members who can benefit from them.
A brief description of the measured positive impact(s) of the campaign (2nd campaign):
At the end of the 2022-23 academic year, PPO captured and diverted over 5500 pounds of useful items from the campus waste streams at Mason's Fairfax and SciTech campuses.
Almost 90% of those goods were reclaimed by the Mason community, through partnerships with 8 on-campus partner organizations that received redistributed goods for students in need; via sessions for current and incoming Mason students and staff to claim goods to meet their own needs; and through partnerships with 5 off-campus partner organizations that received the small number of items that campus partners and denizens did not claim.
A brief description of other sustainability-related outreach campaigns:
Plastics Free Mason (PFM) is a new student-led initiative that engages the Mason community and supports wider institutional efforts to reduce single-use plastics and polystyrene on Mason’s campuses and in its operations and events.
PFM conducted an informal survey of over 150 campus users during the Fall, 2022 semester. 95% of survey respondents "strongly supported" or "supported" a plastic-free campus. This information was delivered to our Operations & Business Services team for their consideration when negotiating with our pouring-rights vendor about campus beverage supply.
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.