Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 68.76
Liaison Josh Lasky
Submission Date Feb. 27, 2015
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

George Washington University
IN-3: Innovation 3

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 1.00 Kathleen Merrigan
Executive Director of Sustainability
Office of the Provost
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Title or keywords related to the innovative policy, practice, program, or outcome:
Helping to Achieve Federal Procurement Targets for Biobased Products

A brief description of the innovative policy, practice, program, or outcome:

In 2014, the GW Sustainability Collaborative began partnering with the United Soybean Board to help build awareness of biobased products, help university campuses, including our own, identify biobased products for purchase (e.g., artificial turf, carpeting), and most importantly, help the Federal Government fulfill its Executive Order requirements to purchase biobased. We held a Biobased Stakeholders' Dialogue June 17-18, 2014, that included biobased manufacturers, Federal and university procurement officials, and GW students, faculty, and Planet Forward, our innovative social media platform. Following the conference, GW students were hired by the USB to identify strategies to achieve greater procurement among universities of biobased products, GW joined the Collegiate Biobased Network, and other projects are under development. GW hopes to be a lead advocate and voice for biobased.


A brief description of any positive measurable outcomes associated with the innovation (if not reported above):

The Stakeholder Dialogue was attended by 150 people, including the USDA Deputy Secretary of Agriculture, was taped and shared as a webcast, and Planet Forward biobased video content and tweets were shared broadly.


A letter of affirmation from an individual with relevant expertise:
Which of the following STARS subcategories does the innovation most closely relate to? (Select all that apply up to a maximum of five):
Yes or No
Curriculum No
Research Yes
Campus Engagement Yes
Public Engagement Yes
Air & Climate ---
Buildings ---
Dining Services ---
Energy ---
Grounds ---
Purchasing Yes
Transportation ---
Waste ---
Water ---
Coordination, Planning & Governance ---
Diversity & Affordability No
Health, Wellbeing & Work No
Investment No

Other topic(s) that the innovation relates to that are not listed above:
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The website URL where information about the innovation is available:
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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.