| Overall Rating | Gold - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 69.75 |
| Liaison | Josh Lasky |
| Submission Date | Feb. 23, 2018 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
George Washington University
EN-4: Outreach Materials and Publications
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.00 / 2.00 |
Kimberly
Williams Not available at this time Office of Sustainability |
Does the institution have a central sustainability website that consolidates information about the institution's sustainability efforts?:
A brief description of the central sustainability website (optional):
GW maintains a central website with all of the information about the university's sustainability efforts.
The website URL for the central sustainability website:
Does the institution have a sustainability newsletter?:
A brief description of the sustainability newsletter:
The website URL for the sustainability newsletter:
Does the institution have social media platforms (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, interactive blogs) that focus specifically on campus sustainability?:
A brief description of the social media platforms that focus on sustainability:
The Office of Sustainability regularly updates both a Facebook and Twitter page with updates on sustainability at GW and tips on how to be more sustainable. Both pages have many followers consisting of GW students, staff, and more.
The Sustainability Collaborative regularly updates Facebook and Twitter with updates on sustainability academics, research, and engagement at GW.
The website URL of the primary social media platform focused on sustainability:
Does the institution have regular coverage of sustainability in the main student newspaper, either through a regular column or a reporter assigned to the sustainability beat?:
A brief description of the regular coverage of sustainability in the main student newspaper:
The GW Hatchet covers sustainability news on campus in its bi-weekly publications. The Office of Sustainability communicates with reporters to answer questions about sustainability at GW, which results in occasional stories and blog posts in the student newspaper.
The website URL for regular coverage of sustainability in the main student newspaper:
Does the institution produce a vehicle to publish and disseminate student research on sustainability?:
A brief description of the vehicle to publish and disseminate student research on sustainability:
Planet Forward is a multi-media platform for dissemination of student views and research. The George Washington Journal of Energy and Environmental Law Journal provides a forum for student voices and research. The Policy Perspectives Journal of the Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Administration publishes student research, including on topics of sustainability.
Each spring, the Office of the Vice President for Research sponsors a two-day "Research Day". Faculty and graduate students in the School of Public Health are featured on the second day. On the second day, undergraduates and graduates from the other GW schools present their research in a day-long illustrated poster session. Winners are chosen from each school at both undergraduate and graduate levels. Many students who participate are engaged in sustainability research.
GW offers an award for sustainability research for students through the Sustainability Collaborative, as well as grants for sustainability related service learning research projects through the Eco-Equity Challenge and the UpStart Social Innovation Lab. Students can contribute blogs about their research on the GW UpStart and Sustainability Collaborative websites.
The website URL for the vehicle to publish and disseminate student research on sustainability:
Does the institution have building signage that highlights green building features?:
A brief description of building signage that highlights green building features :
For new LEED buildings on campus, GW incorporates signage and tours in the buildings to help educate the community about the relevant green features.
The website URL for building signage that highlights green building features :
Does the institution have signage and/or brochures that include information about sustainable food systems?:
A brief description of the signage and/or brochures that include information about sustainable food systems:
GW's open dining plan gives students access to food and groceries from more than 90 dining partners concentrated on our campuses and in our surrounding neighborhoods. Designed to fit the busy lifestyle of GW students, the plan supports myriad dietary preferences by providing diverse dining options, healthy foods and convenience. Each retail dining partner has the opportunity to share their sustainability practices with students.
The website URL for food service area signage and/or brochures that include information about sustainable food systems:
Does the institution have signage on the grounds about sustainable groundskeeping and/or landscaping strategies employed?:
A brief description of the signage on the grounds about sustainable groundskeeping and/or landscaping strategies employed:
GW's campus features a green space known as the Square 80 Plaza. Previously a parking lot, this 3/4 acre green space, in the midst of GW’s densely built downtown Washington, DC, campus, provides a green respite and uses water reclamation technology to capture and reuse storm water on the site. Sustainable grounds-keeping strategies employed on this site include rain barrels, sunken tree beds, permeable pavers, rain gardens and a network of cisterns. The site features powerful and visually striking signage that helps communicate the university's sustainability vision and the techniques employed on the site.
As GW implements its Ecosystems Enhancement Strategy, one of the areas for expansion will be additional signage about other sustainable landscaping techniques employed. It is important to note that due to GW's unique location in the middle of downtown Washington, DC, at times additional signage placement is difficult due to zoning and public-space constraints and regulations.
The website URL for the signage on the grounds about sustainable groundskeeping and/or landscaping strategies employed:
Does the institution produce a sustainability walking map or tour?:
A brief description of the sustainability walking map or tour:
GW publishes a sustainability map of campus in Fall 2017, as part of its first progress report. The map is distributed at events across campus throughout the year, and features include Green Roofs, Solar Thermal displays, bikeshare stations on campus, and much more. The university also provides a green tour to interested parties. Due to the rapidly changing nature of the GW campuses and diversity of tour requests, students are trained by Office of Sustainability staff. Additionally, the Office works with tour guides on campus to incorporate sustainability into their year-round tours for prospective students.
The website URL of the sustainability walking map or tour:
Does the institution produce a guide for commuters about how to use more sustainable methods of transportation?:
A brief description of the guide for commuters about how to use more sustainable methods of transportation:
The guide for commuters features many of the alternative methods of transportation available to the GW community including Metro, bus routes, Enterprise Carshare, Capital Bikeshare, bike racks car2go, carpools, electric charging stations, and shuttle services.
The website URL for the guide for commuters about how to use more sustainable methods of transportation:
Does the institution produce navigation and educational tools for bicyclists and pedestrians (e.g. covering routes, inter-modal connections, policies, services, and safety)? :
A brief description of the navigation and educational tools for bicyclists and pedestrians:
In all large new construction on campus GW is offering transportation kiosks to promote the diverse transportation options available to the GW community. In the Science and Engineering Hall the kiosk offers real-time transportation data, allowing the users to identify the most efficient method of transportation, including bicycling and walking. Additionally, the Health and Wellness Center provides resources on safe routes for bikers and pedestrians when they exercise.
The website URL for navigation and educational tools for bicyclists and pedestrians:
Does the institution produce a guide for green living and/or incorporating sustainability into the residential experience?:
A brief description of the guide for green living and incorporating sustainability into the residential experience:
GW features guidelines for green living and incorporating sustainability into the residential experience on its sustainability website. Student Eco-Reps conduct peer-to-peer education in the residence halls helping to disseminate information to students. Training is also conducted with Resident Assistants on campus to help them understand sustainable living and pass the information along to their students.
Sustainability is featured in the new student orientation in several ways. As one example, the Office of Sustainability encourages student orientation leaders to demonstrate what sustainability looks like in practice, like composting, proper recycling, energy conservation, and waste diversion. Additionally, Campaign GW disseminated sustainability lifestyle tips to new students at an information table during orientation.
The website URL for the guide for green living and incorporating sustainability into the residential experience:
Does the institution produce other sustainability outreach materials or publications not covered above?:
A brief description of these materials or publications:
In 2017, GW released its first sustainability scorecard, which evaluates GW's progress toward urban sustainability against its own goals laid out in the Ecosystems Enhancement Strategy in 2012. Designed as a tool for stakeholder engagement, the scorecards have a map of sustainability features on campus. When printed, the scorecards fold up to the size of a credit card for convenient portability.
The Green Office Network is the primary faculty and staff sustainability engagement program. Since its origin in 2014, more than 55 offices have become certified and joined the Green Office Network. The program includes the certification program that encourages staff and faculty to implement sustainable practices in their office spaces as well as ongoing education and engagement opportunities like meetings with other Network members, breifings on sustainability initiatives across the University, and educational activities.
The website URL for these materials or publications:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Add'l URLs for the vehicle to publish and disseminate student research on sustainability
https://www.planetforward.org/
https://gwupstartblog.wordpress.com/tag/eco-equity-challenge/
http://researchdays.gwu.edu/
https://sustainabilitycollaborative.gwu.edu/blog
Add'l walking tour map URL:
https://sustainability.gwu.edu/sites/sustainability.gwu.edu/files/downloads/Scorecard%202017.pdf
Add'l URLs for the vehicle to publish and disseminate student research on sustainability
https://www.planetforward.org/
https://gwupstartblog.wordpress.com/tag/eco-equity-challenge/
http://researchdays.gwu.edu/
https://sustainabilitycollaborative.gwu.edu/blog
Add'l walking tour map URL:
https://sustainability.gwu.edu/sites/sustainability.gwu.edu/files/downloads/Scorecard%202017.pdf
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.