Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 79.77
Liaison Josh Lasky
Submission Date April 4, 2023

STARS v2.2

George Washington University
EN-4: Outreach Materials and Publications

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.00 / 2.00 Kimberly Williams
Not available at this time
Office of Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution have a central sustainability website that consolidates information about the institution’s sustainability efforts?:
Yes

Website URL for the central sustainability website:
http://www.sustainability.gwu.edu/

Does the institution have a sustainability newsletter or social media platform that focuses specifically on campus sustainability?:
Yes

A brief description of the sustainability newsletter or social media platform:

Sustainable GW sends out a biweekly newsletter that provides stakeholders with a snapshot of what is happening in the sustainability community at GW. It contains sections to promote upcoming events and internship, grant, and service opportunities. It also contains a section for updates and highlights in each of the three areas of concentration: sustainability in action, sustainability in the classroom, and sustainability in research. The intention is to not only highlight opportunities for students, staff, and faculty to get involved with Sustainable GW's programs, but also to provide alumni and external partners with a briefing on the overall impact of the University's sustainability programs and initiatives.


Does the institution have signage that highlights sustainability features on campus?:
Yes

A brief description of the signage that highlights sustainability features on campus:

All new buildings on campus, which are built to LEED Silver or better certification standards, incorporate signage and tours in the buildings to help educate the community about the relevant sustainability features.


Does the institution provide a sustainability walking map or tour?:
Yes

A brief description of the sustainability walking map or tour:

GW has published a sustainability campus map, paired with its progress report. The map is distributed at events across campus throughout the year, and features include green foofs, solar thermal systems, bikeshare stations on campus, and much more. The university also provides a sustainablity campus 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 to lead tours. Additionally, the Office works with tour guides on campus to incorporate sustainability into their year-round tours for prospective students.


Does the institution produce a guide for green living and/or incorporating sustainability into the residential experience?:
Yes

A brief description of the guide for green living and/or incorporating sustainability into the residential experience:

GW features guidelines for green living and incorporating sustainability into the residential experience on its sustainability website. Tips for sustainable living can be found at sustainability.gwu.edu/resources.

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.


A brief description of other comprehensive sustainability outreach materials and publications not covered above:

In 2022, GW provided 26,000 branded reusable water bottles to students, staff, and faculty, to promote its Past Plastic campaign to eliminate single-use plastics. The giveaway was paired with signage across campus at more than 100 bottle filling stations to promote behavior change.


Additional documentation to support the submission:
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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.