Overall Rating Silver
Overall Score 59.85
Liaison Lisa Lonie
Submission Date Aug. 29, 2024

STARS v2.2

Haverford College
EN-6: Assessing Sustainability Culture

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 1.00 Jesse Lytle
VP and Chief of Staff
Office of the President
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution conduct an assessment of sustainability culture?:
Yes

Which of the following best describes the cultural assessment? The assessment is administered to::
The entire campus community (students and employees) directly or by representative sample

Which of the following best describes the structure of the cultural assessment? The assessment is administered::
Longitudinally to measure change over time

A brief description of how and when the cultural assessment(s) were developed and/or adopted:

The literacy assessment was drafted in partnership with consultants from GreenerU. Student interns then transferred agreed upon questions to qualtrics, the preferred survey tool of Haverford. The survey was released on April 22, 2024 and remained open for one week.


A copy or sample of the questions related to sustainability culture:
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A sample of the questions related to sustainability culture or the website URL where the assessment tool is available:


  1. To what extent do you agree with the following (I strongly agree, I agree, I disagree, I don’t know):





    1. “Haverford understands the value of sustainability and encourages and supports sustainability”




    2. “It is important for Haverford to mitigate and adapt to climate change through its operations and programs”




    3. “Haverford is doing enough to combat climate change”




    4. “Haverford is committed to using sustainable practices”





  2. To what extent do you agree with the following (I strongly agree, I agree, I disagree, I don’t know):





    1. “I am interested in sustainability”




    2. “I considered sustainability when I chose to work at or attend Haverford”




    3. “I feel informed about what is going on at Haverford about sustainability”




    4. “Through my work or studies, I feel empowered to contribute to sustainability at Haverford”




    5. “I want to be more involved with sustainability at Haverford”





  3.  To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following (strongly disagree, disagree, neither disagree nor agree, agree, strongly agree):





    1. Climate change will impact my local community




    2. Individuals can help mitigate climate change




    3. Society can help mitigate climate change




    4. Humans can adapt to climate change





 




  1. How well do you understand the recycle and reuse pathways at Haverford?




    1. Very well




    2. Fairly well




    3. Slightly




    4. Not at all






  2. What sustainability action areas should Haverford prioritize? (Check all that apply)








    1. Education




    2. Climate change mitigation




    3. Energy efficiency




    4. Transition to renewable energy on campus




    5. Resiliency




    6. Air pollution




    7. Habitat preservation and biodiversity on campus, e.g. Arboretum, meadows, etc.




    8. Sustainable food sourcing




    9. Food security




    10. Waste minimization




    11. Social justice and human rights






 


A brief description of how representative samples were reached (if applicable) and how the cultural assessment is administered:

The survey was sent to the entire campus community by Jesse Lytle, the Vice President and Chief of Staff at Haverford. Members of the community were incentivized to complete this survey by the chance of winning a gift card for the college bookstore. A follow up survey will be administered next spring to follow up on the results of this one.


A brief summary of results from the cultural assessment:

Highlights from the culture survey (students):



  • 90% of student respondents agree or strongly agree that it is important for Haverford College to mitigate and adapt to climate change

  • 62.6% of student respondents disagree with the statement "Haverford College is doing enough to combat climate change"

  • 53 student respondents disagree with the statement "Haverford College is commitment to using sustainable practices" while 57 students agree or strongly agree with the same statement. This is about a 50/50 split.

  • 64% of student respondents agree or strongly agree that Haverford College understands the value of sustainability and encourages and supports sustainability.

  • 91.7% of students respondents are interested in sustainability, and 79.1% of student respondents want to be more involved with sustainability at Haverford.

  • 60% of student respondents do not feel informed about sustainability at Haverford.

  • 28% of student respondents strongly agree that individuals can help mitigate climate change.

  • 78.3% of student respondents strongly agree that society can help mitigate climate change.

  • 77.8% of student respondents indicated that they understand the recycle and reuse pathways at Haverford slightly or not at all.

  • The majority of student respondents recycle, turn off lights when not in use, and use reusable cups and water bottles always or most of the time.

  • The top three sustainability priorities for student respondents were transitioning to renewable energy on campus, waste minimization, and sustainable food sourcing.


Highlights from the culture survey (faculty and staff):



  • 82.2% of employee respondents agree or strongly agree that it is important for Haverford College to mitigate and adapt to climate change

  • 34.8% of employee respondents declined to answer if Haverford is doing enough to combat climate change

  • 85.4% of employee respondents are interested in sustainability, and 55.6% of employee respondents want to be more involved with sustainability at Haverford (with 33.5% of employee respondents declining to answer).

  • 44.3% of employee respondents strongly agree that individuals can help mitigate climate change.

  • 72.1% of employee respondents strongly agree that society can help mitigate climate change.

  • 52.9% of employee respondents indicated that they understand the recycle and reuse pathways at Haverford slightly or not at all.

  • The majority of employee respondents recycle, turn off lights when not in use, and use reusable cups and water bottles always or most of the time.

  • The top three sustainability priorities for employee respondents were waste minimization, energy efficiency, and transitioning to renewable energy on campus


Optional Fields 

Website URL where information about the assessment of sustainability culture 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.