Illinois State University
EN-4: Sustainability Culture Assessment

Many questions from the Sustainability Cultural Indicators Program from the University of Michigan's Ann Arbor campus were utilized in this survey to reflect the attitudes, behaviors, engagement, and commitment of members of the Illinois State University campus. Additional questions came from a previous sustainability survey conducted at Illinois State University in 2019. The purpose of repeating some questions was to determine if there was a change in perspectives or opinions about sustainability at Illinois State.

Top 10 Findings from the 2024 Sustainability Culture Survey:

1. Students spend more time on campus than faculty or staff. In the fall semester, students spent an average of 5.42 days on campus compared to 4.44 days for staff and 4.01 days for faculty.
2. Faculty and staff were more likely to drive a car alone to campus than students who predominently reported walking or taking the bus to campus. Biking was one of the least likely forms of transportation.
3. Five percent of respondents reported driving a plug-in electric car. An additional five percent of respondents reported driving an alternative fuel/hybrid vehicle.
4. Faculty and staff were more likely than students to report that they engage in sustainable practices such as recycling and conserving energy. Students were reportedly more likely to use reusables.
5. Over half of faculty, staff, and student respondents reported voting for an elected public official because of their stance on sustainability issues, but less than 20 percent engaged with public officials about sustainability issues or concerns.
6. About 60 percent of respondents indicated climate change was very or extremely important to them , but only 25 percent of respondents said they were personally committed to sustainability practices.
7. Faculty, staff, and students all indicated that the media was the most influential source of information about sustainability. Students were more likely to say their views were shaped by their friends or family.
8. Faculty and staff were reportedly more committed than students to modifying their own behaviors to help ISU achieve its sustainability goals, but students were more likely to report support of prioritizing sustainability in budget allocations than faculty and staff.
9. Students were less likely than faculty and staff to be aware of ISU’s Sustainability Strategic Plan. Sixty-five percent of faculty and staff knew about the plan compared to 33 percent of students.
10. Respondents were felt that ISU should prioritize strengthening sustainable landscape practices, increasing sustainable food options, and advancing water conservation and reduction practices.

The current plan is to administer the online survey every 3-4 years to show change over time as it relates to the ISU Sustainability Strategic Plan progress and to gauge campus sustainability culture and understanding of campus sustainability initiatives. 

All undergraduate and graduate students were invited to participate in the survey. We directly measured the percentage of students assessed for sustainability culture by taking the number of student respondents and dividing it by the total number of students invited to participate.

All faculty and staff were invited to participate in the survey. We directly measured the percentage of faculty and staff assessed for sustainability culture by taking the number of faculty and staff respondents and dividing it by the total number of faculty and staff invited to participate.