Knox College
AC-6: Sustainability Literacy Assessment

1. What is meant by the term “carbon footprint”? A. The age of an item found at an archeological site B. The carbon left on the ground each time you take a step C. The size of the carbon chain in a given quantity of gasoline D. The greenhouse gases released by burning fossil fuels for electricity and transportation E. Don’t know 2. Which of the following is a renewable resource? A. Oil B. Coal C. Trees D. B and C E. All of the above F. Don’t know 3. Put the following list in order of the activities with the largest environmental impact to those with the smallest environmental impact: a. Keeping a cell phone charger plugged into an electrical outlet for 12 hours b. Producing one McDonalds quarter-pound hamburger c. Producing one McDonalds chicken sandwich d. Flying in a commercial airplane from Washington DC to China A. a, c, b, d B. a, d, b, c C. c, b, d, a D. d, b, c, a E. d, c, b, a F. Don’t know 4. Of the following, which would be considered living in the most environmentally sustainable way? A. Recycling all recyclable packaging B. Reducing consumption of all products C. Buying products labeled "eco" or "green" D. Buying compostable silverware E. Buying the newest products available F. Don't know

We have offered 2 different surveys. A sustainability literacy survey assessment was used from previous documents in our Office (a revised version of the 2018 was chosen by our Sustainability and Resilient project leaders) to share with their peers at sustainability club meetings and tabling events to assess literacy in an informal manner. The Race 2 Zero survey was created for the Campus Race 2 Zero waste Campaign in 2022, so that we could assess what students know about ZERO Waste and how to work with the various materials on campus and in the 3 way waste systems. It was designed to be easily engaged with pictures and choices and to invite participation and reduce a feeling of shaming. This survey had questions that were chosen based on initiatives and/or issues that Knox works with at the present. We followed up with several sessions to share the data and help answer questions (and highlighted the results at our Earth Day celebration), as well as sharing the data and graphs in our bi-weekly Sustainability at Knox newsletter and on our Rise Vision.

A sustainability literacy survey was shared with the Students for Sustainability Club meeting, at weekly tabling events outside our dining area and at a Campus wide Shop & Swap event. The surveys were administered by our Sustainability and Resilient project leaders (SRPL's) and Student volunteers. We incentivised participation by giving out sustainable prizes after receiving the anonymous answer form. The prizes included chico reusable bags, reusable eco-container "clamshells", and FREE nicer reused items from our Share Shop. The literacy assessment survey was open to everyone in the student body to take and was administered with hard copies at the different tabling events, where students answered the questions on a small anonymous answer form or on laminated reusable survey. We tallied the answers and recorded the data and we invited students to share about their questions, insights, and misunderstandings.

The Sustainability Literacy Assessment revealed interesting results. CR2ZW Survey Results from the 130 students who participated in the Race 2 Zero Survey, show that students are aware of the basic concepts of recycling. The easy questions, showed that 91% knew how to handle cardboard, whereas 63% were confident on how to handle styrofoam and other non recyclables. There was more confusion with organic recycling and where to put items and how it mitigates methane gas at landfills.