| Overall Rating | Silver - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 49.29 |
| Liaison | Bonnie Dong |
| Submission Date | Oct. 30, 2014 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
MacEwan University
EN-6: Employee Educators Program
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
3.00 / 3.00 |
Emma
Shipalesky Sustainability Coordinator Office of Sustainability |
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indicates that no data was submitted for this field
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Does the institution administer or oversee an ongoing faculty/staff peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education program that meets the criteria for this credit?:
Yes
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Total number of employees:
2,747
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Name of the employee educators program (1st program) :
Green Impact
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Number of employees served by the program (1st program):
2,747
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A brief description of how the employee educators are selected (1st program):
The Office of Sustainability, in partnership with the Students' Association MacEwan University (SAMU), advertise the program at the four MacEwan University campuses and invite all staff and faculty to participate. Recruitment is done via newsletter articles, posters, word of mouth, and email communications. Staff and faculty that form Green Impact teams are also encouraged to recruit more teams through their professional networks as well.
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A brief description of the formal training that the employee educators receive (1st program):
The Office of Sustainability meets with the Green Impact teams to get them started and provides them with the information they will need to complete the program. Weekly drop-in sessions are also held to provide on-going support and training throughout the program cycle. Additional resources developed by the National Union of Students and the Office of Sustainability are provided on a supplementary website for teams to access. This website is regularly updated and includes photos, external links, suggestions for sustainability actions beyond the scope of the program, and contact information for each team.
The Green Impact program empowers staff and faculty to adopt sustainable actions while working at MacEwan University and enables participants to develop leadership skills for campus sustainability. The structure of the program facilitates staff and faculty peer-to-peer engagement; throughout the program, teams implement sustainable initiatives in their workplace and communicate these initiatives and tips to their co-workers in their office/department.
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A brief description of the staff and/or other financial support the institution provides to the program (1st program):
The Green Impact program is offered by Office of Sustainability, in partnership with Students' Association MacEwan University (SAMU) and the National Union of Students (NUS) in the UK. The Office of Sustainability meets with, consults, and updates both SAMU and NUS biweekly regarding the status of the program. The Office of Sustainability is responsible for the direct delivery of the program at MacEwan. SAMU also has an active Green Impact team within their organization, which allows them to lead by example with the program.
Additionally, NUS UK provided a $1,600 CAD donation to SAMU for taking on the program. These funds have been used to install a bicycle repair station on campus to further promote sustainable transportation options.
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The website URL where information about the program is available (1st program):
None
Name of the employee educators program (2nd program):
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Number of employees served by the program (2nd program):
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None
A brief description of how the employee educators are selected (2nd program):
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None
A brief description of the formal training that the employee educators receive (2nd program):
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None
A brief description of the financial or other support the institution provides to the program (2nd program):
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None
The website URL where information about the program is available (2nd program):
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Name(s) of the employee educator program(s) (all other programs):
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Number of employees served by all other programs:
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A brief description of how the employee educators are selected (all other programs):
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A brief description of the formal training that the employee educators receive (all other programs):
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None
A brief description of the staff and/or other financial support the institution provides to the program(s) (all other programs):
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None
The website URL where information about the program(s) is available (all other programs):
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
In 2013/2014, MacEwan University was the first international post-secondary institution to pilot the Green Impact program developed by the National Union of Students in the United Kingdom. Green Impact is an environmental accreditation initiative which helps people improve their working environments while gaining recognition for their efforts.
Staff and faculty are encouraged to organize their own Green Impact teams. These can be made up of a whole department, a building, or a group of people who work closely together. The team is given a Green Impact online toolkit containing various sustainable criteria. The criteria are clear, easy to implement, and allow the team to work at their own pace and focus on their areas of interest. Teams receive ongoing support and resources from the Office of Sustainability and trained student volunteers. Teams are also encouraged to visit the Green Impact Resources Site for additional tools for completing the program; https://sites.google.com/site/macewangi/green-impact-resources.
After the toolkits are submitted, trained student volunteers audit departments to ensure validity of toolkit submissions. Following audits, awards ('working towards', bronze, silver and gold) are presented to those who have completed the criteria to recognize their efforts and positive contributions to campus sustainability.
As a result of the pilot, 14 teams of staff and faculty completed nearly 700 actions with the support of 22 trained student volunteers. MacEwan University will continue its partnership with NUS and SAMU to deliver the Green Impact initiative in the 2014/2015 academic year.
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.