Michigan State University
ER-2: Student Sustainability Outreach Campaign

The Green Certification program is designed to recognize, assist, and promote students and units that are taking steps toward reducing their environmental footprint. Students and units demonstrate their commitment through initiatives for communication and education, energy efficiency and conservation, waste reduction and recycling, water conservation, and procurement. Green Certification seeks to motivate environmentally friendly behaviors by providing definitive guidelines and reducing confusion about best practices. Applications for the Fall 2010-Spring 2011 year opened on Campus Sustainability Day, October 20, 2010 and certifications will be recognized on April 19, 2011 during the university’s sustainability week. There are five categories of certification including: offices, information technology spaces, science laboratories, kitchens and campus living spaces. Campus living spaces include both a selection for individuals living in Residence Halls or University Apartments called the Student Green Pledge and a Residence Hall Mentor checklist for certification of entire floors in Residence Halls or University Apartments. Inclusion of campus living spaces in the Green Certification program initiates student involvement in the larger campus community’s commitment to sustainability. Promotion through active engagement of resident mentors fosters individual participation and community building incentives in environmental stewardship.

Last year, the “campus living spaces “ category, which applied to students, did not include either of the student green pledge or residence hall mentor checklist options. As a result of low application rates, less than 10 applicants, the Office of Campus Sustainability and the Residence Life’s Sustainability committee worked in collaboration to improve the level of student engagement. Their collaboration resulted in the addition of the student pledge and the residence hall mentor checklist. As a result, 12 residence hall floors earned Green Certification and 57 student pledges were received.