Michigan State University
EN-7: Employee Orientation

Michigan State University has two tiers of orientation, one received at the University level through central Human Resources, and a department-level orientation administered through the units. New faculty receive an orientation through the Faculty and Organizational Development (FOD) Office. A resource fair is part of this orientation and MSU Sustainability always has a table there. The Green Certification program identified a best practice of including sustainability in department level orientations. Last year, 89 departments earned this certification, so it can be inferred that most of these departments incorporated sustainability into new employee orientations. For example the division of Residential and Hospitality Services, one of the largest units on campus (800 full-time, 600 part-time employees, and 3,300 students on an annual basis) has a robust sustainability orientation including videos, presentations, and tours. Faculty and Organizational Development work with the Office of Campus Sustainability and the Environmental Studies and Policy Program (ESPP) to give new faculty information. Sustainability resources are distributed at a new faculty resource fair. FOD also distributes reusable bags and uses the Be Spartan Green logo on their communications reinforce sustainable practices at MSU.