| Overall Rating | Gold - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 70.59 |
| Liaison | Daryl Pierson |
| Submission Date | June 27, 2017 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Portland State University
EN-5: Outreach Campaign
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
4.00 / 4.00 |
Amanda
Wolf Program + Assessment Coordinator Campus Sustainability Office |
Has the institution held at least one sustainability-related outreach campaign during the previous three years that was directed at students and yielded measurable, positive results in advancing sustainability? :
Has the institution held at least one sustainability-related outreach campaign during the previous three years that was directed at employees and yielded measurable, positive results in advancing sustainability?:
Name of the campaign:
A brief description of the campaign, including how students and/or employees were engaged:
Campus Conservation Nationals (CCN) is the largest nationwide electricity and water reduction competition on college and university campuses. PSU has hosted a challenge since winter 2011 and joined the national CCN campaign in winter 2013. As of winter 2015, all ten PSU residence halls will compete to reduce electricity and water usage.
EcoReps hosted events for student residents such as a candlelight dinner in Victor’s dining hall, Logical Laundry, Conservation Conversation with tea and snacks, an e-waste drive, and many others. Partnerships with other student organizations were formed and strengthened through event co-sponsorship.
Baseline water and electricity usage data were submitted for a 2-week period preceding the competition window, and then weekly electricity and water meter readings were put into an online dashboard provided by CCN for each of the three competition weeks.
PSU placed within the top 10 nationally for energy reduction during the winter 2014 competition.
****
Recyclemania Campaign:
Brief description of the campaign:
PSU participates in a variety of campaigns, as you will read about in the other credit forms. We have chosen to focus on our recycling campaign for this credit. If more information is needed to receive full points, we can provide additional information.
PSU enters the Recyclemania competition (www.recyclemania.com) each year. This is a ten-week competition between universities across the country to see who can collect the largest amounts of recyclables, the least amount of trash, and achieve higher recycling rates. The competition included the entire campus, and outreach happened through weekly updates in the campus newspaper, tabling, themed events, websites, residence hall and dining specific outreach, sharing results and tips, and other means to target behavior change in regards to recycling and waste minimization.
A brief description of the measured positive impact(s) of the campaign:
Campus Conservation Nationals:
http://www.pdx.edu/sustainability/news/green-campus-spotlight-conserving-win
Student-led programming in the 3 participating residence halls yielded the following reductions, compared to the baseline period:
Number of kWh saved:
1st: Broadway 17,933 kWh 11% reduction
2nd: Ondine 4,869 kWh 6.6% reduction
3rd: Stephen Epler 1,044 kWh 4.6% reduction
Total 23,906 kWh | 10,900 lbs CO2 | $1,912
Number of gallons of water saved:
1st: Stephen Epler 45,650 gallons 18.9% reduction
2nd: Ondine 20,160 gallons 2.9% reduction
3rd: Broadway 9793 gallons 1.8% increase
Total 56,018 | $854.60
Recyclemania:
Recyclemania increased awareness of the recycling and waste management programs on campus, how to recycle correctly, and how to produce less waste on campus. Open reporting of results and data were made available to the campus community. The entire student population as well as staff and faculty participated. We finished 45th out of 148 universities in the Waste Minimization category with an average of 34.8 pounds of waste generated per person over the 10 week competition. That represents a reduction in per capita waste generation of 11.13 lbs from the 2007-08 campaign. We also finished 41st in Food Service Organics standings with 2.38 pounds of organics composted per person.
The website URL where information about the campaign is available:
Name of the campaign (2nd campaign):
A brief description of the campaign, including how students and/or employees were engaged (2nd campaign):
A survey was sent to every department at Portland State University that outlined best practices in:
-energy and water
-conservation
-transportation
-waste pervention
-purchasing
-event planning
Over 40 departments completed the survey. The Campus Sustainability Office met with departments who completed the survey providing information and resources for departments to improve their ratings.
A brief description of the measured positive impact(s) of the campaign (2nd campaign):
Areas that we have seen successful change:
-Recycling and composting
-Healthy offices
-Energy conservation
-Event Planning
The website URL where information about the campaign is available (2nd campaign):
A brief description of other sustainability-related outreach campaigns, including measured positive impacts:
"Enrollment Management and Student Affairs (EMSA) division-wide sustainability initiative:
Over forty departments participated in a year-long professional development and departmental practices initiative within EMSA. A baseline survey was taken by all departmental coordinators and directors. The winter division-wide meeting focused on sustainability, and other professional development was offered. In addition, an online resource guide was developed and shared. At the completion of the initiative, each departmental head took the survey again. Positive changes were measured in many measured categories.
PSU encourges student to participate every year in the fall EcoChallenge hosted by the Northwest Earth Institute"
The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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.