Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 67.47
Liaison Aaron Klemm
Submission Date Aug. 26, 2016
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

San Jose State University
EN-4: Outreach Materials and Publications

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.00 / 2.00 Katherine Cushing
Director of Sustainability
Office of the President
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution produce the following outreach materials and/or publications that foster sustainability learning and knowledge? :
Yes or No
A central sustainability website that consolidates information about the institution’s sustainability efforts Yes
A sustainability newsletter Yes
Social media platforms that focus specifically on campus sustainability Yes
A vehicle to publish and disseminate student research on sustainability No
Building signage that highlights green building features Yes
Food service area signage and/or brochures that include information about sustainable food systems Yes
Signage on the grounds about sustainable groundskeeping and/or landscaping strategies employed Yes
A sustainability walking map or tour Yes
A guide for commuters about how to use alternative methods of transportation Yes
Navigation and educational tools for bicyclists and pedestrians Yes
A guide for green living and incorporating sustainability into the residential experience Yes
Regular coverage of sustainability in the main student newspaper, either through a regular column or a reporter assigned to the sustainability beat ---
Other sustainability publications or outreach materials not covered above Yes

A brief description of the central sustainability website:

This is the campus sustainability website. It has information about all sustainability activities on campus and links the Facilities and Operations sustainability programs and future plans as well as the Campus As a Living Lab CSU grant program and related projects as well as Spartan Shops and Dining Services Sustainability information.


The website URL for the central sustainability website:
A brief description of the sustainability newsletter:

The SJSU newsletter is sent out in electronic form at least once per month. Student can sign up to receive the newsletter, but the listserve also includes faculty and staff. Approximately 1,500 students, faculty, and staff receive this communication. Topics covered range from encouraging community members to take part in University-wide sustainability programs (e.g., the Green Wave residential and office energy auditing program) to notices about sustainability-focused lectures (e.g., the Frances Moore Lappe Distinguished Lecture on on Apr 5, 2011) to job and internship openings (e.g., in the City of San Jose's Environmental Services Department or in the Office of the President's Sustainability Initiative). Last winter holiday season, listserve subscribers could get a 15% discount on live living Christmas trees.


The website URL for the sustainability newsletter:
A brief description of the social media platforms that focus specifically on campus sustainability:

The Facebook page offers students a lively place to collect information about campus-based Sustainability activities. For example on May 4, 2016, the Environmental Resource Center posted "It's almost that time of year that we leave campus for summer break! Don't be that person and throw away perfectly good items away before you leave!
Do you have unwanted clothing, small appliances, and other household appliances that you want to get rid of? Come out to the San Jose State Move Out event and drop off, OR SWAP, any items that you normally would throw away. Event details are listed in the flyer below." Ride to School day was also publicized in May along with photo and thank you's to Earth Day volunteers from the Environmental Resource Center and Associated Students.


The website URL of the primary social media platform that focuses on sustainability:
A brief description of the vehicle to publish and disseminate student research on sustainability:

N/A


The website URL for the vehicle to publish and disseminate student research on sustainability:
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A brief description of building signage that highlights green building features :

The green features of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library, as defined by the LEED certification for the Operations & Maintenance for existing buildings, and focuses on the interconnections of buildings, community and self.


The website URL for building signage that highlights green building features :
A brief description of food service area signage and/or brochures that include information about sustainable food systems:

In SJSU Dining Commons, we have an array of signage that details our Erase Waste campaign and infographics that show all the resources that go into the food that the students eat (human labor, water, greenhouse gases, etc.). In addition, we have signage that show the sustainable ingredients that go into our foods. For example, we have an infographic of a burrito that shows where each ingredient comes from or what certifications it has. We also have signage around campus advertising our reusable mug campaign, Mug Life. The Mug Life campaign offers a $0.50 discount when a student or faculty member brings a reusable mug for any beverage.


The website URL for food service area signage and/or brochures that include information about sustainable food systems:
A brief description of signage on the grounds about sustainable groundskeeping and/or landscaping strategies:

Signage around campus shows that recycled water is used on landscaping on campus. Our Landscape Master Plan detailing our drought resistant and recycled water friendly landscape is publicly available.


The website URL for signage on the grounds about sustainable groundskeeping and/or landscaping strategies:
A brief description of the sustainability walking map or tour:

We have an interactive walking tour map on our Sustainability website that was developed by students involved in a CSU funded Campus as a Living Lab project. The map is divided into sections that include: Energy Efficiency, Landscape, Recycling, Sustainability Awareness and Transportation.


The website URL of the sustainability walking map or tour:
A brief description of the guide for commuters about how to use alternative methods of transportation:

Since Transportation Solutions (TS) offers a number of services beyond unlimited access to all VTA transit, Transportation Solution's website, a brochure and a transit-oriented campus map is available for students to help them discover these resources more easily.
The brochure is an overview of the information on the website. While the brochure mentions each service provided through TS, such as carpool matching, car sharing, bay area bike share, bicycle enclosures, regional transit and discounted passes, the website provides detailed information on how to access these services and links to cost, route, and schedule information.
Both the website and the brochure explain how to acquire and how to use the Eco Pass Clipper Card. The brochure illustrates with pictures, a student using the Eco Pass Clipper Card and her SJSU Tower I.D. card to board the bus and the lightrail.
On both the website and brochure is a map of San Jose's downtown transit routes color-coded pertaining to the differentiating VTA bus and light rail lines.

The transit-oriented SJSU campus map that can be found on TS website has the campus centered between two blocks north and south, four blocks east and six blocks west of campus. Within this boundary of at least a half mile buffer of campus, are sixty-two separate light-rail station/ bus stop locations represented with a red dot. Each red dot as an caption associated with it addressing each bus or light rail stops on that particular station. The map's legend also includes for bicycle lanes, dash routes (free Downtown San Jose shuttle), disabled access, surface disabled parking zones, one way streets, gas stations, public parking zones, passenger loading zones and surface motorcycle parking.

Apart from each of these TS created materials, the campus community also has access to the eighteen bus routes that come directly to campus. These bus routes are provided by VTA and are on display at the TS customer service desk available to students all day during the hours of business. Specific regional transit brochures are also available including ACE transit (to Stockton), Highway 17 (to Santa Cruz), Monterey-Salinas Transit (MST), Caltrain, Bolt bus, and Amtrack. For services pertaining to car-pool matching, car sharing, and biking options, brochures for Zipcar (car sharing service), Scoop, Rydite, and 511.org (car-pooling services), Bay Area Bike Share and Good Karma Bikes, are also made accessible through TS's customer service counter.


The website URL for the guide for commuters about how to use alternative methods of transportation:
A brief description of the navigation and educational tools for bicyclists and pedestrians:

To accommodate bicyclists and pedestrians, TS offers a brochure titled 'Bike to SJSU" which informs bicyclists about the biking services on campus and highlights campus biking etiquette to ensure pedestrian safety.
On the first page of the brochure are 6 simple guidelines.
1) Always yield to pedestrians.
2) Ride at a safe speed of 5 mph or less
3) Be aware of others
4) Dismount bike in posted dismount zones
5) Do not ride on stairs, ramps, vegetation, etc
6) Do not lock bike to trees, poles, fences, or or handrails

The brochure lists several transit options which allow bikes on board such as VTA, Hwy 17, Caltrian, BART and ACE.
Within the brochure is a campus map illustrating where each of the six bicycle parking enclosures are located on campus. Each location is marked with a picture of a bicycle and a number that associates with the name of the particular bicycle enclosure. Included are directions on how to gain access to the free bicycle enclosure key.

The transit-oriented campus map conveying about sixty-two separate bus stop and light rail locations within a half mile of campus indicate where bicycle lanes are off campus and the location of each the six bicycle parking enclosures on campus. This enables pedestrians as well as bicyclists to have a comprehensible visualization of the downtown area and the services that are available to them within a 10 minute or less walk or bike ride.


The website URL for navigation and educational tools for bicyclists and pedestrians:
A brief description of the guide for green living and incorporating sustainability into the residential experience:

The Green Scene Guide gives students information about how to live more sustainably at SJSU. The sustainability overview- flyer were provided to all incoming freshman in the Fall 2015. The count was approximately 3200.


The website URL for the guide for green living and incorporating sustainability into the residential experience:
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A brief description of regular coverage of sustainability in the main student newspaper, either through a regular column or a reporter assigned to the sustainability beat:

The campus newspaper, The Spartan Daily, has a beat reporter assigned to cover Facilities and Operations and puts forth regular news coverages sustainability related events, such as Earth Day and Bike to School Day. Feature news stories on sustainability issues and events occur at least twice annually.


The website URL for regular coverage of sustainability in the main student newspaper, either through a regular column or a reporter assigned to the sustainability beat:
A brief description of another sustainability publication or outreach material not covered above (1st material):

The Environmentally Preferable Purchasing (EPP) Guidelines brochure/handout developed by the Office of the President and Purchasing serves as a green buying resource for Office Administrators, Department Chairs, and others with procurement authority. It defines what EPP is and outlines what policies the CSU and the University have in place that encourages and supports EPP. It also provides users with contact information on green services they can use to reduce the University's ecological footprint through activities such as reusing existing furniture instead of buying new, how to search for green office products using the online Office Max system, and where to bring e-waste for proper disposal.


The website URL for this material (1st material):
Does the institution produce another sustainability publication or outreach material not covered above? (2nd material):
Yes

A brief description of this material (2nd material):

Sustainable Facilities Development & Operations – PowerPoint Overview. Campus Operations has long been involved in projects to make SJSU a more sustainable environment. This is an overview covering the many sustainability efforts of the San Jose State Facilities Development and Operations team, ranging from monitoring-based commissioning at the building level, to LEED certification for the new Student Union, to the conversion of the main campus to recycled water for irrigation.


The website URL for this material (2nd material):
Does the institution produce another sustainability publication or outreach material not covered above? (3rd material):
Yes

A brief description of this material (3rd material):

Published Sustainability Courses and Degree Programs Guide: San Jose State has over 300 courses and academic resources available on the sustainability homepage.


The website URL for this material (3rd material):
Does the institution produce another sustainability publication or outreach material not covered above? (4th material):
Yes

A brief description of this material (4th material):

Staff writers in SJSU University Advancement regularly cover sustainability stories, which are disseminated through the SJSU Today blog and Annual Reports for both internal and external audiences. There is a special "tag" for sustainability-focused stories that enables readers to easily find stories on this subject. For example, SJSU's volunteer work at Coyote Creek was featured here: http://blogs.sjsu.edu/newsroom/2015/students-and-faculty-members-recognized-for-environmental-effort/" and posted in May 2016. Another example is "http://blogs.sjsu.edu/academicaffairs/2015/09/08/grants-green-ninja-project-receives-1-1-million-from-nsf/"


The website URL for this material (4th material):
Does the institution produce another sustainability publication or outreach material not covered above? (5th material):
Yes

A brief description of this material (5th material):

The project builds on the established Green Ninja Project, an SJSU initiative that develops media to inspire student interest in science and the environment. The principal investigators of the $1.1 million NSF grant are SJSU professors Eugene Cordero (Meteorology and Climate Science), David Chai (Animation/Illustration), Ellen Metzger (Geology and Science Ed), Grinell Smith (Elementary Education) and Elizabeth Walsh (Meteorology and Climate Science and Science Education). More information about the project can be found at www.greenninja.org.http://blogs.sjsu.edu/academicaffairs/2015/09/08/grants-green-ninja-project-receives-1-1-million-from-nsf/
Students are involved in creating media, including videos and animation, that educates the public and other students on climate change and sustainability issues.


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Does the institution produce another sustainability publication or outreach material not covered above? (8th material):
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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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.