Stanford University
EN-6: Assessing Sustainability Culture

A growing emphasis on sustainability as a campus priority has led to the inclusion of sustainability questions in the annual student housing survey. The annual student dining survey also includes value-based sustainability questions. For both surveys, the questions were originally developed in 2013 during monthly sustainability staff meetings. The questions in the student housing survey were developed with the intention of utilizing students’ knowledge of sustainability topics as well as personal values and experiences to enhance Stanford’s Student Housing programs. Since 2013, sustainability questions have been included annually in the Student Housing surveys, but they change slightly from year to year to focus on getting student feedback on sustainability topics that are of high priority in Student Housing throughout that year. Similarly, the questions in the student dining surveys were primarily developed to gain a better understanding of the value students place on sustainable food in order to inform the actions of the Stanford Dining program. These questions are now included in the survey annually and have not changed significantly over time.

R&DE Student Housing initially included the following question in its annual student housing survey in Fall 2013: “R&DE Student Housing is looking to enhance sustainability and conservation efforts. What opportunities do you think exist for Housing as a whole and/or within your specific community, and what programs would you like to see offered?” Additionally, R&DE Stanford Dining includes the following sustainability questions in its annual survey: (A) Using a scale of 1 - 4, where 4 is most important, please rate the importance to you of the following: (1) eating food that is locally grown or raised (2) composting your food scraps (3) eating grass-fed or pasture-raised meat (4) eating a more plant-based diet (5) eating food that is grown or raised on small family farms (6) eating humanely raised meat, eggs, and dairy products (7) "fairly traded" products (B) The following six questions will ask you to rate the importance of various characteristics of the food you eat. Using a scale of 1 - 4, where 4 is most important, please rate the importance to you of the following: (1) taste and aroma (2) speed and convenience (3) appearance (4) environmental impact (5) social impact (6) familiarity (C) The following five questions will ask you to rate how important various issues are to you, compared to other things in your life. Using a scale of 1 - 4, where 4 is most important, compared to other things in your life, how important is: (1) eating a healthful diet (2) staying physically fit (3) environmental sustainability (4) animal rights (5) social justice

An annual student housing survey is sent to all graduate and undergraduate students who reside on-campus, which is about 70% of the enrolled student body. Both the housing and dining questions were administered electronically via online surveys.

The surveys were analyzed by R&DE staff to identify opportunities for program improvement and other trends in student sustainability preferences. Major themes that emerged can be characterized as follows: -- 24% of responses mentioned that convenience enhances/facilitates adoption of sustainable behaviors -- 28% of responses mentioned a strong desire for more outreach/education from R&DE -- 23% of students consider themselves self-motivated with respect to sustainability -- composting was frequently mentioned as a priority and personally important, and the new composting program in graduate housing was mentioned explicitly Student Housing has since launched a comprehensive composting program throughout student residences, where compost is collected not only from kitchens but also from bathrooms. This program has now been rolled out with appropriate signage in several dorms, with low contamination rates and a very high percentage of bathroom paper towels now being composted. Student Housing will continue to expand this program in the coming years and has focused questions in subsequent student surveys on other waste issues, since our survey data shows that this is a topic in which students are particularly interested.