Stanford University
EN-9: Staff Professional Development

The Cardinal Green Training Series was launched in 2012 through the university’s AXESS/STARS system. Available to all Stanford staff and faculty, the training courses provide a hands-on exploration of conservation measures and best practices at Stanford. Delivering formal training to the Stanford community was one of the key actions identified through the Sustainability 3.0 strategic planning process completed in 2012. The Cardinal Green training courses are offered seasonally, in partnership with related Cardinal Green campaigns. Currently available Cardinal Green training modules include: (1) SST 1000: Sustainable Office Spaces - Offered in Fall Quarter This session provides a hands-on demonstration of how Stanford's Cardinal Green Office Program can help lead workplaces to greater resource conservation. Employees will learn how to "green" their individual workspace and gain strategies to create a sustainable office environment for their group or building. (2) SST 2000: Best Practices in Waste Reduction - Offered in Winter Quarter Employees will learn about reducing their waste impact and becoming leaders in their workplaces. This course demonstrates best practices in waste reduction through the 5R's (reduce, reuse, recycle, rot, rebuy) in order to help jumpstart improvements in employee workplaces. The Office of Sustainability has also partnered with BeWell to offer the Sustainable Stanford Training Series as BeWell berry-eligible courses under the Environmental Health berry category, meaning that taking these sustainability classes contributes toward the $100 cash incentive that employees receive for doing a total of 6 wellness activities, or “berries.” A total of 135 Stanford faculty and staff attended the Cardinal Green trainings in the 2015-16 academic year. There are also other training opportunities within the BeWell Environmental Health category that are both sustainability-related and berry-eligible, including biking classes and electric vehicle information sessions led by Parking & Transportation Services, active transportation counseling through the Health Improvement Program, trainings on proper waste sorting techniques led by PSSI, and several food-related trainings led by Stanford Dining (which are often included in BeWell’s Nutrition category, rather than Environmental Health). A total of 85 BeWell participants earned a berry in the Environmental Health category in the 2015-16 academic year out of 4,448 participants.

Stanford’s STAP program provides reimbursement for tuition, registration fees and required textbooks for any training activity directly related to employees’ jobs or career development efforts. Each employee is eligible for $800 in STAP funds to use throughout the course of each year. Of course, these funds are not required to be used on sustainability topics, but many Stanford professionals use them on Stanford Continuing Studies courses, Center for Professional Development courses, and other classes and certifications related to sustainability. While it is not permitted for STAP funds to cover test fees, they do cover study materials and courses, so Stanford employees can also use STAP funds to earn LEED or other professional accreditations. More information on the STAP program is available at: https://cardinalatwork.stanford.edu/learn-grow/tuition-training-assistance/staff-training-assistance-program. Stanford also hosts conferences and symposia through various internal and external sponsors. Internally, the Global Climate and Energy Program holds a symposium each fall, the Precourt Energy Efficiency Center holds the Silicon Valley Energy Summit each spring, and the TomKat Center hosts the Connecting the Dots Summit each April (in 2016, this was hosted in conjunction with the Office of Sustainability's Celebrating Sustainability event). External conferences related to sustainability are also often held on campus. For instance, Lucid held its 2015 user summit at the Knight Management Center, and SunPower hosted a Renewable Energy Symposium on campus in April 2016, both supported by the Office of Sustainability.