Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 65.17
Liaison Lisa Mitten
Submission Date March 2, 2023

STARS v2.2

State University of New York at New Paltz
EN-5: Outreach Campaign

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 4.00 / 4.00 Lisa Mitten
Campus Sustainability Coordinator
Office of Campus Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Has the institution held a sustainability-related outreach campaign during the previous three years that was directed at students and yielded measurable, positive results in advancing sustainability?:
Yes

Has the institution held a sustainability-related outreach campaign during the previous three years that was directed at employees and yielded measurable, positive results in advancing sustainability?:
Yes

1st campaign 

Name of the campaign:
Slow the Flow Save H2O in Residence Halls of 2018 and 2019

A brief description of the campaign:
In residential halls, students were challenged to participate in water conservation activities that encouraged decreasing the water usage in their daily routines over the course of 3 months in the fall of 2018 and 2019 (from October to December). These activities included showering for only 5 minutes and turning off the water when it is not in use (i.e. brushing their teeth, washing dishes, etc.). Data was collected from each residence hall and the water usage rates were compared to see which hall was able to conserve the most water.

A brief description of the measured positive impact(s) of the campaign:
Due to the Slow the Flow water conservation campaign during the fourth quarter of 2018 (October – December), the College’s water usage decreased by more than 1.5 million gallons compared to the same period in 2017, which equates to a 9.8 percent drop in overall water consumption.

if reporting an additional campaign, provide:

2nd campaign

Name of the campaign (2nd campaign):
Slow the Flow Save H2O in Residential Dining of 2018 and 2019

A brief description of the campaign (2nd campaign):
The Office of Campus Sustainability partnered with Sodexo and Campus Auxiliary Services to reduce water consumption in Peregrine Dining Hall during the construction on the Catskill Aqueduct. The campaign targeted employees of Sodexo working in Peregrine Dining Hall, the main residential dining location on campus, as well as other locations including the Student Union Building retail spaces and Catering at the Terrace.

A brief description of the measured positive impact(s) of the campaign (2nd campaign):
Water usage at Peregrine Dining Hall during the fall semester of 2019 decreased by 41% from fall 2017. A total of 815,000 gallons of water were conserved during the fall of 2019 for a total water/sewer cost avoidance of $11,764.

Additionally, due to the attention on this area, Campus Auxiliary Services upgraded the campus' main commercial dishwashing unit to be more energy and water efficient.

Optional Fields

A brief description of other sustainability-related outreach campaigns:
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
To learn more about the Slow the Flow water conservation campaign, visit this website: https://sites.newpaltz.edu/news/2019/04/slow-the-flow-campaign-update-campus-water-usage-drops-by-nearly-ten-percent/

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.