| Overall Rating | Silver |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 54.99 |
| Liaison | Katherine Spector |
| Submission Date | March 5, 2021 |
State University of New York at Oswego
EN-5: Outreach Campaign
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
4.00 / 4.00 |
Jonathan
Mills Administrator Sustainability Office |
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?:
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?:
Name of the campaign:
A brief description of the campaign:
Starting in 2019, SUNY Oswego teamed up with TerraCycle, a private U.S. recycling company headquartered out of New Jersey, to re-direct used writing utensils out of the waste stream and give them a second life. Students in the technology courses at SUNY Oswego made a total of 212 small collection boxes that were distributed throughout classrooms and offices to capture all utensil waste. Any utensils collected were consolidated into the TerraCycle boxes and shipped to the headquarters and recycled.
https://www.oswego.edu/news/story/college-marks-new-recycling-opportunity-writing-utensils
A brief description of the measured positive impact(s) of the campaign:
Since the launch of the program, SUNY Oswego has managed to divert over 10,000 worn-out utensils from the waste stream to be recycled.
Name of the campaign (2nd campaign):
A brief description of the campaign (2nd campaign):
Despite the Office of Sustainability already having a protocol for unplugging and powering down before an extended leave, many other unanticipated challenges arose from the impact of COVID-19. Including the measures to take when having to power down an operating laboratory on short-notice, with consideration for safety and energy-saving opportunities being the most important.
With guidance from the Cornell University Office of Sustainability's protocol, our Office of Sustianability was able to compile our own checklist that included information that applied to our own practices and protocols. Included in this checklist was a reminder for ways students are supposed to "shut down" their dorm rooms before leaving for breaks/remote learning, as well as revised laboratory powering down guidelines with facts about how much energy some of the equipment uses when not being used during these slow-traffic times.
Assessment of Initiative by Facilities is as follows:
-We used 9.6% less electricity from 1/1/21 - 1/11/21 compared to the same time frame from the previous year.
-We used 3.1% less electricity during the Holiday Savings Initiative (12/21/2020 - 1/11/2021) compared to the 3 weeks before the initiative.
-We used 10.9% less electricity during the HSI compared to the 19 days after the initiative
A brief description of the measured positive impact(s) of the campaign (2nd campaign):
The positive impacts measured from the recent release of our initiative guidelines were that many students and faculty members were able to properly close down their offices and dorm rooms at the end of the Fall 2020 semester. And, those that were previously unaware of the protocols now had access to the information and can now save energy during these breaks.
A brief description of other sustainability-related outreach campaigns:
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.