Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 58.11
Liaison Elizabeth Drake
Submission Date April 19, 2017
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Swarthmore College
EN-5: Outreach Campaign

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.00 / 4.00 Aurora Winslade
Director of Sustainability
Office of Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Has the institution held at least one 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 at least one sustainability-related outreach campaign during the previous three years that was directed at employees and yielded measurable, positive results in advancing sustainability?:
No

Name of the campaign:
Trash to Treasure

A brief description of the campaign, including how students and/or employees were engaged:

Trash to Treasures is an end of year, materials collection program that Swarthmore has been operating since 2007. Students are encouraged to donate rather than discard items, when they leave campus at the end of the year. Donated goods are sold at an extremely discounted price, proceeds go to the United Way.


A brief description of the measured positive impact(s) of the campaign:

In 2014, about 14 tons of material was diverted from the Chester, PA incinerator, where Swarthmore waste is shipped. Additionally, the highly discounted sale of the recycled materials raised approximately $20,000 for the United Way to distribute to social service agencies in Delaware County. The T2T program was done in 2015 and 2016 as well.


The website URL where information about the campaign is available:
Name of the campaign (2nd campaign):
Energy Competition

A brief description of the campaign, including how students and/or employees were engaged (2nd campaign):

Energy Competition: in Spring 2014 (and 2013) students orchestrated competitions in campus dorms to reduce electricity use. The competition lasted one week and there was a measured reduction in use (both years) when compared to previous weeks when the competition was not occurring. The 2014 competition was campus wide and better rewards were offered to the student body the more that it could manage to reduce electricity.


A brief description of the measured positive impact(s) of the campaign (2nd campaign):

Reduction was measured to be between 4 to 5%. The 2013 competition included 3 dorms and resulted in a 14%, 7%, and 6% reductions.
More than 200 students lived in these dorms and it is likely, although not measured, that their sustainability consciousness was roused by this competition.


The website URL where information about the campaign is available (2nd campaign):
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A brief description of other sustainability-related outreach campaigns, including measured positive impacts:

Sustainability Charrette.
After conducting a sustainability charrette Swarthmore established dozens of sustainability goals and objectives. One that was listed and followed up on was reducing campus car sharing. As a result the campus started a new partnership with Zipcar, Inc. and now two Zipcar cars are available on campus. The convenient transportation option is now available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for students, faculty, and staff ages 18 and older, as well as members of the local community ages 21 and over.

We're still gathering the specific utilization rate for the Zipcar program at Swarthmore, but this program has significantly increased car sharing on campus.


The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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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.