| Overall Rating | Gold - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 66.93 |
| Liaison | Kelly Wellman |
| Submission Date | Dec. 20, 2016 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Texas A&M University
EN-5: Outreach Campaign
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
4.00 / 4.00 |
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? :
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?:
Name of the campaign:
A brief description of the campaign, including how students and/or employees were engaged:
Fall 2015 marked the 7th ResLife Sustainability Challenge in which residence halls across campus compete to see who can use the least amount of energy over a designated time frame, as well as provide opportunities for students to engage in sustainability themed events across campus for a month long challenge. Utilities and Energy Services (UES), Residence Life, the Office of Sustainability, Transpotation Services, and Dining work hand in hand to develop and implement this successful outreach and education campaign. Last year, each residence hall's water bottle filling station numbers were collected by the Aggie Eco-Reps to illustrate diverted plastic water bottles saved, sustainable bulletin boards were created and posted in the residence halls, several new events were sponsored ("Chill and Charge" - using solar panel chargers to allow students to charge their devices while learning about sustainable practice in the residence halls & "Project Clean Plate" - Aggie Eco-Reps in partnership with Dining Services diverted approximately 2,000 lbs. of plate scraps at the Sbisa Dining Hall to compost efforts on campus to illustrate the importance of not overeating/placing uneaten food in the trash). Additionally, we continued our partnership with UES to track energy consumption in each residence hall over the challenge.
A brief description of the measured positive impact(s) of the campaign:
To measure the impact of this program UES tracked utilities use in comparison to last year’s usage in each hall. Additionally, students received points for their hall by participating in a range of learning activities and service opportunities. Our efforts were featured in the student newspaper and in local media outlets around the Bryan/College Station community.
The website URL where information about the campaign is available:
Name of the campaign (2nd campaign):
A brief description of the campaign, including how students and/or employees were engaged (2nd campaign):
The Sustainable Office Certification (SOC) Program’s goal is to help make Texas A&M’s faculty and staff more aware of sustainable practices that can be easily incorporated into everyday life, while collectively reducing TAMU's footprint. Each office that participates in the SOC has the opportunity to fulfill qualifications ranging from easy tasks to more in depth responsibilities and be rewarded with a Sustainability Certificate at the appropriate level. Office audits take place once every two years, by Office of Sustainability interns. Offices that wish to increase their score can resubmit their application at any time and an audit will be completed before any changes are made to their level of certification. Offices are required to resubmit their applications every four years to keep their certification valid. Any office that is willing to participate can submit an application form, found online.
A brief description of the measured positive impact(s) of the campaign (2nd campaign):
To date, nine offices have been officially certified and one other office is in the process of completing the certification process.
The website URL where information about the campaign is available (2nd campaign):
A brief description of other sustainability-related outreach campaigns, including measured positive impacts:
Office of Sustainability interns created an outreach campaign directed at the campus population that educated participants about local and global water issues. The campaign was dubbed, "Make the Switch - Ditch Disposable," and encouraged people to stop using disposable water bottles and use reusable instead, while providing environmental, economic, and social reasons why they should make this change. The campaign was multifaceted and incorporated interactive activities, tabling events, presentations, guerilla outreach, a video, and a social media campaign. During outreach participants were incentivized with a Office of Sustainability reusable bottle for completing certain activities or for attending a larger presentation. Interns distributed ~400 bottles to the campus community.
The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
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.