Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 80.45
Liaison Tori Grant
Submission Date Dec. 13, 2018
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

University of Calgary
EN-6: Assessing Sustainability Culture

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 1.00 Tori Grant
Advisor, Operational Sustainability
Office of Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution conduct an assessment of sustainability culture (i.e. the assessment focuses on sustainability values, behaviors and beliefs, and may also address awareness of campus sustainability initiatives)?:
Yes

Which of the following best describes the cultural assessment? The assessment is administered to::
The entire campus community (students, staff and faculty), directly or by representative sample

Which of the following best describes the structure of the cultural assessment? The assessment is administered::
Longitudinally to measure change over time

A brief description of how and when the cultural assessment(s) were developed and/or adopted:

The Office of Sustainability, in collaboration with the Academic Coordinator for Sustainability, designed a Sustainability Literacy Survey and Cultural Assessment during the summer of 2015. This survey built on a survey conducted on campus in 2013 as well as the research conducted at the University of Michigan through its Sustainability Cultural Indicators Program. The resulting instrument was administered to undergraduate and graduate students in September 2015 with a follow-up conducted in March 2016.

In summer 2018 the cultural assessment was revisited and the questions were updated to better reflect programs that are present at the University of Calgary. The content of these survey questions was also updated to better align with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals.


A copy or sample of the questions related to sustainability culture:
A sample of the questions related to sustainability culture or the website URL where the assessment tool is available:

See document above.


A brief description of how representative samples were reached (if applicable) and how the cultural assessment is administered:

The survey was completed by 1386 respondents in September 2015, 1211 respondents in March 2016 and 928 respondents in October 2018 via an online platform. The 10-minute survey was advertised through channels on-campus such as the University website, student portals, social media, events and newsletters. An incentive of a gift card was offered. Students were asked to identify their faculty and year of study.

Although these surveys were predominantly pushed to students, staff and faculty members were not excluded from completing the survey. A follow-up to the October 2018 survey is planned for spring 2019.


A brief summary of results from the cultural assessment, including a description of any measurable changes over time:

In all surveys conducted (2015, 2016 and 2018), it can be seen that the majority of campus finds sustainability topics important or very important. They also assess themselves as familiar or very familiar with sustainability overall. Specifically, from the most recent survey, over 50% of the respondents strongly agree that sustainability is important to them and perceives it is as important to the University.


The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
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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.