| Overall Rating | Platinum |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 88.80 |
| Liaison | Richard Demerjian |
| Submission Date | Aug. 11, 2021 |
University of California, Irvine
EN-7: Employee Educators Program
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.73 / 3.00 |
Carrie
Metzgar Sustainability and Planning Analyst Campus Physical and Environmental Planning |
Total number of employees:
Total number of employees served by a peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education program:
Percentage of employees served by a peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education program:
Name of the employee educators program (1st program):
A brief description of the employee educators program (1st program):
In support of campus sustainable transportation objectives to increase alternative transportation use, UCI Transportation & Distribution Services hosts the BikeUCI Ambassadors program. This multifaceted program, a first of its kind for any university in California, aims to increase peer-to-peer understanding of essential cycling skills, safety trainings, and campus bicycle infrastructure. League Cycling Instructors from UCI Transportation & Distribution Services provide opportunities for campus representatives to become "Smart Cyclist" certified, demonstrating their knowledge of cycling skills and safety. Smart Cyclists are then encouraged to join the Bike UCI Ambassadors program. BikeUCI Ambassadors help to address the five “E’s” of a Bicycle Friendly University: Engineering, Education, Encouragement, Enforcement, and Education, which earned UCI a Platinum-level Bicycle Friendly University certification in 2019.
BikeUCI Ambassadors educate their campus peers about the essentials of cycling by volunteering at several campus biking and transportation festivals, such as WhimCycle and uciRIDEtoberfest. Ambassadors also volunteer on campuswide campaigns, such as BEEP (Bicycle Education & Enforcement Program), where Ambassadors help to register bicycles for free, show campus riders how to safely and securely lock their bikes, and provide information about safe riding and how to avoid conflicts with vehicles and pedestrians.
BikeUCI Ambassadors directly targets the entire campus community through these events and campuswide emails. This program has greatly contributed to the growth of UCI's biking community, with staff and faculty being among the most involved.
A brief description of the employee educators program’s target audience (1st program):
The entire campus community (students, staff, faculty, and alumni)
Number of trained employee educators (1st program):
Number of weeks the employee educators program is active annually (1st program):
Average or expected number of hours worked weekly per trained employee educator (1st program):
Total number of hours worked annually by trained employee educators (1st program):
Website URL where information about the employee educators program is available (1st program) :
Name of the employee educators program (2nd program):
A brief description of the employee educators program (2nd program):
The UCI Green Labs Program provides tools and resources for faculty, staff, and students working in campus laboratories to improve sustainable practices. This includes topics such as energy, water, green chemistry, waste management, and field work. As part of this program, laboratory representatives (ie: the principal investigator) serve as the “sustainability leader” for their lab and are provided information from campus sustainability staff about sustainable practices. Labs typically have one or two employee representatives to guide the peer-to-peer education.
The laboratory representative(s) then takes this information and educates and communicates with their peers (within their own labs and departmental labs) about how to implement and practice more sustainable actions and become involved in campus sustainability initiatives. Lab groups then make this an ongoing part of their research, discussing and learning about sustainability during their weekly group meetings and daily research practice. Participating labs who demonstrate improved sustainability receive official UCI Green Labs certification. This peer-to-peer approach is an integral component of the program.
A brief description of the employee educators program’s target audience (2nd program):
All researchers working in wet labs on campus (students, staff, and faculty)
Number of trained employee educators (2nd program):
Number of weeks the employee educators program is active annually (2nd program):
Average or expected number of hours worked weekly per trained employee educator (2nd program):
Total number of hours worked annually by trained employee educators (2nd program):
Website URL where information about the employee educators program is available (2nd program):
A brief description of all other employee peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education programs:
Additional Employee Peer-to-Peer Sustainability and Outreach and Education Programs:
1) UCI WELLNESS AMBASSADOR
UCI Wellness Ambassadors are volunteers that help create a culture of whole-person wellness within the workplace by promoting participation and engagement in Wellness programs, services, and events to all campus employees. It is an annual program, which includes monthly newsletter updates and four quarterly meetings each year plus additional time spent locally promoting and coordinating wellness programs. UCI Wellness Ambassadors encourage campus participation to their peers in several ongoing sustainability-related opportunities and initiatives, such as campus nature walks, yoga in the park, sustainability staff training, sustainable infrastructure, sustainable dining options, and more. Communications take place via campuswide emails, departmental meetings, and departmental emails. Currently, there are 150 Wellness Ambassadors who represent the majority of campus departments.
The role of UCI Wellness Ambassadors:
-- Promote UCI HR Wellness programs, resources, and events within their department or work unit
-- Coordinate strategic wellness efforts within their department or work unit
-- Attend quarterly Wellness Ambassador virtual meetings
-- Serve as a liaison for the UCI HR Wellness Program
-- Gain professional development and skill building in communication, facilitation, and marketing
For more information, visit: http://www.wellness.uci.edu/ambassador.html
- Number of trained employee educators: 150 employees
- Number of weeks the employee educators program is active annually: 50 weeks (not including winter holiday breaks)
- Average or expected number of hours worked weekly per trained employee educator: 1 hour
- Total number of hours worked annually by trained employee educators: 7,500 hours
2) PEER-TO-PEER CAMPUS RECYCLING PROGRAM
UCI's Peer-to-Peer Campus Recycling Program is an ongoing program developed by UCI recycling staff who provide regular training, education and other tools to representatives in buildings throughout the campus regarding recycling best practices and procedures. These representatives then serve as recycling champions to communicate information and tools provided to them to inform their fellow peers in support of UCI recycling program resources and practices. Building representatives receive education through semi-annual training sessions, field visits, and follow-up communications from UCI recycling staff. UCI's peer-to-peer recycling education program has resulted in UCI achieving one of the highest waste diversion rates of any US campus.
For more information, visit: http://sustainability.uci.edu/portfolio-items/waste-management/
-- Number of trained employee educators: 15 employees
-- Number of weeks the employee educators program is active annually: 50 weeks (not including winter holiday breaks)
-- Average or expected number of hours worked weekly per trained employee educator: 1 hour
-- Total number of hours worked annually by trained employee educators: 750 hours
3) Green Office Certification Program
The UCI Green Office Certification Program is a campuswide, points-based program that certifies and awards departments for their sustainable practices. The program is designed to allow departments the ability to evaluate their current practices, set goals, and receive recognition for their sustainable practices. The program provides guidance from campus sustainability professionals for energy efficiency as well as waste minimization, water conservation, and sustainable transportation. Each participating office creates a Green Team, a group of employees serving as sustainability leaders for their units. The Green Team then educates their peers about how to practice and incorporate sustainability into the workplace. The program is targeted to all campus departments and offices.
- Number of trained employee educators: 5 employees
- Number of weeks the employee educators program is active annually: 50 weeks (not including winter holiday breaks)
- Average or expected number of hours worked weekly per trained employee educator: 1 hour
- Total number of hours worked annually by trained employee educators: 250 hours
For more, visit: https://sites.google.com/uci.edu/ucigreenoffice/home
Number of trained employee educators (all other programs):
Number of weeks, on average, the employee educators programs are active annually (all other programs):
Average or expected number of hours worked weekly per trained employee educator (all other programs):
Total number of hours worked annually by trained employee educators (all other programs):
Grand total number of hours worked annually by trained employee educators (all programs):
Hours worked annually by trained employee sustainability educators per employee served by a peer-to-peer program:
Website URL where information about the employee sustainability educators programs is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Employee headcount was not carried over from PRE-5 (10,479) due to that number reflecting 2019-2020. For purposes of this credit, UCI elected to provide program data and information from the most recent year (2020-2021). The total employee headcount was 11,286. UCI is pleased to demonstrate that even in the midst of an unusual year, peer-to-peer employee programs continued to take place.
As described above, UCI implements several employee educator programs to expand the reach of campus sustainability to all employees. UCI sustainability professionals provide training to employees who then use those tools to educate their peers on important campus sustainability initiatives and practices. This collaborative approach allows UCI's limited number sustainability staff to achieve greater results than would occur from traditional one-on-one or group training.
All campus employees (faculty and staff) are served by the combination of peer-to-peer sustainability programs listed above due to campuswide communications (ZotMails, UCI social media, daily UCI announcement emails, etc.), campuswide events (virtual and in-person), and targeted departmental communications.
The information in this credit was provided by:
Erika Hennon
Acting Sustainable Programs Supervisor
Transportation & Distribution Services
Carrie Metzgar
Sustainability & Planning Analyst
Campus Physical and Environmental Planning
Dyan Hall
Engagement & Wellness Specialist
UCI Human Resources: Wellness
Anne Krieghoff
Sustainability Program Manager
Facilities Management
Employee headcount was not carried over from PRE-5 (10,479) due to that number reflecting 2019-2020. For purposes of this credit, UCI elected to provide program data and information from the most recent year (2020-2021). The total employee headcount was 11,286. UCI is pleased to demonstrate that even in the midst of an unusual year, peer-to-peer employee programs continued to take place.
As described above, UCI implements several employee educator programs to expand the reach of campus sustainability to all employees. UCI sustainability professionals provide training to employees who then use those tools to educate their peers on important campus sustainability initiatives and practices. This collaborative approach allows UCI's limited number sustainability staff to achieve greater results than would occur from traditional one-on-one or group training.
All campus employees (faculty and staff) are served by the combination of peer-to-peer sustainability programs listed above due to campuswide communications (ZotMails, UCI social media, daily UCI announcement emails, etc.), campuswide events (virtual and in-person), and targeted departmental communications.
The information in this credit was provided by:
Erika Hennon
Acting Sustainable Programs Supervisor
Transportation & Distribution Services
Carrie Metzgar
Sustainability & Planning Analyst
Campus Physical and Environmental Planning
Dyan Hall
Engagement & Wellness Specialist
UCI Human Resources: Wellness
Anne Krieghoff
Sustainability Program Manager
Facilities Management
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.