University of California, San Diego
EN-5: Outreach Campaign

Every year UC San Diego organizes a series of events during April reaching out students, staff and faculty to educate and engage them in sustainability. Events include a sustainability fair with tables of student organizations, departments, and local vendors sharing information, games and fun ways to be more sustainable in their homes, residence halls, offices and departments; film showings; luncheons; and the annual UCSD Sustainability Awards honoring individuals, vendors, offices/departments, and those certified in UCSD's Green Office and Green Labs programs that year.

Attendance is tracked at events, and increases are seen award nominations, award ceremony attendance, social media like's/follows/shares, and newsletter signup's.

In the fall of 2015, all UC faculty, staff and students were invited to participate in the Cool Campus Challenge — a friendly and fun 10-week competition aimed at reducing UC’s carbon footprint and creating a culture of sustainability across campuses. the Cool Campus Challenge (CCC) engaged nearly 20,000 staff, students and faculty at the University of California (UC) in an online pledge campaign aimed at reducing UC’s carbon footprint and creating a culture of sustainability across campuses. The program was funded by UC’s Carbon Neutrality Initiative, which calls for the UC system to be carbon neutral from building energy use and fleet operations by 2025. From October 6 to December 10, 2015, all UC faculty, staff, and students were invited to learn more about their carbon footprints on campus and at home and then pledge to complete actions that prevent greenhouse gas emissions. Participants also earned points for related actions such as uploading stories and photos about pledges they took, nominating a campus colleague as a climate hero, attending campus sustainability events, and inviting friends to participate in the challenge. The program was supported by a gamified website, twice-weekly emails, and outreach efforts and events on campuses. The UC anticipates running a shorter online competition expanded to include activities focused on not only carbon neutrality but also zero waste, water conservation, and sustainable food, during winter 2019.

Program participants saved an estimated 7,000 metric tons annually of greenhouse gas emissions from new actions and 15,000 metric tons from maintaining existing actions. A participant survey revealed that the primary motivations of participants were to improve their campus, work toward common goals, and improve the environment. There is evidence that participants will maintain their greenhouse gas reducing actions beyond the challenge. Over 70% of participant survey respondents reported that they anticipate continuing the actions pledged during the challenge for 6 months or more. The program is one of the first system-wide engagement campaigns to involve staff, faculty, and students. Its success demonstrates the importance of building a lasting culture of sustainability as a key component of meeting an ambitious goal like carbon neutrality. Staff engagement in particular is critically important, and the challenge succeeded in engaging approximately 8% of staff across the system.

Cool Campus Challenge contact: Sara McKinstry