| Overall Rating | Platinum |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 86.87 |
| Liaison | Carrie Metzgar |
| Submission Date | Nov. 5, 2024 |
University of California, San Diego
EN-7: Employee Educators Program
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.56 / 3.00 |
Carrie
Metzgar Campus Sustainability Officer Utilities & Sustainability |
Part 1. Percentage of employees served by a peer-to-peer, sustainability educators program
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:
1st program
A brief description of the employee educators program (1st program):
UC San Diego's Staff Sustainability Network brings awareness, transparency and collaboration to campus sustainability efforts. The Staff Sustainability Network connects staff, students, faculty, alumni and community members with similar eco-passions. Employee educators are provided information and education during monthly group meetings. Peer-to-peer education includes conversations with staff members about how and where to recycle e-waste, pens, and batteries, and what can be recycled. It also includes a monthly newsletter and regular Instagram posts with updates on campus sustainability initiatives, San Diego-wide climate and sustainability activities, and tips from fellow staff members on how they strive to implement sustainable practices in their offices and departments. Outreach activities include campus Tree Tours with a campus arborist, a swap meet, tabling at campus-wide events such as Farmers Market and employee Wellfest. All employees are made aware of the Staff Sustainability Network within new hire materials.
A brief description of the employee educators program’s target audience (1st program):
All staff, faculty, and students at UCSD.
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) :
If reporting employees served by additional peer-to-peer programs, provide:
2nd Program
A brief description of the employee educators program (2nd program):
The UC San Diego 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 sustainable procurement. 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 UC San Diego 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 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):
If reporting employees served by more than two programs, provide:
Additional Programs
Additional Employee Peer-to-Peer Sustainability and Outreach and Education Programs:
1. TRITON CHARGERS
The Triton Chargers program is a peer-to-peer employee sustainability educators program that aims to promote electric vehicle adoption and sustainable transportation practices among UC San Diego employees and students. The program is designed to engage the campus community in sustainability efforts and provide them with opportunities to contribute to research and policy development related to EV charging and transportation. The program is open to all members of the UC San Diego community who are at least 18 years old and own an electric or plug-in hybrid vehicle. The Triton Chargers program is sponsored by several sources, including EPRI, Total Energies, and philanthropy to the Deep Decarbonization Initiative.
Participating in the Triton Chargers program offers several benefits, including:
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Concurrent enrollment in the UC San Diego EV Charging Club, which provides discounted charging rates on campus
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Automatic entry into a monthly drawing to win a $50 Visa gift card
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Periodic emails and text messages with information and incentives related to EV charging and sustainable transportation
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Invitation to participate in future studies and surveys
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The opportunity to contribute to research that will help keep the EV charging network accessible, affordable, and sustainable for all
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Target Audience: All staff, faculty, and students.
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Number of trained employee educators: 20 employees
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Number of weeks the employee educators program is active annually: 33 weeks
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Average or expected number of hours worked weekly per trained employee educator: 1
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Total number of hours worked annually by trained employee educators: 660 hours
2) ZERO WASTE ADVOCATES
Zero Waste Advocates support with outreach and implementation of the university’s zero waste program. This group is similar to the intent of the student peer-to-peer Zero Waste Ambassadors, however, it focuses on employee peer-to-peer engagement. The Advocates receiving training from Sustainability staff on how to conduct peer outreach for zero waste. Sustainability staff also support the program with administrative coordination. Within the past year, the Zero Waste Advocates group has helped to increase engagement and education around campus zero waste efforts. Most recently, the Advocates provided education to more than 5,000 employees at the Staff Annual Celebration. There are plans to continue to grow and expand the number of trained educators over the coming year.
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Target Audience: All staff and faculty.
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Number of trained employee educators: 12 employees
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Number of weeks the employee educators program is active annually: 4 weeks
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Average or expected number of hours worked weekly per trained employee educator: 2
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Total number of hours worked annually by trained employee educators: 96 hours
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):
Part 2. Educator hours per employee served by a peer-to-peer program
Hours worked annually by trained employee sustainability educators per employee served by a peer-to-peer program:
Optional Fields
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Points of contact for credit information:
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Carrie Metzgar, Campus Sustainability Officer, Utilities & Sustainability
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Leorah Gavidor, Customer Service Department Assistant, UC San Diego Bookstore and Staff Sustainability Network Member
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Elizabeth Lin, Waste Management, Recycling & Sustainability, Facilities Management
- Triton Chargers, Deep Decarbonization Initiative
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.