| Overall Rating | Gold - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 69.47 |
| Liaison | Sally DeLeon |
| Submission Date | Feb. 28, 2019 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
University of Maryland, College Park
EN-5: Outreach Campaign
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
4.00 / 4.00 |
Andrew
Muir Communications Manager Office of Sustainability |
"---"
indicates that no data was submitted for this field
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? :
Yes
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?:
Yes
1st Campaign
RecycleMania
A brief description of the campaign, including how students and/or employees were engaged:
RecycleMania: An annual 8-week competition that challenges colleges across the United States and Canada to collect the most recyclable materials. Materials that are accepted include all paper products (including cardboard, books, mail, magazines, newspapers), bottles, cans, and all items that would go into the single-stream recycling bins. For the past two years the University also competed in two additional categories: food service organics (which includes pre- and post-consumer food waste such as compostable dinnerware and napkins) and electronics. Weekly weigh-ins are used to monitor the amounts that each competing school reports, and to determine which has the best recycling rate as a percentage of total waste and which produces the lowest volume of trash and recycling.
The competition aims to generate momentum for recycling efforts throughout campus as both students and staff can help achieve the University's goals of (1)maintaining a 75% institutional waste diversion rate, and (2) increasing the individual recycling rate. The "Recycle This!" video competition was launched in 2014 to encourage students to make and submit videos that promote recycling on campus. Each entry is comprised of 30-second HD video about recycling, composting or waste reduction. The creator of the winning video receives a grand prize of $500 in Terrapin Express points (for dining options on campus) and the honor of having their video shown at a men's basketball home game.
A brief description of the measured positive impact(s) of the campaign:
Highlights from the 2018 competition include:
1) No. 1 in the state of Maryland with a 49% recycling rate (an improvement from 44% in 2017);
2) No. 1 in the state of Maryland and No. 13 nationwide for the Total Recycling category, generating 922,603 pounds of recycling (an improvement from 808,676 pounds in 2017);
3) The university recycled 9,468 pounds of sensitive documents for shredding and 5,462 pounds of electronics during an all-campus shredding and electronics recycling event in March.
The website URL where information about the campaign is available:
If reporting a second campaign provide:
2nd Campaign
The Small Footprint Pledge
A brief description of the campaign, including how students and/or employees were engaged (2nd campaign):
The Small Footprint Pledge Program provides an easy and accessible environmental action that anyone can take. By encouraging students, staff and faculty to pledge to small, easy actions and behavior changes, the program presents sustainability as an achievable goal – a series of daily habits and choices rather than overwhelmingly large changes. Pledge-takers will ideally be empowered by their initial action and feel comfortable taking more or bigger steps toward sustainability, whether those additional steps are further pledge actions or not. The pledge also aims to demonstrate the cumulative impact of everyone who takes the pledge.
The Small Footprint Pledge consists of 12 measurable actions. Pledge-takers have the option of committing to one action for their chosen length of time (week, month, or year).
A brief description of the measured positive impact(s) of the campaign (2nd campaign):
A running total measured positive impacts since the program began in 2014 can be found at http://www.sustainability.umd.edu/content/culture/pledge_tally_totals.php
The website URL where information about the campaign is available (2nd campaign):
Optional Fields
---
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.