University of Massachusetts Amherst
PAE-15: Employee Sustainability Educators Program

Each participating office in the Green Office Program has one or two Eco-Leader volunteer employees in that respective office. Those Eco-Leaders are tasked with working with their entire department from the director/dean down to each employee to reach a "green" certification for their office. In some instances, Eco-Leaders are asked to volunteer for their office but usually these Eco-Leaders volunteer themselves out of interest. Each Eco-Leader does peer-to-peer education within their office and attends the Eco-Leader forum which takes place each summer to share best practices with fellow employees. In some cases, like the Library, our Eco-Leaders meet with each other on a monthly basis in the Library. Other educators include Sustainability Manager who oversees the Green Office Program.

Eco-Leaders are trained to follow the Green Office Program checklist for their office by participating in checklist walk-through's and meetings with our trained Student Sustainability Fellows.

The Green Office Program is a program of Sustainable UMass which is supported by multiple departments. The Green Office Program lives fiscally within the Physical Plant budget.

There are multiple green building education programs open to all faculty and staff at UMass Amherst. These include LEED study groups, webinars, and green building symposiums. Study Groups: A capital projects manager partners with a faculty member in the Master in Environmental Science to train students and area professionals in becoming LEED Accredited; the course offers 3 credits upon successful completion of the test and utilizes a team base learning classroom to facilitate discussion among students and professionals. Students who have passed the examination are then trained to lead study groups organized by the UMass Green Building Council, a resident student organization, and participate in leading green building tours and supporting campus LEED projects. Sustainability education initiatives are also supported by the Green Building Committee and Master Plan Sustainability Committee in the form of public lectures and continuing education offerings (AIA and GBCI credited programs) that are open to the public and cover topics such as energy modeling, green building, sustainable communities and green infrastructure. Specific employee education programs are offer on the LEED rating systems and practical ways for managing green projects. Webinars: The campus has partnered with the USGBC MA Chapter in delivering pre-recorded LEED Webinars to campus staff and faculty for free. This series also provides Continuing Education credits for registered architects and LEED APs for a nominal feel of $10/seminar. The educators are LEED Faculty from the USGBC and the webinars are of highest professional quality

The Employee Educators facilitate conversations between students, staff and interested local professionals on the LEED rating system requirements and support study and practice for testing for the credential. Study materials are provided by the USGBC and GBCI; and the UMass Sustainability Guidelines are used as a tool for understanding our campus and how it benefits from the LEED Programs. A senior campus and facility planner devotes part of her time to providing instruction and facilitating discussions on sustainability practices and LEED that are open to all faculty, students, professional and administrative staff. Study Groups that train participants for the LEED Green Associate and LEED AP BD+C exams take place in the fall and spring. This fall there will be an independent study course offered on Green Building strategies and practices. In addition, campus employees in Facilities & Physical Plant will bet trained on the LEED rating system for Building Design & Construction, as well as for Operations & Maintenance. This program will also be open to the public.

The Physical Plant hires interns to work on the program along with the Sustainability Manager. The interns are paid interns who help develop and support the program. UMass provides meeting space on a weekly basis for committees and educational lectures/ Webinars, as well as free conference space for events. All of the programs are free to the general public. CEU's are free to MA Chapter Members and UMass Staff through an arrangement with the MA Chapter. All events are advertised on the UMass Calendar of Events.