| Overall Rating | Gold - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 75.77 |
| Liaison | Ezra Small |
| Submission Date | March 2, 2018 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
University of Massachusetts Amherst
EN-7: Employee Educators Program
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
3.00 / 3.00 |
Ezra
Small Sustainability Manager Physical Plant |
Total number of employees (staff + faculty, headcount):
Number of employees served (i.e. directly targeted) by a peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education program (avoid double-counting):
Percentage of employees served by a peer-to-peer educator program:
Name of the employee educators program:
Number of employees served (i.e. directly targeted) by the program (headcount):
A brief description of the program, including examples of peer-to-peer outreach activities:
The Green Office Program encourages and facilitates energy and waste reduction practices in offices across campus.
UMass Amherst currently has over 100 offices (and counting) that participate in the Green Office Program but each academic year all academic and administrative departments across campus are invited to participate.
The offices that choose to participate in the program work to complete requirements based on a four-level scale: bronze, silver, gold, and green. Each level is based off of four topics: energy, waste and recycling, kitchens, and purchasing, which outline more sustainable office behaviors and operations. Completion of the program occurs once an office fulfills the criteria for the “green” level.
Our Sustainability Fellows (students) work individually with each office to devise a plan customized to meet the office’s needs. The system allows for a friendly competition between offices to see who can reach the green certification. Recognition is rewarded for every level completed with a congratulatory certificate.
Scoring for certification for v2.0 (Launched February, 2013) is as follows:
Bronze: 8+
Silver: 12+
Gold: 16+
Green: 20+
Evergreen: 25+
A brief description of how the employee educators are selected:
Each participating office in the UMass Amherst 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 sustainability 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 once a semester 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.
Student Sustainability Fellows (Undergraduate students) serving academic internships in the Sustainable UMass office housed within the Physical Plant are trained by the Sustainability Student Engagement Coordinator (who reports to the Campus Sustainability Manager). The students are trained on how to conduct office walk-through's, recruit new offices across campus, and how to enter office information and data into the content management system that is shared among all students and sustainability staff in order to effectively manage the program.
A brief description of the formal training that the employee educators receive to prepare them to conduct peer outreach:
Staff 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.
A brief description of the financial and/or administrative support the institution provides to the program (e.g. annual budget and/or paid faculty/staff coordination):
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.
Name of the employee educators program (2nd program):
Number of employees served (i.e. directly targeted) by the program (headcount) (2nd program):
A brief description of the program, including examples of peer-to-peer outreach activities (2nd program):
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
A brief description of how the employee educators are selected (2nd program):
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
A brief description of the formal training that the employee educators receive to prepare them to conduct peer outreach (2nd program):
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.
A brief description of the financial and/or administrative support the institution provides to the program (e.g. annual budget and/or paid faculty/staff coordination) (2nd 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.
A brief description of all other employee peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education programs, including the number of employees served and how employee educators are selected, trained, and supported by the institution:
Total number of hours employee educators are engaged in peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education activities annually:
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.