Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 75.29
Liaison Ezra Small
Submission Date Feb. 17, 2023

STARS v2.2

University of Massachusetts Amherst
EN-5: Outreach Campaign

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 4.00 / 4.00 Ezra Small
Sustainability Manager
Physical Plant
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Has the institution held a 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 a 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 

Name of the campaign:
New2U Sustainable Move In & Out

A brief description of the campaign:
The New2U Move-out Collection and Move-In Tag Sale is a waste reduction program that is created, organized and run by students and supported by Residential Life, Physical Plant, and many other partners across the campus.

The New2U team of student volunteers and campus staff collects unwanted items like clothing, futons, lamps, and TVs from across campus each spring during move-out, and resells these collected items each fall during a move-in tag sale. Each year, New2U is able to sell thousands of new or gently used items back to students, faculty, and staff at affordable prices!

A brief description of the measured positive impact(s) of the campaign:
Since the program's inception, New2U has been able to divert over 80,000 pounds of items from being sent to a landfill. Funds raised from the sale of recycle items were used to fund our Sustainability, Innovation & Engagement Fund (SIEF), which provides grants for campus sustainability projects. Both student volunteers and paid students as well as paid and volunteer faculty and staff have assisted with the New2U program. For more information visit https://www.umass.edu/sustainability/waste-recycling/green-events/new2u-sustainable-move-out.

if reporting an additional campaign, provide:

2nd campaign

Name of the campaign (2nd campaign):
Campus Race to Zero Waste

A brief description of the campaign (2nd campaign):
UMass participates in the annual Campus Race to Zero Waste: a national campus waste-reduction competition that takes place for 8 weeks every Spring. Each week UMass competes against other colleges and universities throughout the nation to keep more waste out of landfills. The outreach for this campaign is campus community-wide, involving all stakeholders, including students and employees, in working together to reduce their waste. Metrics for success look at employees and students with no differentiation. Learn more at www.umass.edu/sustainability/CRZW.

A brief description of the measured positive impact(s) of the campaign (2nd campaign):
The amount of material recycled per person increased each week of the campaign. Data below (in pounds per person):

Preseason week 1: 0.00
Preseason week 2: 0.64
Week 1: 0.94
Week 2: 2.43
Week 3: 4.79
Week 4: 5.17
Week 5: 6.59
Week 6: 6.59
Week 7: 8.10
Week 8: 9.58

This consistent and significant increase in recycling per capita at UMass Amherst over a period of 10 weeks is a clear positive impact of the Campus Race to Zero Waste campaign.

Optional Fields

A brief description of other sustainability-related outreach campaigns:
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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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.