| Overall Rating | Platinum |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 85.89 |
| Liaison | Jennifer Andrews |
| Submission Date | Oct. 24, 2024 |
University of New Hampshire
EN-5: Outreach Campaign
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
4.00 / 4.00 |
Jennifer
Andrews Project Director Sustainability Institute |
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?:
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?:
1st campaign
A brief description of the campaign:
Every April from 2020-2024, faculty and staff from the Sustainability worked with partners across campus to engage students, employees and community members in the national 21-Day Racial Equity Habit-Building Challenge, designed by Food Solutions New England. https://foodsolutionsne.org/21-day-racial-equity-habit-building-challenge/
The Challenge is designed to create dedicated time and space to build more effective social justice habits, exploring equity through the lens of sustainable regional food systems. It allows space for individuals to first explore their own bias and gain a deeper understanding of how that influences thoughts, behaviors and practices. The 21 Day Challenge was included in multiple courses, featured in a partnership with UNH Dining, and involved numerous Community-Wide Dialogues.
https://www.unh.edu/sustainability/21-day
A brief description of the measured positive impact(s) of the campaign:
More than a quarter of UNH's students, and more than 10% of staff and faculty, have taken part in at least one of the UNH 21 Day Challenge events each year. Many of those have done daily prompts and reflections, and have self-reported greater awareness of and commitment to equity and justice as an aspect of sustainable food systems as a result of their participation..
The Challenge has also resulted innternal/departmental dioalogues which have shaped new UNH programs or policies. For example, the UNH Instittue for the Study of Earth, Oceans and Space (EOS) Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion iniative aimed at integrating more awareness and focus of justice into the research undertaken by EOS faculty was spurred by particpation in the 21 Day Challenge by several faculty members.
That is one example of many of how our UNH community built additional "skill and will" to tackle racial equity and social justice, especially in the context of increasing the sustainability of our regional food systems.
if reporting an additional campaign, provide:
2nd campaign
A brief description of the campaign (2nd campaign):
In spring 2023 and 2024, the UNH Sustainability Instittue, Enterprise Technology department, and Basic Needs program conducted an outreach campaign encouraging students, faculty and staff to particpate in a community e-waste drive. The goal was to divert a significant volume of electronics such as computers, laptops, and phones from the landfills, while also raising money for the Laptop Loaner program. The fundraising component was a function of UNH Enterprise Technology's partnership with Coretek for the university's e-waste recycling; Coretek provides a portion of the income they derive from refurbishing usable goods back to UNH, and UNH Enterprise Technology agreed to provide any such income derived from student-, staff- or community-donated items back to the Basic Needs program.
The campaign involved flyers and mutliple collection sites across campus, visibility in various departmental newsletters, screens across campus, and social media posts. https://www.instagram.com/sustainableunh/p/C5ZHYlDss3l/?locale=fr_FR&img_index=1
A brief description of the measured positive impact(s) of the campaign (2nd campaign):
Hundreds of students, staff, faculty and commnity members donated items, a handfill of which were able to be directly refurbished, and the rest of which were recycled responsibly.
In all, we diverted more than ten large pallets of e-waste. In addition, we rasied awareness of the probelm of e-waste, the benefits of conscious consumption, and the need to dispose of it responsibly.
Optional Fields
UNH Sustainability has conducted several outreach campaigns aimed at signing up students to our Cat Trax bike share program, and publicizing the benefits of the many sustainable campus transportation options at UNH. As a result we have hundreds of users of Cat Trax who have ridden thousands of miles in 2024 alone, avoiding single occupancy vehicle use and carbon emissions. https://www.instagram.com/unhstudents/p/C5lug-6OGcf/?img_index=1
Similarly, we have participated in and promoted the Commute Smart NH Challenge to departments across campus. https://commutesmartnh.org/spring-statewide-challenge/
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.