Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 56.23
Liaison Jim Walker
Submission Date June 14, 2018
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

University of Texas at Austin
EN-7: Employee Educators Program

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 0.14 / 3.00 Jill Parrish
Program Coordinator, Green Fee
Office of Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Total number of employees (staff + faculty, headcount):
14,621

Number of employees served (i.e. directly targeted) by a peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education program (avoid double-counting):
690

Percentage of employees served by a peer-to-peer educator program:
4.72

Name of the employee educators program:
Green Offices at UT Austin

Number of employees served (i.e. directly targeted) by the program (headcount):
690

A brief description of the program, including examples of peer-to-peer outreach activities:

The Green Offices program is a points-based certification process that empowers members of UT faculty and staff to generate sustainable change in their workspace. A student-led program through the Office of Sustainability, it seeks to advance the University’s sustainability goals and commitment to being stewards of the environment.

Green Offices provides participants with a Certification Checklist, a list of sustainable changes to implement in your office's daily activities. Each participating office is given a unique Green Offices logo to display on official correspondences as well as the opportunity to attend socials and meet other sustainability minded individuals on campus. After achieving each level of certification, the office will receive an award to display achievements and progress in the Green Offices program.

The Green Team serves as the office's representatives and champions of the program. They facilitate implementation of the program. The following members comprise of the Green Team:

Green Steward: Leads office in participating in the Green Offices program; creates sustainability goals for office

Awareness Steward: Keeps office notified of updates on sustainability initiatives in the office; recognizes steps taken by office members on personal sustainability

Wellness Champion: Registered through the Healthpoint Wellness Program; Wellness Champions are UT Austin faculty and staff who promote health and wellness within their unit and share feedback from their unit to improve wellness programming. Champions consist of faculty and staff with a passion for wellness and a desire to promote a healthy campus within their unit. They believe in the value of health improvement and are willing to support the benefits of the HealthPoint Programs.

Transportation Steward: Shares information about alternative transportation options and bike safety at staff meetings or on Green Board; encourages use of alternative transport; evaluates carpool potential every semester


A brief description of how the employee educators are selected:

A steward can be any office member with a particular interest in or knowledge of sustainable habits within the workplace. Taking on the role of Green Steward is not difficult, but does require open communication with the Program Coordinators. Stewards are charged with the task of completing the program checklist, consulting with the Green Offices Team, and recognizing the actions that need to be taken in order to boost their office to the next certification level.

Although we require the designation of at least one Green Steward, larger offices may choose to designate members to the Green Team to ease the efficiency of implementation.


A brief description of the formal training that the employee educators receive to prepare them to conduct peer outreach:

The Green Offices team provide resources and guidelines for campus members working toward Green Office certification, following an initial consultation. Education and support from the program help advance sustainability in the office. Stewards are charged with the task of completing the program checklist, consulting with the Green Offices Team, and recognizing the actions that need to be taken in order to boost their office to the next certification level.


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):

Staff in the Office of Sustainability coordinate with a student team and with the offices seeking Green Office certification.


Name of the employee educators program (2nd program):
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Number of employees served (i.e. directly targeted) by the program (headcount) (2nd program):
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A brief description of the program, including examples of peer-to-peer outreach activities (2nd program):
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A brief description of how the employee educators are selected (2nd program):
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A brief description of the formal training that the employee educators receive to prepare them to conduct peer outreach (2nd program):
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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):
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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:
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Total number of hours employee educators are engaged in peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education activities annually:
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The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
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.