Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 65.21
Liaison Gary Cocke
Submission Date Sept. 11, 2019
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

The University of Texas at Dallas
EN-7: Employee Educators Program

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.00 / 3.00 Gary Cocke
Sustainability Director
Office of Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Total number of employees (staff + faculty, headcount):
4,298

Number of employees served (i.e. directly targeted) by a peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education program (avoid double-counting):
4,298

Percentage of employees served by a peer-to-peer educator program:
100

1st Program 

Name of the employee educators program:
Green Office Certification

Number of employees served (i.e. directly targeted) by the program (headcount):
4,298

A brief description of the program, including examples of peer-to-peer outreach activities:
The Green Office Certification program is designed to be a fun, user-friendly, and engaging tool to help improve how “green” UT Dallas is operating on a department, office, and individual level and help to spread a culture of sustainability with faculty and staff. Offices can rank as platinum, gold, silver, or bronze based on the sustainable practices that have been implemented by the department. The Green Office Program is marketed to all faculty and staff and is the most substantive program targeting the cohort. The Office of Sustainability hosts information sessions about the Green Office Program to make the program accessible to all faculty and staff. Participating offices must designate a sustainability ambassador which serves as a peer educator and liaison to the Office of Sustainability. The Office of Sustainability provides trainings where Ambassadors are taught about campus sustainability and how to provide peer education to others. Ambassadors are expected to provide peer education to their office mates and the campus community at-large and are utilized as volunteers and educators at campus events.

A brief description of how the employee educators are selected:
The employee educations, also called sustainability ambassadors, self-select through the Green Office Certification Program. Every certified Green Office must designate a Sustainability Ambassador. These Ambassadors are a liaison to the Office of Sustainability, peer educator to their office, peer educator to broader campus community, and may be called upon by the Office of Sustainability to volunteer or educate about sustainability at campus events.

A brief description of the formal training that the employee educators receive to prepare them to conduct peer outreach:
The Sustainability Ambassador will be the point of contact between the Office of Sustainability and the certified office. The ambassador will share sustainability news, information, and educational material with their office and other employees on-campus. Each ambassador must attend at least one training provided by The Office of Sustainability. The focus of the training is to learn more about the Green Office Certification Program, how-to effectively educate others on how to be more sustainable in the workplace, and to share best practices in raising awareness of sustainability programs. Training opportunities will be provided annually and/or may be requested if attendance is not possible.

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):
Annual training is funded by The Office of Sustainability and covers all costs including food and room reservations.

If reporting employees served by additional peer-to-peer programs, provide: 

2nd Program

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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Additional Programs 

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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Optional Fields 

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:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
167 Building Liaisons at UT Dallas

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.