Overall Rating Silver
Overall Score 54.38
Liaison Jennifer Martel
Submission Date Jan. 31, 2023

STARS v2.2

University of the Fraser Valley
EN-5: Outreach Campaign

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 4.00 / 4.00
"---" 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

Name of the campaign:
EcoChallenge

A brief description of the campaign:

In October 2021, the Office of Sustainability hosted the Drawdown EcoChallenge at UFV with the purpose of demonstrating the simplicity and effectiveness of changing small daily habits to live and learn more sustainably.
Participants chose daily or one-time actions to complete during the month-long event and received points for checking off on their actions. Some of these actions included turning off your computer when not in use for 2 or more hours, locally sourcing food, and conducting energy audits on a home.
The participants under Team UFV had great success and prizes were awarded to the top three highest scoring participants with smaller prizes available for other participants to win.

https://mailchi.mp/385ff1a2d78e/sustainability-newsletter-october-5191010


A brief description of the measured positive impact(s) of the campaign:

2,291 pounds of CO2 emissions saved
1,091 minutes spent learning about sustainability topics
662 gallons of water saved
120 plastic bottles not sent to the landfill
114 plastic containers not sent to the landfill
3 energy audits conducted
14 lightbulbs replaced
1,775 minutes not spent in front of a screen
1,426 minutes spent outdoors
931 minutes spent exercising
7 pounds of paper have been saved
114 plastic containers not sent to the landfill
2 waste audits conducted
57 meatless or vegan meals consumed
2 locally sourced meals consumed
8 more servings of fruits and vegetables
11 pounds waste composted
3 advocacy actions completed
8 disposable cups not sent to the landfill
2 documentaries watched
60 minutes being mindful


Name of the campaign (2nd campaign):
Energy Wise Campaign

A brief description of the campaign (2nd campaign):

Energy Efficiency and Sustainability Contest
The primary focus of the contest was to encourage energy-efficient behaviour change at UFV, and provide incentives to improve sustainable living at home too! The contest outlined 9 attainable actions that most people could participate in with a slight modification or two in their lifestyle, and a little nudge from the potential to win prizes. Within the two weeks the campaign ran, participants could submit pictures via email, or post photos of their energy-efficient and sustainable actions to social media and tagging @sustainableUFV to ensure their post was visible. The grand prize was handed out to the participant that engaged in the highest number of actions. Two runner-up prizes were also provided. The remaining prizes were distributed through a random draw.

Student Residence Energy Efficiency
The Residence Energy Efficiency campaign provided an opportunity to build relationships with Residence staff, and to engage with students. Baker House staff and student leaders were pleased to participate in the campaign that would increase resident students' interactions and reduce operating costs. The Energy Wise Network provided excellent coaching to build better relations with the staff to ensure this – and future – programs would be welcome. The goal was to elicit comments on energy efficiency and sustainability behaviours that students are currently doing without prompt. Within the pop-up ‘pizza-for-conversation-’ event, students could also provide feedback to the question: “What could UFV do more of?”

Sweater Week 2018/2019
From February 11 – 15th, UFV ran Sweater Week, an annual energy-efficiency campaign and contest. Throughout the week temperatures were scheduled to be reduced to 20oC throughout almost all spaces. There were daily themes and prizes, as well as grand prize categories that could be won via email or social media photo submissions. Awareness of Sweater Week continues to be essential for not only participation, but to ensure building occupants aren’t caught off guard and feeling extra chilly in the winter months. Posters, newsletters, e-mail memos, and social media were the key mediums to communicate the week-long changes in temps. Sustainable Selfie Stations were set up with energy ambassadors to engage students and employees. Key figures at UFV including the President, VP External, CFO, Director of Campus Planning, and the Student Union President took selfies to promote the week and their commitment to carbon emission reduction.

https://www.ufv.ca/sustainability/past-projects-campaigns-and-events/#d.en.1013773


A brief description of the measured positive impact(s) of the campaign (2nd campaign):

Energy Efficiency and Sustainability Contest
This campaign resulted in a good mix of engagement of students and employees. A significant take-away from this contest is to harness the energy from the participants and winners and encourage them to get involved in the next contest, meeting, or event. The relationship between program deliverer and respondee shouldn’t end once a prize is handed out, or a submission received. Providing education (a checklist of energy-efficient actions/behaviours) was a great way to encourage participants to get a broad view of easy changes they can make to their daily routine and select 1, 2, or a handful to actions to take on. Moving forward, more value needs to come from contests to make a lasting impact on energy use at UFV, and for that messaging to be taken home to have a province-wide impact on energy-efficiency.

Student Residence Energy Efficiency
Students were, in most cases, happy to share their perspectives on sustainable living in exchange for a slice of pizza. The conversations held ranged from fleeting “give me my slice now’, to fully engaged and lengthy ‘I’m going to need another slice’ discussions that expanded well beyond the doors of Lá:lem te Baker. The vast majority of students spoken with were aware of how their actions in residence were – or were not – sustainable. As energy efficiency is such a wide ranging topic, there was always something to be learned and a fresh perspective or tip to be provided or exchanged. In the future, more pop-up events will provide value in gaining insight into what is happening behind the scenes, and where the areas of improvement remain.

Sweater Week 2018/2019
The results weren’t as favourable in this year’s campaign, even with higher quality materials to support the contest and awareness. The first 2.5 days were snowed-out, and the remaining days the temperatures were not reduced. Sweater Week certainly was lost in the fray of unusual circumstances. There was growth in the planning and framework of the Week. The delivery however, as always, could improve. More volunteers are needed, more face-to-face engagements are necessary to generate a buzz and encourage more conversations about energy efficiency and campus sustainability. The commitment from leadership was a very positive step in the right direction. The support from the Energy Wise Network again proved valuable in the development and refining of the campaign, and the financial support enable UFV to design and purchase retractable banners that facilitated the contest portion of the Week.


A brief description of other sustainability-related outreach campaigns:
---

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.