University of Virginia
EN-8: Employee Orientation

All new employees across the entire academic division of UVA are personally offered a UVA Sustainability reusable tote bag + access to the Green Working Guide by an Office for Sustainability staff member at new employee orientation. The sustainability staff member explains the importance of simple actions like recycling and saving energy, shares how the employees can reach our office if they have questions or suggestions, answers questions as they arise, and offers to sign people up for the bi-weekly SustainaNewsletter. ADDITIONALLY, IN SPECIFIC DEPARTMENTS: The Facilities Management has ~15 minutes worth of content in the training presentation for new employees. The slides include definitions of sustainability, UVA and departmental commitments, ways employees are expected to participate, items that are recyclable at UVA, and how employees can get more involved if they are particularly interested. A few other departments who participate in the Green Workplace Program have instituted a sustainability first-day checklist for their new employees, which hits the basics of what green living and working resources are available to UVA employees.