Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 70.23
Liaison Daimon Eklund
Submission Date Oct. 17, 2012
Executive Letter Download

STARS v1.2

University of Washington, Seattle
ER-4: Sustainability Outreach and Publications

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 4.00 / 4.00 Ruth Johnston
Associate Vice President
Finance & Facilities; Office of the Provost
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution have a central sustainability website that consolidates information about the institution's sustainability efforts?:
Yes

A brief description of the central sustainability website that consolidates information about the institution's sustainability efforts:

The UW Environmental Stewardship & Sustainability website promotes environmental sustainability by engaging and connecting members of the UW community. It serves as a centralized place for UW sustainability efforts, resources, and information.


The website URL for the central sustainability website that consolidates information about the institution's sustainability efforts:
Does the institution have a sustainability newsletter?:
Yes

A brief description of the sustainability newsletter:

UW Environmental Stewardship & Sustainability maintains a listserv called "UWsustainability," to which a quarterly newsletter is sent with updates of sustainability projects, programs, and events occurring on campus.


The website URL for the sustainability newsletter:
Does the institution have a vehicle to publish and disseminate student research on sustainability?:
Yes

A brief description of the vehicle to publish and disseminate student research on sustainability:

The sustainability portal webpage highlights sustainability research stories on campus. http://www.washington.edu/discover/sustainability.

Additionally, the College of the Environment maintains a news blog as location for curated news, papers and multimedia reflecting the interests and work of the College of the Environment. "CoEnv Currents" is based on ongoing identification, selection and sharing of timely, relevant and high-quality content regarding environmental issues, environmental science, and academia.
http://depts.washington.edu/coenv/news-blog/


The website URL for the vehicle to publish and disseminate student research on sustainability:
Does the institution have building signage that highlights green building features?:
Yes

A brief description of building signage that highlights green building features :

Two processes are implemented for green building signage: (1) posted signage in buildings for impacts on the surrounding site area, energy consumption, usage of environmentally preferable materials, indoor environmental quality and water consumptions, and (2) a computer dashboard that is available for communication and education for building users in public locations, as well as provided information to the public via web linkage. http://buildingdashboard.net/washington/#/washington/


The website URL for building signage that highlights green building features :
Does the institution have food service area signage and/or brochures that include information about sustainable food systems?:
Yes

A brief description of food service area signage and/or brochures that include information about sustainable food systems:

A website discusses the sustainable dining options available to UW students and gives examples of local, organic and natural foods served.
https://www.hfs.washington.edu/abouthfs/Default.aspx?id=869

Additional signage is placed in the dining halls providing information on locally sourced foods, organic foods and more. Digital reader boards highlight menu options which are healthy and sustainable.


The website URL for food service area signage and/or brochures that include information about sustainable food systems:
Does the institution have signage on the grounds about sustainable grounds-keeping strategies employed?:
Yes

A brief description of signage on the grounds about sustainable grounds-keeping strategies employed:

UW Grounds posts signage on trees preserved to maintain wildlife habitat. Additionally, UW Grounds is working with students to create signage describing the compost program on campus; the signs will be placed in several planting beds around campus to educate the community about the benefits of using compost.
http://depts.washington.edu/grounds/


The website URL for signage on the grounds about sustainable grounds-keeping strategies employed:
Does the institution have a sustainability walking map or tour?:
Yes

A brief description of the sustainability walking map or tour:

Brockman Memorial Tree Tour
About 480 different kinds of trees beautify the U.W. Only twenty-eight are species native on campus. Since before the turn of the century, forestry professors, botanists, gardeners and landscape architects have planted native and non-native trees for decoration and education. The campus community views trees as valuable resources, studies their ecological roles, and admires their fascinating variations and seasonal transformations. This tour introduces you to the great green realm of a campus renowned for its lovely landscape.

Additionally UW Environmental Stewardship & Sustainability has developed a sustainability map "scavenger hunt" which highlights green buildings, compost bins, e-media bins, sustainable dining options, solar panels and other sustainability features of campus including Campus Sustainability Fund projects such as the biodiversity green wall and the bicycle repair stations.


The website URL of the sustainability walking map or tour:
Does the institution have a guide for commuters about how to use alternative methods of transportation?:
Yes

A brief description of the guide for commuters about how to use alternative methods of transportation:

Commuter Services Office

Commuter Services and the U-PASS program will help commuters get to the University of Washington’s Seattle campus and better understand their commute options. Mixing up trips by using public transit, bicycling, walking, carpooling or vanpooling helps reduce the number of times commuters need to drive alone. Award-winning parking and public transit options balance convenience with flexibility.


The website URL for the guide for commuters about how to use alternative methods of transportation:
Does the institution have a guide for green living and incorporating sustainability into the residential experience?:
Yes

A brief description of the guide for green living and incorporating sustainability into the residential experience:

Housing and Food Services at the UW provides online resources to assist students in understand all of the options that the department and their living spaces provide to live more sustainably. Information about the building’s green features, how to properly recycle and compost and other tips on how to live more sustainably on campus are available.
https://www.hfs.washington.edu/housing/Default.aspx?id=2740
https://www.hfs.washington.edu/housing/Default.aspx?id=2739 https://www.hfs.washington.edu/abouthfs/default.aspx?id=863
https://www.hfs.washington.edu/housing/livinggreen/


The website URL for the guide for green living and incorporating sustainability into the residential experience:
Does the institution have regular coverage of sustainability in the main student newspaper (either through a regular column or a reporter assigned to the sustainability beat)?:
Yes

A brief description of regular coverage of sustainability in the main student newspaper, either through a regular column or a reporter assigned to the sustainability beat:

"The Daily," the main student newspaper at the University of Washington, does not currently have a specific reporter assigned to sustainability, but they cover sustainability issues regularly without a specific reporter assigned.


The website URL for regular coverage of sustainability in the main student newspaper, either through a regular column or a reporter assigned to the sustainability beat:
Does the institution produce another sustainability publication or outreach material not covered above? (1st material):
Yes

A brief description of this material:

The UW Sustainability Dashboard is a one-stop shop for information on metrics the University currently gathers in a variety of offices and entities around the Seattle campus in regards to sustainability.


The website URL for this material:
Does the institution produce another sustainability publication or outreach material not covered above? (2nd material):
Yes

A brief description of this material:

UW Environmental Stewardship & Sustainability maintains a Facebook page to stay connected with student environmental groups, and individuals interested in learning about UW sustainability efforts through social media with over 350 fans on Facebook.


The website URL for this material:
Does the institution produce another sustainability publication or outreach material not covered above? (3rd material):
Yes

A brief description of this material:

A Twitter profile, sustainableUW, is maintained by UW Environmental Stewardship & Sustainability, quickly spreads short sustainability updates to the interested community with over 550 followers on Twitter.


The website URL for this material:
Does the institution produce another sustainability publication or outreach material not covered above? (4th material):
Yes

A brief description of this material:

The Eco-Dawg Kiosk is a physical location next to the Visitor's Center where members of the campus community can learn about sustainability at University of Washington.


The website URL for this material:
Does the institution produce another sustainability publication or outreach material not covered above? (5th material):
Yes

A brief description of this material:

UW Environmental Stewardship & Sustainability maintains a YouTube channel in which video playlists are maintained for UW environment and sustainability related videos regarding research, student videos, or other institutional videos.


The website URL for this material:
Does the institution produce another sustainability publication or outreach material not covered above? (6th material):
Yes

A brief description of this material:

Conservation magazine, published by the University of Washington, explores a diversity of environmental topics, and has won numerous awards and accolades since its founding in 1999 for raising the bar on environmental thinking with a mix of world-class journalism, cutting-edge science, and provocative ideas.
http://www.conservationmagazine.org/


The website URL for this material:
Does the institution produce another sustainability publication or outreach material not covered above? (7th material):
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Does the institution produce another sustainability publication or outreach material not covered above? (8th material):
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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.