| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 70.87 |
| Liaison | Daimon Eklund |
| Submission Date | Dec. 23, 2021 |
University of Washington, Seattle
EN-6: Assessing Sustainability Culture
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
0.50 / 1.00 |
Daimon
Eklund Communications Manager UW Sustainability |
Does the institution conduct an assessment of sustainability culture?:
Which of the following best describes the cultural assessment? The assessment is administered to::
Which of the following best describes the structure of the cultural assessment? The assessment is administered::
A brief description of how and when the cultural assessment(s) were developed and/or adopted:
UW Sustainability invites students, faculty, and staff to participate in the Sustainable Choices Survey at the beginning and end of each academic year. This survey includes questions to measure Sustainability Literacy as well as Sustainability Culture.
n 2017, UW Sustainability staff worked with students and faculty to develop the Sustainable Choices Survey to assess sustainability knowledge, opinions, and choices. Students, faculty and staff are invited to take the survey during the survey availability windows. Although not all survey participants will complete both of the semi-annual surveys, many will. In addition, some participants will complete the surveys over multiple years allowing us to track responses over a time period. The survey allows us to track knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors changes over the course of the academic year and multiple years.
The survey was paused in 2020 as is being relaunched in the 2021-2022 academic year.
A copy or sample of the questions related to sustainability culture:
A sample of the questions related to sustainability culture or the website URL where the assessment tool is available:
How would you rank UW among other universities in the area of sustainability?
Knowledge of UW Programs
Do you think campus sustainability efforts help attract students to the UW?
If making sustainable choices could save you money personally or in your department on campus, would you be more likely to make sustainable choices?
Do you have interest in helping the UW improve its sustainability performance in areas like resource conservation, alternative transportation, diversity, etc.?
Please indicate the percentage of time that you choose to take public transportation instead of driving when traveling to and from campus.
Please indicate the percentage of time that you choose to walk or bike instead of driving a car or carpooling when traveling to and from campus.
What percentage of time do you buy organically grown food rather than conventionally grown food?
What percentage of time do you use a reusable water bottle?
How often do you turn off the lights in an empty room?
How often do you intentionally purchase an environmentally preferable item (e.g. organic produce, paper that is made of recycled content, an appliance that is Energy Star rated, used instead of new item)?
How often do you intentionally purchase an item that is made or sold by a women- or minority-owned business?
A brief description of how representative samples were reached (if applicable) and how the cultural assessment is administered:
Invitations to participate in the survey are sent out to students, faculty, and staff through campus-wide newsletters and social media. The survey is administered electronically through an online assessment tool.
A brief summary of results from the cultural assessment:
In 2019, 93% of respondents were interested in helping UW improve it's performance in sustainability. 58% agreed or strongly agreed that sustainability efforts help attract students to UW.
Of the sustainable practices that were asked about, more than half of the respondents indicated they made sustainable choices more than half the time for all items except intentionally purchasing an item made or sold by a woman- or minority-owned business, which more than 54% answered they did less than half the time or never.
Website URL where information about the assessment of sustainability culture is available:
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.