Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 45.51
Liaison Mat Thijssen
Submission Date Nov. 6, 2018
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

University of Waterloo
EN-7: Employee Educators Program

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 0.63 / 3.00 Andrea Bale
Sustainability Engagement Coordinator
Sustainability Office
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Total number of employees (staff + faculty, headcount):
6,678

Number of employees served (i.e. directly targeted) by a peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education program (avoid double-counting):
1,400

Percentage of employees served by a peer-to-peer educator program:
20.96

Name of the employee educators program:
Green Office Program

Number of employees served (i.e. directly targeted) by the program (headcount):
1,400

A brief description of the program, including examples of peer-to-peer outreach activities:
Champions within departments register to participate, and then help evaluate their office’s current practices, get members to complete a participant pledge, and implement new practices. Ambassadors often set up imbedded Green Teams or committees within their department, depending on the unit’s size, to advance actions and initiatives. The program is anchored by a Green Office Scorecard, which provides a list of ideas for recommended actions that could occur at the department/unit level, and serves as both a brainstorming and evaluation tool. There are currently approximately 35 departments on campus participating in the program.

A brief description of how the employee educators are selected:
Employee educators are self-selected out of interest. Before formally confirming their department’s participation, employees complete a management approval form that outlines the expectations of the ambassador and the department’s involvement in the program.

A brief description of the formal training that the employee educators receive to prepare them to conduct peer outreach:
Employees have an introductory meeting with a member of the Sustainability Office to introduce them to the program, and walk through the Scorecard. There is also an Ambassador Guide available on SharePoint that gives best practices on setting up green teams, steps to take, and other questions about the program. In addition, the Sustainability Office tries to host at least one event or meeting of Ambassadors each term to share learnings, challenges, and common questions between participating departments. Lastly, Ambassadors are encouraged but not required to complete the Sustainability Certificate training program.

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):
The Sustainability Office provides coaching, support, and templates for Green Office to ensure that Ambassadors are following best practice and institutional practice in their efforts. In addition, the Sustainability Office hosts a SharePoint site to hold resources and the Green Office Scorecard.

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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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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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:
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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.