Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 73.99
Liaison Mary-Lee Townsend
Submission Date Oct. 20, 2021

STARS v2.2

Western University
EN-5: Outreach Campaign

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 4.00 / 4.00 Jessica Cordes
Sustainability Coordinator
Facilities Management
"---" 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:
REZ Powers Down

A brief description of the campaign:

Residence Powers Down was developed to bring energy conservation awareness to students as they leave campus and become renters, paying their own utility bills. The initiative has been promoted over the last several years in Western's residences as a competition between residences, where the residence which save the most energy for each style (traditional, suite, hybrid) wins the monetary value of the energy savings to put towards student-run sustainability initiatives in the residence building.

Over the week, students are encouraged to:
- Turn off as many lights as possible
- Take the stairs instead of the elevator
- Turn the thermostat down and dress in layers
- Take cooler, shorter showers
- Wash laundry in cold water
- Unplug electronics and appliances that are not in use


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

Western's Energy Manager tracks energy usage data for a baseline week prior to Residence Powers Down in order to compare savings that occur during the challenge week. Over the course of the challenge week, data points are pulled mid-week as a check-in to encourage greater efforts across the residences. At the end of the challenge results are shared across residences, and the winning traditional, suite, and hybrid style residence are awarded with the monetary value of their energy savings. The funds are granted to the Residence Council to implement a sustainability initiative in the building.


Name of the campaign (2nd campaign):
Green Office Program

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

Green Office Program: It is a voluntary and self-reporting tool for offices to gauge their sustainability efforts. This program allows offices to identify areas for improvement and to recognize progressive offices in sustainability.

Western’s Green Office Program is also a resource for members of the Western community to improve their environmental consciousness and practices. It aims to engage all members of the Western community and to inspire sustainable behaviours.
The objectives of this program align with Western’s commitments to sustainability and with current initiatives in the community. Everyone must work together to create a culture of sustainability on campus, and to continue enhancing the Western experience.


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

The goals attained from this project:

- To raise environmental consciousness and practices within staff and faculty on campus.
- To reduce our environmental impact by decreasing and rethinking our consumption of resources.
- To contribute to the reduction of the University’s greenhouse gas emissions, energy consumption, water consumption and waste outputs.


A brief description of other sustainability-related outreach campaigns:

The Western Sustainability Leaders Program (WSLP) includes an outreach campaign to encourage students to learn about sustainability on campus, in the community, and to implement sustainability into their personal lives. By attending a minimum of 4 WSLP activities in a year, students can earn the "Sustainability Leader" designation on their co-curricular record. This incentivizes students to partake in the program throughout the year and continually improve their sustainability knowledge and awareness. Last year 70 students earned the Sustainability Leader co-curricular record designation.


Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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