| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 75.40 |
| Liaison | Mary-Lee Townsend |
| Submission Date | Jan. 16, 2025 |
Western University
EN-1: Outreach and Communications
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
5.00 / 5.00 |
1.1 Sustainability outreach and communications
Website URL of the institution’s central sustainability website:
Does the institution integrate sustainability information into the educational offerings or materials provided during new student orientation or the equivalent?:
Narrative outlining how sustainability information is integrated into new student orientation or the equivalent:
Western Sustainability participates annually in Western's Orientation Serves Day during O-Week, providing opportunity for students to explore and learn about sustainability features on campus. Students living in Residence also participate in Residence Based Training Day which includes a section on Western Sustainability initiatives and ways to get involved. In residences students receive a building tour which includes explanation of proper waste sorting and recycling, and resources such as the Sustainable Living Guide. All students are encouraged to participate in RiverFest during the month of September to learn more about the land and waters where we're situated.
http://cel.uwo.ca/partners/OServes.html
https://sustainability.uwo.ca/get_involved/sustainability_guide_for_the_western_community.html
https://sustainability.uwo.ca/get_involved/riverfest/index.html
Does the institution integrate sustainability information into the educational offerings or materials provided during new employee orientation or the equivalent?:
Narrative outlining how sustainability information is integrated into new employee orientation of the equivalent:
- All new employees must complete required training during their on-boarding, which includes sustainability information embedded in the training modules. Required trainings include:
o Building Inclusiviity through Anti-Racism
o Supporting Disclosures of Gender-Based and Sexual Violence
o Health and Safety Awareness
o WHMIS
o Western Safe Campus Community
o Accessibility in Service / Teaching
o Cyber Safety Awareness
- There are also recommended trainings that include sustainability education such as “Mental Health Interactive Learning Module”
Does the institution have dashboards and/or signage highlighting the institution’s sustainability features or performance?:
Description of the institution’s sustainability dashboards and/or signage:
- There is sustainability signage at various locations on campus such as the Western Community Garden, Pollinator Garden and Live Stake Planting Site. Western has 13 LEED buildings which all include signage in high-traffic areas of the buildings. The Sustainability Office also utilizes a billboard on campus with rotating messaging throughout the year to highlight timely information for initiatives such as RiverFest, SDG Week, SpringFest, Green Campus Tours, and more.
Does the institution manage a sustainability-focused social media account, newsletter, blog, online community, podcast, video series, or equivalent communications medium or platform?:
Description of and/or website URL for at least one sustainability-focused communication medium or platform:
Has the institution coordinated one or more sustainability-focused outreach campaigns during the previous three years?:
Description of sustainability-focused outreach campaigns from the previous three years:
- Annual Waste Reduction Week competition in residences in collaboration with Western Housing - Residence Life Sustainability Committee. Student staff and volunteers in residences host information tables in residence dining halls raising awareness of waste management issues and opportunities in residences. This includes trivia and prizes, photos of mis-sorted waste, “what goes where,” and information on the building-specific waste infrastructure. There are social media posts throughout the Waste Reduction Week about how to get involved and reduce waste. Western Sustainability helps to select a baseline week to compare the changes in each residence from the baseline to the Reduction Week. The residence building that sees the biggest improvement in their waste diversion receives a pizza party for all students.
The Reporting Tool will automatically calculate the following figure:
1.2 Percentage of campus stakeholders reached through sustainability outreach and communications
Percentage of campus stakeholders reached through sustainability outreach and communications:
Approach used to determine the percentage of campus stakeholders reached:
Description of the methodology used to determine the reach of the institution’s sustainability outreach and communications:
Western uses a number of communication channels that have broad reach across campus for our sustainability outreach and communications. It can be assumes that 80 to 100% of campus stakeholders are reached with sustainability messaging, for the following reasons.
- Inside Western is an internal newsletter sent to all employees on a weekly basis. On numerous occasions throughout the year sustainability initiatives are featured in this newsletter, which reaches 100% of employees. (https://www.communications.uwo.ca/news_publications/inside_western/)
- What’s Up Western is an internal newsletter sent to undergraduate students on a bi-weekly basis, and to graduate students on a monthly basis. Sustainability initiatives such as RiverFest, Annual Sustainability Fair, consultation on our new Climate & Sustainability Strategy, and more opportunities to get involved have been featured in this student-facing newsletter. (https://studentexperience.uwo.ca/whats-up-western.html)
- Western University’s main Instagram account has collaborated on sustainability messaging on numerous occasions. With over 112,000 followers, this communication channel provides excellent reach for sustainability initiatives across campus and more broadly. (https://www.instagram.com/p/C8AHS8_uSPZ/)
- The annual Sustainability Pulse Survey is distributed via mass email to all students, staff, and faculty on campus; reaching all students, staff, and faculty directly in their inboxes.
The Reporting Tool will automatically calculate the following figure:
Optional documentation
Additional documentation for this credit:
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.