| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 66.39 |
| Liaison | Michelle Patterson |
| Submission Date | March 4, 2022 |
Washington University in St. Louis
EN-7: Employee Educators Program
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
0.97 / 3.00 |
Cassandra
Hage Sustainability Manager Office of Sustainability |
"---"
indicates that no data was submitted for this field
Part 1. Percentage of employees served by a peer-to-peer, sustainability educators program
16,902
Total number of employees served by a peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education program:
3,400
Percentage of employees served by a peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education program:
20.12
1st program
Green Office Program
A brief description of the employee educators program (1st program):
The Green Office Program aims to encourage offices across all campuses to be champions of our university sustainability ethic. The program is a point-based, self-assessment checklist with which offices can evaluate their current practices, set goals, and be recognized for their sustainable practices. The checklist is divided into seven categories: energy, waste, transportation, purchasing, documents, awareness, and innovations. When an office earns points above a set threshold, it is certified as Bronze, Silver, Gold, or Platinum. Offices must re-certify every year to continue participating in the program.
The checklist incorporates strategies from the Strategic Plan for Sustainable Operations. For example, the energy section lists several actions that employees can take that will contribute to the university goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Beyond that, the checklist makes employees aware of sustainability programs and makes it easier to explore and adopt more sustainable practices and policies within their office.
Green Office Liaisons are either self-appointed or appointed by their office/departmental leader. They receive training materials and access to an extensive resource database that walks through "how to's" for a variety of checklist-related practices/processes(https://sustainability.wustl.edu/get-involved/staff-faculty/green-offices/resources/).
This program is supported by two staff and two dedicated interns year-round. (Pre-COVID) there was a Green Carpet Awards Luncheon in which liaisons were recognized and offices received their recognition plaques. A small grant pool is available to help offices implement projects. A networking lunch is held in the summer for liaisons - programmatic announcements are provided at that time. In addition, 4-8 newsletters are sent to liaisons throughout the year directing them to resources and providing updates on sustainability programs and other relevant content.
As a result, 2670 WashU employees work in nearly 150 certified "green offices". About 20% of participating offices increase certification levels each year.
The checklist incorporates strategies from the Strategic Plan for Sustainable Operations. For example, the energy section lists several actions that employees can take that will contribute to the university goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Beyond that, the checklist makes employees aware of sustainability programs and makes it easier to explore and adopt more sustainable practices and policies within their office.
Green Office Liaisons are either self-appointed or appointed by their office/departmental leader. They receive training materials and access to an extensive resource database that walks through "how to's" for a variety of checklist-related practices/processes(https://sustainability.wustl.edu/get-involved/staff-faculty/green-offices/resources/).
This program is supported by two staff and two dedicated interns year-round. (Pre-COVID) there was a Green Carpet Awards Luncheon in which liaisons were recognized and offices received their recognition plaques. A small grant pool is available to help offices implement projects. A networking lunch is held in the summer for liaisons - programmatic announcements are provided at that time. In addition, 4-8 newsletters are sent to liaisons throughout the year directing them to resources and providing updates on sustainability programs and other relevant content.
As a result, 2670 WashU employees work in nearly 150 certified "green offices". About 20% of participating offices increase certification levels each year.
A brief description of the employee educators program’s target audience (1st program):
The Green Office Program is designed to activate representative "liaisons" in offices across the university to engage their peers and leaders to enact policies and practices that align with university sustainability goals and are adapted to their specific context. In addition, we encourage liaisons and their fellow office members to seek opportunities to develop sustainability policies and practices within their departments that they are best positioned to recognize as they materialize, decentralizing sustainability innovations for a greater impact.
Number of trained employee educators (1st program):
145
Number of weeks the employee educators program is active annually (1st program):
45
Average or expected number of hours worked weekly per trained employee educator (1st program):
0.25
Total number of hours worked annually by trained employee educators (1st program):
870
Website URL where information about the employee educators program is available (1st program) :
If reporting employees served by additional peer-to-peer programs, provide:
2nd Program
Recycling Genius Training & Sustainability Champions
A brief description of the employee educators program (2nd program):
4 times a year, and upon request, a 1-hour Recycling Genius Training is offered to students and staff at WashU. The training includes an overview of the importance of recycling and composting in general, the historical and current systems on campus, and a deep dive into waste sorting (including a game). Waste reduction and reuse practice and programs are emphasized as well.
This program is supported by 1 staff and 1-2 interns.
After participating in the training, Recycling Geniuses can volunteer to table at outreach events, staff waste stations at Green Events, and offer presentations to their colleagues or peers (presentation and sorting game/materials provided).
In addition, the School of Medicine has a team of representatives from the custodial staff who meet at least quarterly for training and to check in on what they are seeing and share any ideas they have for improving waste reduction and management. The group is called Sustainability Champions. The Champions have brought forth ideas like utilizing reusable laundry bags to transport dirty mop heads and rags instead of plastic; "right-sizing" plastic trash & recycle liners to reduce labor time and plastic us; and removing liners from lab recycling containers. The group is trained with the Recycling Genius program and membership rotates annually so everyone who wants to has a chance to participate.
This program is supported by 1 staff and 1-2 interns.
After participating in the training, Recycling Geniuses can volunteer to table at outreach events, staff waste stations at Green Events, and offer presentations to their colleagues or peers (presentation and sorting game/materials provided).
In addition, the School of Medicine has a team of representatives from the custodial staff who meet at least quarterly for training and to check in on what they are seeing and share any ideas they have for improving waste reduction and management. The group is called Sustainability Champions. The Champions have brought forth ideas like utilizing reusable laundry bags to transport dirty mop heads and rags instead of plastic; "right-sizing" plastic trash & recycle liners to reduce labor time and plastic us; and removing liners from lab recycling containers. The group is trained with the Recycling Genius program and membership rotates annually so everyone who wants to has a chance to participate.
A brief description of the employee educators program’s target audience (2nd program):
The Recycling Genius training is available to both employees and students. The program is slightly modified based on the audience, but the hope is to educate broadly and encourage peer-to-peer education.
Number of trained employee educators (2nd program):
160
Number of weeks the employee educators program is active annually (2nd program):
4
Average or expected number of hours worked weekly per trained employee educator (2nd program):
1
Total number of hours worked annually by trained employee educators (2nd program):
640
Website URL where information about the employee educators program is available (2nd program):
If reporting employees served by more than two programs, provide:
Additional Programs
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Number of trained employee educators (all other programs):
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Number of weeks, on average, the employee educators programs are active annually (all other programs):
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Average or expected number of hours worked weekly per trained employee educator (all other programs):
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Total number of hours worked annually by trained employee educators (all other programs):
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Part 2. Educator hours per employee served by a peer-to-peer program
1,510
Hours worked annually by trained employee sustainability educators per employee served by a peer-to-peer program:
0.09
Optional Fields
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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.