Bates College
EN-5: Outreach Campaign
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
4.00 / 4.00 |
Tom
Twist Sustainability Manager Facilities |
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?:
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?:
Name of the campaign:
A brief description of the campaign:
Our waste reduction campaign his spring consisted of a recycling competition among the smaller dorms which had a measurable impact on the amount of contamination between trash and recycling. The competition consisted of weekly trash/recycling audits and a weekly score for each dorm. The winner was awarded a bagel breakfast from a local farm to table establishment.
The competition, in conjunction with our annual Trashion Show event, has been demonstratively successful in decreasing contamination of our recycling. Our paid EcoRep students, in conjunction with our custodial and grounds staff have spearheaded all these events.
A brief description of the measured positive impact(s) of the campaign:
We were able to see a measurable increase in our recycling rates, an uptick of 6% campus-wide since 2014. Our total diversion rate is up 9%. Much of this is due to our dining hall. Our dining hall has now achieved an annual diversion rate of 83%, between increased recycling efforts, compost, and pig farming scraps.
These quantitative numbers are based on tipping fee weights.
Name of the campaign (2nd campaign):
A brief description of the campaign (2nd campaign):
We have recently switched to a new format for our bike share program, known as Green Bikes. It's more similar to a bike library, where students, staff, or faculty can check out a bike the way you would a book. This helps provide staff with a way to get downtown without having to drive their personal vehicles.
A brief description of the measured positive impact(s) of the campaign (2nd campaign):
This initiative has been a good way to increase staff and student awareness of green bikes on campus, and make it easier for them to use the bikes. We have seen an increase in ridership of over 800% from our previous iteration.
A brief description of other sustainability-related outreach campaigns:
We conducted a waste audit of our trash and recycling stream on our quad. It helped us both get data on our waste stream, as well as making public the enormous amount of trash that we generate. I think it was successful on both fronts, and a good way to subtly raise awareness. We reached out in other ways - media and events. Our annual trashion show has complemented our waste awareness campaign, as well as our No Waste November events, which concludes with the Trashion Show and a zero-waste dinner, where we see waste diversion rates in excess of 90%.
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.