| Overall Rating | Gold - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 69.69 |
| Liaison | Rochelle Owen |
| Submission Date | April 6, 2018 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Dalhousie University
EN-6: Assessing Sustainability Culture
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.00 / 1.00 |
Does the institution conduct an assessment of sustainability culture (i.e. the assessment focuses on sustainability values, behaviors and beliefs, and may also address awareness of campus sustainability initiatives)?:
Which of the following best describes the cultural assessment? The assessment is administered to::
Which of the following best describes the structure of the cultural assessment? The assessment is administered::
A brief description of how and when the cultural assessment(s) were developed and/or adopted:
The Dalhousie Annual Sustainability and Commuter Survey has been implemented since 2009 and was developed through a collaboration between The Office of Sustainability and DalTRAC (Dalhousie Transportation Collective). The purpose is to measure sustainability beliefs and get feedback on our programs and policies, and well as an in depth look into how student staff and faculty commute to and around campus.
A copy or sample of the questions related to sustainability culture:
A sample of the questions related to sustainability culture or the website URL where the assessment tool is available:
See above document for sample questions.
A brief description of how representative samples were reached (if applicable) and how the cultural assessment is administered:
The cultural assessment is administered though an online survey program used by Dalhousie called Opinio.
The participants were reached by emailing a list of all faculty and staff employed at Dalhousie, emails to individuals Departments and Faculties to share, through the DalNews and Today@Dal newsletter, to student groups and societies, on social media including Facebook, Twitter and Sustainability Blog.
A brief summary of results from the cultural assessment, including a description of any measurable changes over time:
Members of the Dalhousie community live in a variety of locations and use different modes to travel to and from campus and among campuses. Overall, walking and driving are the most popular commute modes. Respondents from Halifax campuses favour walking while those from the Agriculture campus drive more often.
Dalhousie students tend to live closer to their primary campus, have the shortest median commute favour less expensive travel modes such as walking and public transit. Many faculty also live close to campus and walk or cycle to work. Staff tend to live the furthest from work and have the longest median commutes. Most Dalhousie staff drive to work, either alone or with someone else.
Data from the Commuter Survey shows that while public transit is used by only 22% of
respondents for primary commute mode, it is the most popular secondary mode across all primary commute modes. Transit serves an important backup role for many in the Dalhousie community, even if they do not use it every day, suggesting that the transit pass programs are generally effective.
Over the years there has been a noticeable increase in walking as a primary mode of commute. Average commuting time has seen to be decreasing over the years, suggesting a trend in commuters living closer to campus and therefore spending less time commuting per day.
In terms of general sustainability, 71% of respondents strongly agreed that "Environmental Sustainability should be a campus-wide goal" and 22.25% agreed. The majority of respondents indicated that the new, campus-wide waste bin standards and signage made sorting waste easier.
The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Summary and data pulled from 2017 report https://cdn.dal.ca/content/dam/dalhousie/pdf/dept/sustainability/Transportation/Commuter%20Survey%202017%20Report.pdf
Summary and data pulled from 2017 report https://cdn.dal.ca/content/dam/dalhousie/pdf/dept/sustainability/Transportation/Commuter%20Survey%202017%20Report.pdf
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.