| Overall Rating | Gold - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 72.34 |
| Liaison | Ciannat Howett |
| Submission Date | July 25, 2014 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Emory University
IN-2: Innovation 2
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.00 / 1.00 |
Kelly
Weisinger Director Office of Sustainability Initiatives |
Title or keywords related to the innovative policy, practice, program, or outcome:
A brief description of the innovative policy, practice, program, or outcome:
In the spring of 2013, Emory University’s Office of Sustainability Initiatives (OSI) convened its Green Lab Team for the first time. This group consisted of diverse representation from key departments and individuals needed to create a successful program aimed at providing research and teaching laboratories with the tools and knowledge they need to operate more sustainably. The Team’s representation included Environmental Health and Safety, Procurement, Engineering and Facilities Management, Emory Recycles, teaching lab faculty, graduate student lab technicians, and researchers. This team worked collaboratively over a one year period to develop and launch the pilot program. While this type of program is not innovative by itself, the collaborative team process by which the program was developed is. In addition, the campus-wide Green Labs program is implemented through a joint report card with the mandatory laboratory self-assessment required each year by the Environmental Health and Safety Office. Through integrating voluntary actions into the mandatory assessment, this innovative methodology for disseminating sustainable action recommendations, collecting baseline sustainability information on our labs, and certifying labs for their level of commitment will result in a higher rate of awareness and participation. Conventional methods for administering Green Labs programs typically rely on website and other electronic outreach as well as word of mouth. Because this innovative program was launched in 2014, we look forward to the collection of data and analysis of the program’s success in 2015. In the meantime, over $15,000 in funding has been awarded to our pilot labs to implement innovative actions related to sustainability.
A brief description of any positive measurable outcomes associated with the innovation (if not reported above):
Measurable outcomes of the joint report card with Environmental Health and Safety in include higher rates of awareness and participation in the program by labs, the potential for more comprehensive baseline information acquired by labs that answer the assessment but choose not to be certified by the program.
A letter of affirmation from an individual with relevant expertise:
Which of the following STARS subcategories does the innovation most closely relate to? (Select all that apply up to a maximum of five):
| Yes or No | |
| Curriculum | No |
| Research | No |
| Campus Engagement | No |
| Public Engagement | No |
| Air & Climate | Yes |
| Buildings | No |
| Dining Services | No |
| Energy | Yes |
| Grounds | No |
| Purchasing | Yes |
| Transportation | No |
| Waste | Yes |
| Water | Yes |
| Coordination, Planning & Governance | No |
| Diversity & Affordability | No |
| Health, Wellbeing & Work | No |
| Investment | No |
Other topic(s) that the innovation relates to that are not listed above:
The website URL where information about the innovation is available:
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.