| Overall Rating | Platinum - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 88.31 |
| Liaison | James Gordon |
| Submission Date | May 31, 2018 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Thompson Rivers University
EN-7: Employee Educators Program
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.85 / 3.00 |
James
Gordon Environmental Programs and Research Coordinator TRU Office of Environment and Sustainability |
Total number of employees (staff + faculty, headcount):
Number of employees served (i.e. directly targeted) by a peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education program (avoid double-counting):
Percentage of employees served by a peer-to-peer educator program:
Name of the employee educators program:
Number of employees served (i.e. directly targeted) by the program (headcount):
A brief description of the program, including examples of peer-to-peer outreach activities:
TRU Sustainability Ambassadors help spread the ”spirit of sustainability” at TRU by being a force for change and improving the culture of sustainability. This group of TRU faculty and staff members is ideas, action and goal-driven, while contributing to a sustainable and enjoyable campus community and being effective and trying to have fun.
Examples of peer-to-peer outreach activities include conducting zero waste seminars at office monthly meetings; doing energy assessments of workplaces (over-head lights, computers and monitors, kitchen and office equipment), followed by energy conservation campaigns and reporting on the energy conservation results; informing fellow staff and faculty members about sustainable printing practices in order to cut down on the volume of paper being used, and being involved during all of the varied sustainability-related events that take place on campus throughout the year. An example of a large event that took place during a week in early March, 2018 is International Days (IDays), the focus of which was 'food and sustainability': https://www.tru.ca/internationaldays/schedule.html. Virtually all staff were involved in at least one event during the week and were engaged with by one of the Ambassadors.
Other annual events include National Sweater Day (February), Trash Bash (May), Casual Shirt Days (all summer), and Bike To Work Week (May).
A brief description of how the employee educators are selected:
A recruiting drive takes place in late summer and early fall and perspective ambassadors are asked to contact the Program Coordinator to discuss getting involved in the program. They are then sent the program terms of reference and are welcomed into the program. Some ambassadors, based on their past involvement in sustainability initiatives on campus, are asked to join the program.
A brief description of the formal training that the employee educators receive to prepare them to conduct peer outreach:
The program runs from October to May each year. Orientation and ongoing training in sustainability is provided by the Program Coordinator. Ambassadors have the support of the program coordinator all year for any questions, feedback and/or suggestions. The program offers resources, training and educational opportunities to give ambassadors the skills and knowledge needed to promote sustainability at TRU. Monthly coffee meetings for ambassadors take place to make sure all issues are addressed. Regular Lunch & Learn sessions take place quarterly and focus on priority sustainability initiatives on campus. During months with no Lunch & Learn, ambassadors will be invited to attend brown-bag lunch networking events. These networking sessions will help ambassadors to get to know each other and exchange ideas on sustainability solutions, tips and success stories from their departments/offices.
A brief description of the financial and/or administrative support the institution provides to the program (e.g. annual budget and/or paid faculty/staff coordination):
The program is run by the TRU Sustainability Office's Environmental Programs and Research Coordinator, which is a full-time paid position. On top of this, funds for the program are made available on an as needed basis for all support materials for the program and any incidentals that arise (like meeting food and drinks or prizes).
Name of the employee educators program (2nd program):
Number of employees served (i.e. directly targeted) by the program (headcount) (2nd program):
A brief description of the program, including examples of peer-to-peer outreach activities (2nd program):
A brief description of how the employee educators are selected (2nd program):
A brief description of the formal training that the employee educators receive to prepare them to conduct peer outreach (2nd program):
A brief description of the financial and/or administrative support the institution provides to the program (e.g. annual budget and/or paid faculty/staff coordination) (2nd program):
A brief description of all other employee peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education programs, including the number of employees served and how employee educators are selected, trained, and supported by the institution:
Total number of hours employee educators are engaged in peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education activities annually:
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:
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.