Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 70.93
Liaison Ezra Small
Submission Date Jan. 31, 2014
Executive Letter Download

STARS v1.2

University of Massachusetts Amherst
ER-2: Student Sustainability Outreach Campaign

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 5.00 / 5.00 Ezra Small
Sustainability Manager
Physical Plant
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution hold a campaign that meets the criteria for this credit?:
Yes

The name of the campaign(s):
Sustainable UMass, Eco-Rep Program, SUMAC, MASSPIRG, UMass Fossil Fuel Divestment Campaign, Permaculture Initiative, Real Food Challenge, USGBC Student Chapter

A brief description of the campaign(s):

There are numerous extra-curricular based campaigns on campus from Registered Student Organizations like MASSPIRG (Ban the Bottle), to SUMAC/Sustainable UMass Action Coalition (Anti-Fracking Campaigns) to the UMass Fossil Fuel Divestment Campaign, to curricular and co-curricular based campaigns such as the Eco Rep Program, Fellowship Program, Sustainability Student Steering Committee, the Permaculture Initiative, and the Real Food Challenge.

One of the major aspects of the Eco-Rep Program is teaching the students in the program to develop and run their own campaigns on issues surrounding sustainability. Over the past 4 semesters the program has involved over 400 students and has reached out consistently to the undergraduate class. Many Eco-Reps go onto serve in other sustainable related campaigns that are listed above.

Sustainable UMass has done many outreach campaigns, one of the most prominent examples is the sustainable move-out campaign which will be expanding in 2014 to include a campus wide Reuse Tag Sale in the fall.

SUMAC and the UMass Fossil Fuel Divestment Campaign (launched 2012) has recently been successful in having a divestment campaign supported and signed by the Student Government Association President as well as the Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs, and most recently has received a commitment from the UMass System Foundation that they are willing to set up a Committee on Socially Responsible Investing.

The Real Food Challenge has developed into a 20-30 student co-curricular internship program that gives students the opportunity to not only run the RFC calculator for Auxiliary Services food audit but to learn in a collaborative setting about building more local and regional food system options for UMass and it's food suppliers.

In 2013 the Student Steering Committee reformed under the leadership of the Campus Sustainability Manager with a new task to help implement the new Sustainability Innovation and Engagement Fund by reviewing and ranking each proposal as well proposing their own ideas to the fund.


A brief description of the measured positive impact(s) of the campaign(s):

Earth Day and Campus Sustainability Day celebrations each year: Annie Leonard )2013), Van Jones (2012), RFK Jr. (2012), Dr. Robert Bullard (2014)

UMass Fossil Fuel Divestment Campaign: Foundation creating a Committee on Socially Responsible Invesments (2014)

The Common Read for the 5,000 incoming freshman for the class of 2017 was "No Impact Man" and hosted author Colin Beavan for the First Year Student Convocation in the Fall of 2013 and again as a guest on campus in October.

Permaculture Committee: There are now four Permaculture Gardens on campus and a very active local food network of students who are impacting the movement on a regional scale.

Real Food Challenge: The Chancellor has signed the Real Food Challenge, making UMass the largest campus dining program in the country to sign on.

Student Massachusetts Chapter of the USGBC: Just formed

Eco-Rep Program and Fellowship Program: Electricity consumption and waste has decreased total and per student over the last 3 years despite a growing occupancy rate each semester and less access to fellow residents due to safety measures in the residence halls. Waste diversion ranks in the top 3 percent compared to other state communities. The Sustainable Move Out diverted 110 tons of waste from being disposed of improperly.


The website URL where information about the sustainability outreach campaign(s) is available:
https://www.umass.edu/sustainability/

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.