The University of Texas at Dallas
EN-5: Outreach Campaign
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
4.00 / 4.00 |
Gary
Cocke Sustainability Director Office of Sustainability |
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:
Each year, the UT Dallas community comes together to celebrate sustainability and environmental practices through interactive and educational events and programs during Earth Week. With the assistance of valued partners, Earth Week is brought to UT Dallas by the Office of Student Volunteerism and the Office of Sustainability
A brief description of the measured positive impact(s) of the campaign:
Partnered with the Office of Student Volunteerism for the major events throughout the week:
Garden Workshop: 17 volunteers and student leaders visited the campus community garden and treated fire ants, added native pollinator plants to the circular planter, transplanted and tended to plants in pop up planters, and started basil seeds to take home
Earth-O-Rama: 7 volunteers and student leaders made signs calling for climate action, to show our support for sustainability and climate action efforts on campus
Earth Fair: 27 campus departments, student organizations, and community partners set up booths to share their sustainability efforts with students. Students also painted climate action signs at the OSV booth. Over 80 signs were made by students to support climate action and sustainability on campus. Attendees are estimated to be in the hundreds.
For the smaller events (volunteer opportunities, workshops, trainings) the Office of Sustainability hosts throughout the week for students, staff, and faculty, go to https://sustainability.utdallas.edu/campus/virtualearthweek/
Name of the campaign (2nd campaign):
A brief description of the campaign (2nd campaign):
The program was developed at the request of students and in collaboration with University Housing, Dining Services and the Office of Sustainability. The University of Texas at Dallas has implemented new composting initiatives to reduce food waste on campus and support the best sustainable practices.
1. Educating students during Dining Hall West peak times to explain the benefits of composting and how to use the composting bins.
2. Educating Students about the new Comet Composting Program that will provide small composting “caddies” for students living in on-campus apartments.
A brief description of the measured positive impact(s) of the campaign (2nd campaign):
Since 2012, UT Dallas has composted over 716,300 lbs. of food waste, therefore diverting 180 metric tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere campus-wide. Since expanding the compost program into Housing in September 2018, the amount of compost collected on campus has increased by an average of 64%.
A brief description of other sustainability-related outreach campaigns:
Green Office (Employees)
This program is designed to be a fun, user-friendly, and engaging tool to help assess how “green” UTD is operating on a department, office, and individual level. Offices can rank as platinum, gold, silver, or bronze based on the sustainable practices that have been implemented by the department. The Green Office Certification Program is a tool that adopts sustainable practices and helps build a culture of stewardship on campus.
Positive Impacts: Ambassadors from each office that is participating ensures that communication and education is provided to their office to advance the use of sustainable practices in the office. Recycling and Conservation of water, energy, and supplies have all been implemented in participating offices.
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.