The Green Certification Trifecta: Steps Towards a Greener and More Inclusive University

December 2019

Amira Smith, Student Outreach AssistantBrandon Trelstad, Sustainability Officer

About the OSU Sustainability Office• Created in November 2005• Two full time employees• 14 student workers:

– Outreach, graphic design, project management, policy, and software systems

– Eight residence hall Eco-Reps• Central support organization for

sustainability efforts at OSU

December 2019

• Stakeholders requested lists of ideas they could implement to be more sustainable in the workplace

• Carbon neutrality goal • Most people want easy, near-universal steps• Customize what works and what doesn’t for your school

• Some things we’ve tried don’t make sense everywhere! (delamping)

• User groups have diverse interests. A larger menu of actions makes sustainability more inclusive.

• Prompts users to remember they are part of a system • Building occupants get credit for reporting inefficiencies to Facilities

Services in a timely way

Why Green Certifications?

December 2019

• Labs are the largest energy users on many campuses• Some lab waste is recyclable• Labs at OSU have a diverse operational profile, but also a few

similarities worth measuring:• Chem/bio/rad labs and others with fume hoods often have HUGE savings

potential• Water use in some labs offers big conservation opportunities • Many labs repeat purchases for some sort of throughput

• OSU GLC began as Honors thesis

Why Green Certifications?

Green Office Certification• Created in 2016 as our first program of its type • Measures workspace sustainability and provides customized feedback with

new ideas for easy steps to reduce environmental footprint and carbon emissions

• Provides recognition for OSU employees (including student employees) and awards their hard work to ‘green’ their space

• Scalable to almost any size operation! • Has been successful in building its own brand identity

Six Categories

FormatThe certification utilizes a webpage, a Qualtrics surveyand an Excel spreadsheet.

• Began as a pilot program in 2019• Originated as a senior thesis by an

Honors College student • Measures lab sustainability and provides

guidance for improvement, same as highly customized feedback of GOC

• Recognizes OSU labs and awards their hard work

• Designed to work with all types of labs!

Green Labs

Six Categories

• Created in spring 2019• Promotes a more sustainable Greek Life community

and raises awareness about opportunities specific to that community

• Measures chapter sustainability and provides a resource library and feedback for easy steps for improvement

• Provides recognition for chapters and awards their hard work

Green Greeks

Five Categories

Performance Measurement

• All surveys follow the same basic scoring guidelines

• New & improved scoring spreadsheet

• Weighting & point values• Points not applicable don’t count

against score • Award percentages

Unadjusted Score

Percentage Level of Cert.

81.6-102 80+% Platinum

71.4-81.5 70-79% Gold

61.2-71.3 60-69% Silver

51-61.1 50-59% Copper

0-51 0-49% ---

Performance Measurement

Oldvs.

New

Goals and Outcomes• Initial goals: • Provide lists of actions stakeholders

willing to implement • Offer actions for beginners and

experts, across a variety of work functions and space types

• Targets today: • 10+ submissions/year (GOC)• 50+% implementation of post survey

recommendations

Marketing & Outreach

• Early workshop with modest success • Piloted and refined with Sustainability

Advocates network• Print media • Event tabling: University Day, Beyond Earth

Day, fall Community Fair, etc. • Incentives like succulent plants

• Light bulbs available for use on campus

• Early workshop with modest success • Piloted and refined with Sustainability

Advocates network• Print media • Event tabling: University Day, Beyond Earth

Day, fall Community Fair, etc. • Incentives like succulent plants

• Light bulbs available for use on campus

Marketing & Outreach

Marketing & Outreach

• Social media shout-outs• More direct contact between

student teams and their home departments

• Potential peer learning groups• ID depts. likely to be interested.

Student employees are key. • Info session/workshop during

Beyond Earth Day

Challenges & Tips

• Comprehensive but widely applicable questions that reflect core functions of spaces• For example, a program for housing

would require another survey• Effective, consistent follow up and

reminders during survey, plus very personalized feedback after

• It’s okay to make changes!• Offer compelling incentives

Questions? Let’s Connect!

@OSUSustainable

sustainability.oregonstate.edu