Overall Rating Platinum
Overall Score 91.10
Liaison Alex Davis
Submission Date Feb. 28, 2023

STARS v2.2

Arizona State University
EN-5: Outreach Campaign

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 4.00 / 4.00 Krista O'Brien
Program Manager
Sustainability Practices
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

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?:
Yes

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?:
Yes

1st campaign 

Name of the campaign:
Ditch the Dumpster

A brief description of the campaign:
Since 2009, Arizona State University has partnered with local charities and nonprofits to collect and distribute reusable items during move-in and move-out. ASU Residential Life in partnership with the ASU Zero Waste Department, and community partners Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Arizona, Goodwill of Central Arizona, United Food Bank, and The Center for Rehabilitation encourages the collection of items on all four university campuses. Donation bins are located in each hall and students can donate large household items, clothing, food items, as well as used and unused cleaning and hygiene products. Year-round collection bins are also located throughout the campuses for students to encourage them to donate unwanted items.

A brief description of the measured positive impact(s) of the campaign:
ASU students contributed a total of 74 tons of diverted material from the landfill in FY22.

if reporting an additional campaign, provide:

2nd campaign

Name of the campaign (2nd campaign):
Choose to Reuse

A brief description of the campaign (2nd campaign):
We encourage and design programs for the students, staff, and faculty that make up the ASU community to choose reusable options as opposed to single-use items. We seek innovative ways to expand upon the reusables work and in April 2021 the ASU-Starbucks Center for the Future of People and the Planet was launched. One initiative through the center has been centralized around the reduction of single-use cups on campus.

Example marketing:
https://twitter.com/zerowasteasu/status/1428779562842791936
https://twitter.com/ZeroWasteASU/status/1577328235993387008

A brief description of the measured positive impact(s) of the campaign (2nd campaign):
Through the combined efforts of ASU-Starbucks Center, Sun Devil Hospitality, Zero Waste, ASU Marketing Hub, University Sustainability Practices, Auxiliary Business Services, Purchasing, Business, and Finance Communications, Educational Outreach, and Student Services, and several student groups, over 21,146 cups were diverted since the launch of the reusable cup program in FY 22. Prior to this campaign, a negligible amount of reusable cups were used.

Optional Fields

A brief description of other sustainability-related outreach campaigns:
ASU provides students, staff, and faculty the opportunity to make smart choices in regards to sustainability practices with participation in our ASU Sustainability Recognition Program. Self-assessment checklists are provided for 5 categories which give practical to-do’s and in-depth information on how to support our sustainability goals. The categories include: Event, Labs, Office, Lifestyle, and Student Organization. Those who complete a recognition in their area of choice receive a certificate of completion.

The On-Campus Housing Guide is available in the additional documentation section as an example.

Additional documentation to support the submission:
On_campus_ASU_Housing_Sustainability_Certification_Resource_Toolkit.pdf

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
https://cfo.asu.edu/ditch-the-dumpster

https://starbucks.corporate.asu.edu/center-for-the-future

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.