Coastal Carolina University
EN-7: Employee Orientation

Sustainability is included in Coastal Carolina University’s (CCU) New Employee Orientation required for all new hires (includes lateral moves & classification changes). The orientation, which is offered twice per month, is comprised of speakers, PowerPoint presentations, videos, website reviews/demonstrations, and printed materials. Various representatives mention the importance of Sustainability throughout the full-day orientation as it relates to their topic areas of staff development, ethics, transportation, best practices, and the mission, vision and values of the university. Best practices and expectations associated with the CCU Sustainability Initiative are also covered & encouraged which include recycling on & off campus, water conservation, sustainable transportation (carpooling/bicycle options & other alternatives), paper/copy reduction, and less energy consumption (i.e., efficient practices of turning off lights when not needed, powering off the computers at the end of the workday), among others. In an effort to model sustainability practices & behaviors, the Office of Training & Development has significantly reduced printed materials distributed at orientation. Instead, presenters share this information by showing them the sustainability websites which include “Teal Goes Green” at http://www.coastal.edu/livewell/tealgoesgreen/resources and “What is Sustainability?” at http://www.coastal.edu/livewell/tealgoesgreen/whatissustainability/. By navigating on these websites during the orientation, new hires are given the opportunity to ask questions and share their ideas to support the university’s commitment to sustainability. Approximately 200 – 400 new hires consisting of temporary, time-limited and classified/slotted employees attend the new employee orientation each year.