Slippery Rock University
EN-5: Outreach Campaign

Beginning in the Fall semester each year, all students, faculty and staff are encouraged to sign the individual pledge of the Energy Action Campaign, in which they pledge to choose at least three energy-conserving behaviors to begin practicing on a daily basis. All students taking the pledge are eligible to win prizes such as stainless steel water bottles and book store coupons , and are eligible to win additional prizes if they retake the pledge in ensuing years. The campaign is promoted in a variety of ways, including Facebook postings, Twitter feeds, and staffed tables where student workers from the Office of Sustainability show newer students how they can take the pledge via their iPhones during W.O.W. (Week of Welcome), Earth Week activities, and other campus events.

Over 2,000 students, faculty and staff have taken the Energy Pledge and therefore been exposed to a list of energy-conserving behaviors from which to choose. A database of pledge-takers provides the Office of Sustainability with the ability to reach out directly to these individuals to remind them about their pledges (and the energy savings estimated, where practical) and to request their help in related areas such as energy competitions and behavior change programs. Note that only those with an sru.edu email address can actually enter the pledge page and sign up for the pledge.

Earth Week at Slippery Rock is actually a multi-week event (organized by the Office of Sustainability and the Outreach Subcommittee of the President's Commission on Sustainability) to focus on educating and promoting a healthy and sustainable environment and lifestyle. Activities typically include: an Earth Week "Carnival on the Quad" located centrally on campus; an "EarthFest" located at the university's nearby Macoskey Center for Sustainable Systems Education and Research, campus-wide food and clothing donation events; multiple volunteer opportunities for campus, community, and invasive species clean-up events; a number of free sustainable/environmental educational films; and multiple guest speakers on energy, sustainable education, and environmental topics.

In 2013 over 1,000 students participated in 33 different activities, with faculty, staff, and the general public also invited to attend and participate. PDFs documenting recent Earth Week events can be downloaded from our website by scrolling to the bottom of the sustainability landing page and clicking on "Earth Days Calendar of Events".

A "Flaunt Your Fleece" campaign was initiated during Fall semester 2014, in which the campus academic building thermostats were set to "setback" mode a day early in order to conserve energy (since academic classes tend to be lightly scheduled on Fridays). Students, faculty and staff were encouraged to dress warmly through a series of posters, newspaper articles, and Facebook contests in which students who posted a "selfie" of themselves wearing flannel were eligible to win prizes. Estimated cost savings are $10,000 per semester, along with the related reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.