Tufts University
EN-6: Assessing Sustainability Culture

The Eco-Reps Survey is intended to provide assistance to the Eco-Reps program on how to best encourage sustainability in Undergraduate dorms, and which areas are of particular interest to the participants, and to measure impact. Questions include knowledge of Tufts' recycling programs, interest in various sustainability-education or outreach activities, self-awareness of personal environmental impact, ideas for improving sustainability at Tufts.

Where do you live? If you live in a Special Interest House, where do you live? If you live in a Greek House, where do you live? What year are you at Tufts? Have you heard of the Eco-Representative (Eco-Rep) Program? Do you know who your Eco-Rep is? How did you find out about your Eco-Rep? - Selected Choice How did you find out about your Eco-Rep? - Other - Text Do you know how to contact them? Environmental issues are important to me It is important to me that I act in ways that minimize my contribution to greenhouse gases "How important were strong University environmental policies and practices to you when choosing colleges" I believe Tufts has an obligation to control its greenhouse gas emissions How concerned do you think the following people are about global climate change? - Yourself How concerned do you think the following people are about global climate change? - The average Tufts student How concerned do you think the following people are about global climate change? - The average American Recycling is important to me I understand the recycling and waste infrastructure at Tufts. I think tap water is as safe as, or more safe than, bottled water. Which of the following are recyclable at Tufts Do you know where the compost bin is in your dorm? How often do you compost in your dorm? How likely are you to attend or participate in the following events? - Environmental or sustainability related movie (>1 hr) How likely are you to attend or participate in the following events? - Environmental or sustainability related video clips (<1/2 hr) How likely are you to attend or participate in the following events? - Anything with free food How likely are you to attend or participate in the following events? - Recycling competition How likely are you to attend or participate in the following events? - Grow your own seedling event How likely are you to attend or participate in the following events? - Trashion show How likely are you to attend or participate in the following events? - Local hike or bike ride How likely are you to attend or participate in the following events? - Crafting party How likely are you to attend or participate in the following events? - Eco-Trivia How likely are you to attend or participate in the following events? - Interactive cooking demonstration How likely are you to attend or participate in the following events? - Energy efficiency building tour of your dorm How likely are you to attend or participate in the following events? - Hall snacks in your dorm How likely are you to attend or participate in the following events? - How to 'live green' event How likely are you to attend or participate in the following events? - How to compost event How likely are you to attend or participate in the following events? - Other How likely are you to attend or participate in the following events? - Other - Text On average, how long are your showers? - minutes About how often do you leave your computer on when you are not using it? How often do you... - Unplug your cell phone, computer charger, power strip, or other electronics when they are not in use How often do you... - Use a reusable water bottle How often do you... - Use a reusable coffee mug How often do you... - Buy or trade secondhand clothing How often do you... - Print double-sided How often do you... - Consider the environment when selecting food How often do you... - Consider the environment when making transportation choices How often do you... - Recycle How often do you... - Turn off the lights when you exit an empty room How often do you... - Compost in your dorm How often do you... - Think about your impact on the environment How often do you... - Talk about environmentally-friendly practices Do you participate in Meatless Mondays? What do you think are barriers to living in a more environmentally-sustainable manner at Tufts?

The survey is issued each semester via emails sent by the Office of Residential Life and Learning, the Eco-Reps, and the normal Office of Sustainability channels. The survey itself is built in Qualtrics, an online survey software. Past participants are not specifically targeted for longitudinal study (they were once but resulted in a very low response rate), but the data is gathered regularly and the questions are comparable over time. The survey is incentivized by a gift card raffle to increase response rate.

This assessment typically covers student's awareness of on-campus sustainability efforts, like recycling, compost bins, and Meatless Mondays. Additionally, the survey assesses students' awareness of their environmental impact through shower length, energy saving practices, sustainability considerations in food choices, and perception of climate change concern on campus and across America. It also allows for general measures of change over time. The results show on average a sustainability aware student body, which on average participate in a given sustainability measure more than not. For example, more students assessed participated in Meatless Mondays in some form than did not. Also, more students assessed agreed that "environmental issues are important to me" and that "it is important to me that I act in ways that minimize my contribution to greenhouse gases." Overall, the survey indicated that the respondents were more inclined to be aware of and participate in sustainability efforts, though were generally undecided or unlikely to participate in outreach programming like video showings and Eco-trivia activities, unless free food was an incentive. Changes over time are not assessed from the same cohort or sample, but the questions are similar semester to semester to facilitate measurement of changes over time. Over time, the awareness of the Eco-Reps program was the most important feature considered, with goals of 95% awareness of the program and 90% awareness of each dorm's eco-rep. Survey results from 2016 to 2017 show an increase in program awareness of 12%, from 81% to 93%, and an increase in awareness of specific Eco-Rep individuals of 21% from 50% to 71%. This progress reflects an increased visibility of Eco-Reps and associated projects and initiatives on campus.