| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 68.50 |
| Liaison | Derek Nichols |
| Submission Date | May 17, 2022 |
University at Buffalo
EN-5: Outreach Campaign
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
4.00 / 4.00 |
Erin
Moscati Environmental Educator Office of Sustainability |
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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
Campus Race to Zero Waste
A brief description of the campaign:
Campus Race to Zero Waste, formerly known as RecycleMania, is a friendly competition and benchmarking tool for college and university recycling programs to promote waste reduction activities to their campus communities. Over an 8-week period each spring, colleges across the United States and Canada report the amount of recycling and trash collected each week and are in turn ranked in various categories based on who recycles the most on a per capita basis, as well as which schools have the best recycling rate as a percentage of total waste and which schools generate the least amount of combined trash and recycling. With each week’s updated ranking, participating schools follow their performance against other colleges and use the results to rally their campus to reduce and recycle more.
National recognition is provided to the winning school in each category on the Campus Race to Zero Waste website and in a national press release. Winning schools receive an award made out of recyclable materials, and win the right to host that category’s special traveling trophy for the coming year.
Goals of CR2ZW: motivate students and staff to increase recycling efforts and reduce waste generation; generate attention and support for campus recycling programs; encourage colleges to measure and benchmark recycling activity in their effort to improve their programs over time; have a fair and friendly competition.
National recognition is provided to the winning school in each category on the Campus Race to Zero Waste website and in a national press release. Winning schools receive an award made out of recyclable materials, and win the right to host that category’s special traveling trophy for the coming year.
Goals of CR2ZW: motivate students and staff to increase recycling efforts and reduce waste generation; generate attention and support for campus recycling programs; encourage colleges to measure and benchmark recycling activity in their effort to improve their programs over time; have a fair and friendly competition.
A brief description of the measured positive impact(s) of the campaign:
Throughout the 2019 Campus Race to Zero Waste competition UB collected and reported data on the amount of recycling, composting and garbage generated on our campuses. Our campaign was heavily promoted across campus by a number of different groups including UB Sustainability, Campus Dining and Shops, Student Life, and student groups. During CR2ZW, weekly competitions such as Caught Green Handed, our “I Recycle, Do You?” and “I Recycle Because” Facebook promotions had a tremendous impact on raising the profile of recycling across campus and encouraging people to recycle. Over the duration of the campaign we watched our recycling diversion increase. We are proud to report that the impact of our 2019 CR2ZW efforts paid off, with an overall increase in the amount of material diverted from the landfill. The first week of the competition we diverted 32% of our solid waste to recycling and compost, and at its close we diverted 40% of our solid waste to recycling and compost. This was particularly satisfying due to the severity of the winter weather during the campaign as students and staff diligently continued to participate.
if reporting an additional campaign, provide:
2nd campaign
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A brief description of the campaign (2nd campaign):
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A brief description of the measured positive impact(s) of the campaign (2nd campaign):
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Optional Fields
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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