Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 69.08
Liaison Andrew Horning
Submission Date June 25, 2018
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

University of Michigan
EN-7: Employee Educators Program

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.00 / 3.00 Andrew Horning
Managing Director
Graham Sustainability Institute
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Total number of employees (staff + faculty, headcount):
45,926

Number of employees served (i.e. directly targeted) by a peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education program (avoid double-counting):
45,926

Percentage of employees served by a peer-to-peer educator program:
100

1st Program 

Name of the employee educators program:
Sustainable Workplace Certification Program

Number of employees served (i.e. directly targeted) by the program (headcount):
45,926

A brief description of the program, including examples of peer-to-peer outreach activities:
The University of Michigan Sustainable Workplace Certification Program (SWCP) encourages U-M staff and faculty to join in working towards a more sustainable university by increasing sustainability practices in their immediate area. By engaging staff and faculty in a voluntary program, we can promote sustainable behavior across the campus, make greater strides toward our sustainability goals, and strengthen our position as a leader in sustainability. An office or workspace begins the process of becoming SWCP certified by submitting an electronic self-assessment of the current office sustainability conditions to the Office of Campus Sustainability (OCS). Afterwards, an OCS Rep will meet with someone from the workspace to discuss areas to improve sustainability, provide information on best practices, and other technical assistance so that the workspace representative can then rally their co-workers to make their workplace more sustainable. A final Sustainability Workplace rating will be given out based upon a point system. Peer to peer activities include the office champion rallying and training workmates to improve sustainability efforts. Offices form "Green Teams" who spread the word about the workplace's desire to go green. Employees work peer to peer to come up with ideas on how to make their area more sustainable and then work together to implement the ideas. The SWCP is open to all U-M employees, there is no set definition of what a “workplace” is. This is done intentionally so that everyone feels welcome to participate. Employees are targeted through campus wide informational campaigns and campus events such as the annual Earthfest event.

A brief description of how the employee educators are selected:
Sustainability minded staff self select and complete a self assessment for the workplace, recommendations for green team within office are suggested.

A brief description of the formal training that the employee educators receive to prepare them to conduct peer outreach:
OCS staff conduct an in person evaluation of the workplace and provide customized recommendations for increased sustainable behaviors. Resources including informational handouts and signage are provided to assist with meeting the recommendations and engaging with co-workers.

A brief description of the financial and/or administrative support the institution provides to the program (e.g. annual budget and/or paid faculty/staff coordination):
.2 FTE is provided to this program.

If reporting employees served by additional peer-to-peer programs, provide: 

2nd Program

Name of the employee educators program (2nd program):
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Number of employees served (i.e. directly targeted) by the program (headcount) (2nd program):
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A brief description of the program, including examples of peer-to-peer outreach activities (2nd program):
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A brief description of how the employee educators are selected (2nd program):
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A brief description of the formal training that the employee educators receive to prepare them to conduct peer outreach (2nd program):
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A brief description of the financial and/or administrative support the institution provides to the program (e.g. annual budget and/or paid faculty/staff coordination) (2nd program):
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Additional Programs 

A brief description of all other employee peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education programs, including the number of employees served and how employee educators are selected, trained, and supported by the institution:
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Optional Fields 

Total number of hours employee educators are engaged in peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education activities annually:
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The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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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.