Green Office Certification

Green Office Badges showing the different levels of bronze, silver, gold, and the best green

What is the Green Office Program? 

The Green Office Program is a voluntary and competitive program that rewards staff and faculty for adopting more sustainable practices. The program seeks to:

  • Help offices understand how sustainable their current operations are 
  • Train members and provide resources on ways offices can operate more efficiently and sustainably 
  • Reward and recognize offices for reducing their impact 

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Before taking the Green Office Program Assessment the the Sustianability Office recommends the following:

  1. Secure office leadership’s support and buy-in
  2. Gather up your green team
  3. Collect the supporting materials and information you may need
  4. Set aside 30 mins to complete the assessment

 

Generate Checklist

The following questions are only applicable to departments with Instructional Faculty: 

  1. Faculty in the department include information about Retriever Essentials on their syllabus for students?
    • If the answer is SOME, supply the following information:
      • An estimate of the percentage of faculty who do include this information
  2. Faculty encourage student researchers to submit their projects to the Sustainability Matters Student Research Dashboard”
    • If the answer is YES, supply the following information:
      • Briefly describe how your department encourages students to submit their projects
  3. Faculty members are actively engaged in including sustainability curriculum within their courses
    • If the answeris YES, supply need the following information:
      • Briefly describe the efforts to incorporate sustainability into the curriculum

 

 

The Green Office Program is designed to cover an array of topics and situations applicable to the various offices and departments across campus. Specific areas include:

  • Energy
  • Climate
  • Waste
  • Transportation
  • Purchasing
  • Education & Outreach
  • Innovative Practices
  1. Invite the Sustainability Office to your next staff meeting to provide a brief overview of the program
  2. Get supervisor’s approval for your area’s space to join the program
  3. Identify a small group of colleagues to help you implement the program
  4. Collect the information to prepare for your assessment
  5. Complete the Green Office Program Assessment
  6. Get your Score!
  7. Work with the Sustainability Office to identify areas of opportunity to continue to improve and level up
  8. Brag about your ranking!
  • What is an office vs a department?
    • For the purposes of the program, the definitions are very flexible and may depend on how your corner of the university is structured. An office is typically going to apply to staff members as a shared suite or area where you regularly interact with the same colleagues working on similar projects. For example, the Sustainability Office is a suite of two offices in the Facilities Management Department – the Sustainability Office’s ranking would only apply to them, not to the whole of Facilities. Whereas a department will typically apply more to faculty. For example, GES would apply as a single unit.
  • We are already a green office, should we do this program again?
    • While this program is voluntary the Sustainability Office encourages you to convert your old Green Office status into a new one. Your office will actually receive an automatic point for doing so!
  • How long is the certification good for?
    • New Green Office Certifications will be valid for 4 years from the month of issue. However, offices are encouraged to review their practices on a regular basis and consider annual re-certifications. Legacy Green Offices, that opt-out of participating, will be retired from the program on July 1, 2024.
  • The certification seems pretty basic – are there any plans to make the program more comprehensive?
    • Yes, the Sustainability Office plans to release a more comprehensive process for units with advanced sustainability champions and goals.
  • How can I provide feedback on this program?
    • Contact us!
Want to see how your office ranks against others on campus? Visit the Green Office Explorer: https://www.arcgis.com/apps/dashboards/4c02f6d6d4be40ceb078df0e175aa43b