An Assessment Tool for Culture Change and Sustainability - Measuring Changes in Attitudes and Behaviors

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An Assessment Tool for Culture Change and
Sustainability -Measuring Changes in Attitudes
and Behaviors

• Robert Yelnosky
• Acting Vice President and Chief Information
  Officer
• Juniata College

Monday, July 10th
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Juniata College

• Huntingdon, Pennsylvania
• Founded 1876
• Co-Educational College of Liberal Arts and
  Sciences

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Juniata College

• 800 Acres
• 110 acre Main Campus
• 49 buildings
• 316 acre Baker-Henry Nature Preserve
• 365 acre Raystown Field Station
• 1400 Students
• 84 Residential
• 70 from Pennsylvania
• 28 States and Territories
• 26 Foreign Countries

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Project Background

• January 2005 Focus
• President Reduce Electric Use
• Benchmarking/Research
• Lasting improvements come from a comprehensive
  approach
• Cabinet Level Support
• New Focus
• Sustainable Juniata A Culture of Sustainability
• Change the Norms Make Sustainable Behavior the
  Norm
• Petrified Forest Research

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Project Background

• Foundation in Place?
• Infrastructure Upgrades Central Plant
• 10 Wind Energy
• Recycling Program
• LEED Certified Field Station
• Student initiated coffee cup program
• Graduation Pledge Alliance
• "I _____ pledge to explore and take into account
  the social and environmental consequences of any
  job I consider and will try to improve these
  aspects of any organizations for which I work.
• Projects but no coordinated effort

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Focus

• Leadership Core formed Wide Range of
  Representation
• Facilitator Presidents Office
• Faculty
• Business, Environmental Sciences, Politics,
  Education, Psychology
• Students
• Conservation Club, Laughing Bush
• Staff
• Librarian
• Human Resources
• Grants
• Print Publications
• Residential Life
• Information Technology
• Vendors
• Food Service
• Book Store

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A Comprehensive Approach
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Assessment Development Team

• Recognized Need to Develop an Assessment Tool
• SCUP Proposal Accepted
• Assessment Development Team
• Dr. Dave Drews Emeritus Faculty - Psychology
• Angie Davidson - Senior - Psychology and
  Criminal Justice
• Emily Eller Senior - Peace and Conflict
  Studies, International Politics and Spanish
• Jon Zunkel - Junior Peace and Conflict Studies
  and Math
• Developed in Fall 2006
• Administered to 300 Students Campus
  Sustainability Day
• Administered to 125 Faculty, Staff and
  Administrators January 2006

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Assessment Design

• New Environmental Paradigm - 15 questions
• Transportation - 28 questions
• Recycling - 13 questions
• Consumption - 16 questions

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Example Questions

• New Environmental Paradigm
• Strongly Agree to Strongly Disagree
• We are approaching the limit of the number of
  people the earth can support. 
• Humans have the right to modify the natural
  environment to suit their needs. 
• When humans interfere with nature, it often
  produces disastrous consequences. 

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Example Questions

• Transportation
• When deciding what speed to drive the most
  important of the following factors is Speed
  limit Speed of traffic flow Optimal Gas
  Consumption
• How often do you check your tire
  pressure? Never On a regular schedule When a
  tire looks funny When someone else tells me to
• Juniata should purchase hybrid vehicles whenever
  it buys a new car or van even if it is more
  expensive.

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Example Questions

• Recycling
• Juniata recycles the following items (check all
  that apply)Aluminum Cans Aluminum FoilTin
  Cans Clear GlassColored Glass Translucent
  plastic (e.g. milk jugs)Clear plastic (e.g. soda
  bottles)Opaque plastic (e.g. yogurt
  containers)Newspapers White PaperColored
  Paper MagazinesCardboard BatteriesPrinter
  Cartridges
• The following changes would make me more likely
  to recycle on campus(check all that apply)
• Have more recycling bins at more locationsHave
  an incentive (money/prizes) for recyclingHave
  the bins emptied more oftenHave ready access to
  information about what can be recycled

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Example Questions

• Consumption
• I require or allow students or co-workers to
  submit written assignments on line and I read
  them/grade them on line.
• When I get coffee or tea at Jitters or Café a la
  Carte, I take my own cup or borrow one of their
  ceramic cups. All or most of the time More than
  half the time About half the time Less than
  half the time Never or almost never I never get
  coffee or tea at Jitters or Cafe a la Carte

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Learning

• Little or No Confidence in Recycling Program
• Unclear regarding what can be recycled
• Little Understanding re magnitude of
  printing/copying on campus
• Value sustainable behavior BUT not engaged in
  sustainable behavior
• Particularly among women
• Skepticism regarding campus commitment to
  sustainability
• Dont necessarily know what sustainable behaviors
  are

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Actions

• Recycling
• Recyclemania
• Open Campus Forum
• Published Results
• Printing/Copying
• Set Campus Goal
• Change defaults on all printers/copiers
• Specific What Can I Do information
• Published Results

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Actions

• Electricity
• Set Campus Goal
• Specific What Can I Do information
• Proposed sharing savings
• Coffee
• Engaged Sodexho in Sustainable Coffee promotion
• Published Results

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Results

• Recycling
• 36,000 pounds year to date
• Waste to Landfill reduced by 18,000 pounds
• Printing/Copying
• January May 2006
• Reduced by 13 - 192,000 fewer prints/copies
• Will plant 13 trees in recognition

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Results

• Electricity
• Couldnt Agree on Goal
• New Building opened
• Weather impact
• 1.89 increase in electric usage
• Less than projected but too much noise
• Coffee
• From 4 to 30 Sustainable Cups

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Other Impacts

• Students
• Biodiesel summer project
• Two Interns for Fall 07
• Solar Demonstration project grant being pursued
• Food Service
• Eliminated all styrofoam
• 22 organics
• Summer Reading Collapse
• 07 Speech Contest - Sustainability

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Next Steps

• Follow up Survey
• Attempted at End of Semester no response
• First Year Students
• Sustainability Module w/baseline survey in
  required first year class
• Develop Behavioral Assessment

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Issues

• Electric Goal Challenge
• Separate Metering
• Resisting Systems Fixes
• Change culture vs. save money
• Campus Engagement
• Bikes, Dumpster Diving
• Patience
• Celebrate the small victories