Designing and Implementing a Multi-Part

Campaign to Promote Sustainable Behavior

Megan Zanella-LitkeSustainability Coordinator

University of Richmond

Agenda

• Creating a concept

• The planning process

• Marketing, communications, and events

• Evaluating

• Moving forward

The Concept

• Initial Meeting• Sustainability

• Communications

• Student representatives

• Goals• Increase visibility of

sustainability efforts

• Make “being sustainable” achievable

• Make it fun and have a cool t-shirt

• Target Behavior Change• “Fostering Sustainable

Behavior”

• Behaviors that would impact UR’s GHG calculations

• Behaviors that had a high chance of success

• Focused

• Connect with existing events

Stakeholders

Target Audience

• Faculty, Staff, Students

• Balance between a focused message and multiple audiences

Partners

• Enthusiastic and committed

• Resources

• High visibility

• New connections

• Potential for additional partnerships

Drive-by Focus Group

• Groups of 2 students stopped other students to ask questions and establish a baseline for awareness

• Questions included:• On a scale of 1-10, how important do you feel

environmental issues are?• What environmental issues do you feel are

most important?• What campus programs related to

sustainability or environmental awareness are you aware of?

Narrowing the Focus

• September: Transportation

• October: Water

• November: Food

• February: Energy

• February/March: Recycling

• April: Celebration

Creating a Brand• Theme creation by

communications

• Program approval from students

• Presented to Sustainability Working Group, partner offices

Marketing Strategy

• Keep it green

• Use existing channels

• Make it clear

• Useful giveaways

Monthly Communications

• Web updates

• Spiderbyte

• School Newspaper

• Digital Signage

• Social Media

• Monthly Newsletter

• Events

Transportation

• Partnership with our transportation office, Ridefinders, GRTC

• Event: Transportation Days• Buses and Zipcar onsite

• Games

• Commitments

• Giveaways

Commitments

Beyond the Event

• Signage near the shuttle stops with shuttle information

• Signage near prime traffic areas with walking information

Water

• Event• Focus on global water

use and scarcity

• Information on Richmond’s local water cycle and system

• Distributed shower hangers reminding people to take shorter showers

The Water Cycleat the University of

Richmond

Food

• Focus on food waste

• Students ran tables at the entrance to the dining hall

• Dining hall events focused on “Live Well, Dine Green” theme and combined healthy eating with sustainable food choices

Food

Events

• Local apples

• Local peanuts

• Sustainable seafood

• Partnership with vendors on sustainable packaging

Mid-year Evaluation

• Drive-by Focus Group

• Problems identified in November• Many students

recognized the brand, but didn’t know what to associate it with

• Students wanted more online messaging and more classroom involvement

Energy: Campus ConseRVAtion Nationals

• RVA competition: VCU vs. UR

• Overlap with RecycleMania

Eco-Olympics Kick Off

• Utilized a high-traffic space

• Raffle for prizes to anyone who signed a commitment that day

• Signs explained the two competitions

• Student volunteers ready to answer questions

Recycling:RecycleMania

• Coincided with the University’s shift to single stream recycling and expansion of recycling capacity

• Signage on recycling bins ties to campaign but will live beyond this year

Evaluation

• Transportation• Number of bus passes

distributed

• Shuttle bus riders

• Use of Zipcar

• Water• One meter for the

campus

• Counted number of student commitments related to water

• Food• Dining services began

regular inclusion of sustainability in events

• Incorporated sustainability logo into their green events

• Increase in local and sustainable food purchases

Evaluation

RVA - CCN

• Two competitions• On-campus apartments

• Residence halls

• Real-time monitors in halls, students read meters weekly at apartments

• Greater participation at apartments

RecycleMania

• Recycling numbers had fallen over the last year

• Weekly recycling doubled when messaging and new recycling system were released

April

• Still to come… Earth Day waste audit and celebration

• Trees with commitment leaves

• Recycling corn hole

• Final figures

Moving forward…

• The campaign ends, but the brand continues…

More Information

Megan Zanella-Litke

Email: mlitke@richmond.edu

Web: sustainability.richmond.edu

Twitter: @BeAGreenSpider

Facebook: University of Richmond Sustainability