Green Office Program

Green Office ProgramSustainECU is eager to present the Green Office Program. Offices that choose to participant will be helping ECU work toward carbon neutrality and reaching its sustainability goals. This program is intended to take the guess work out of campus sustainability and to provide resources so that all employees can do their part to reduce environmental impacts. Offices that complete the certification process will receive recognition through articles published in the SustainECU newsletter as well as posts on our website and social media outlets. Certified Green Offices will also be awarded with a framed certificate to display and an official logo to upload to their website.

The Green Office Program assigns weighted credits to sustainability criteria in order to define the rating levels below:

  • Green Office Participant (0-74 credits)
  • Certified Green Office (75-99 credits)
  • Green Office Champion (100-130 credits)

Individual offices will earn credit toward their rating as they check off items in the following categories:

  • Energy Conservation
  • Waste Minimization
  • Materials Management
  • Meetings and Events
  • Participation

Ratings in the Green Office Program will expire after 2 years, upon which time the office will be contacted to arrange for re-certification. The re-certification process is not meant to be difficult; however, it will involve a simple walk-through review bi-annually to maintain the Certified Green Office rating. This requirement has proven very effective at our peer institutions because it encourages participants to actively maintain their commitments, incorporates ongoing changes in personnel and procedures, and creates opportunities to pursue new sustainability goals as they evolve.

Prior to starting the program, offices will need to designate a primary contact person and obtain commitment signatures from 75% of their staff. In order to participate, offices are also required to setup a Go Green Bulletin Board and contact the Sustainability Manager to schedule their energy and waste audits. These audits will provide data to make baseline comparisons, evaluate program effectiveness, and report outcomes. Pre-Certification Requirements will ensure certain objectives are completed, but the remaining items consist of categorized electives worth 1-4 credits each. Once the participation requirements are complete, service-learning students will guide office contacts through the certification process using the Credit Worksheet and always be available to answer questions or provide assistance along the way.

Program Materials

Additional Resources