Green Workplace Program

The Green Workplace Program is a performance improvement and recognition program for units. It supports units by addressing challenges, applying solutions, and celebrating their efforts to become more sustainable workplaces. By participating in this program, your unit will directly contribute to the university’s goal of becoming a national leader in sustainability (Objective D 1.2).

Unit: a group of people who coordinate their work and share spaces. These could be official and named (e.g. department, office, center, institute) or internal to a named organization (e.g. shop, zone, shift, team, etc.)
Workplace: the spaces occupied by the unit for work and for breaks. For some units, the workplace may include vehicles, storage, or intermittently used spaces.

How it works

Units complete tasks to earn badges.

Badge: a digital icon used to signify accomplishments that address a distinct sustainability issue.

Earning a badge takes 3 steps:

Step 1: Register	Step 2: Discover	Step 3: Improve
– Gain supervisor approval – Submit the registration form	– Host a consultation – Complete a self-assessment	– Implement solutions – Create and share a support document

All participating units must complete The Waste Reduction badge as a prerequisite to other badges. We all generate and handle waste every day, and properly handling that waste should be a common practice in the workplace. The Waste Reduction badge will establish a baseline understanding of proper waste management for units that wish to pursue additional badges.

If you have identified waste issues, believe there are improvement opportunities or are interested in helping your unit, this badge is a great opportunity.

the badges

The first and required badge is for Waste Reduction. We believe that Waste Reduction is the best topic to start your Green Workplace journey. All units produce waste. The university has waste reduction and handling policies and dedicated waste managers to help. And we are all familiar with waste issues in our personal lives.

The Waste Reduction Badge was piloted with multiple units and is ready for use. More badges are in the pilot phase. After earning the Waste Reduction Badge, please let us know if you are interested in helping pilot more badges.