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Green Rhino Office Certification

For Faculty and Staff

Green Rhino Dorm Room Certification Green Rhino Day Student Certification

In order to have your office/workspace earn a Green Rhino Office Certification, you must be able to commit to a minimum number of credits. Check off the habits and practices that you have or that you will commit to while working on campus. There is one required commitment and a minimum numbers of items you must check per category, so pay attention.

Before you complete this pledge, please make sure that you have attended a Green Rhino Office Certification training session.

After completing this application, your office/workspace will be audited by a member of TEAM/Environmental Policies Commitee. You will only have to attend the training session once, but will be required to reapply/re-audit every year.

Note: This program and some language was adapted from the Green Dorm Room Certification at the University of South Carolina with permission.

Scoring: Total of 40 pts

To achieve Level 1: Light Green = 15 total points
To achieve Level 2: True Green = 20 total points
To achieve Level 3: Evergreen = 30 total points

Fields marked * are required.

My Information
  3. *I have attended a 45-minute green room training with Carly Borken and/or EcoMons
Waste and Recycling (Minimum 5 Points)

I…

  1. *Conducted a waste audit of our personal trash and recycling to see what items we are throwing away the most and have taken steps to reduce our waste
  2. Have at least one designated recycling bin, shredder, or Iron Mountain bin for recycling paper, bottles, cans, cardboard, and batteries
  3. Reduce paper margins in order to decrease the length of documents we print and/or print double sided whenever possible
  4. Reuse paper that has text on only one side. We keep a scrap paper pile near our printer and/or copier
  5. Have reusable mugs and dishware for taking beverages or food back to our office
  6. Do not purchase bottled water
  7. Consume coffee with lowest possible carbon footprint (refillable pods in Keurigs, unbleached filters)
  8. Post my syllabus and the majority of assignments/notes on Haiku, Google Drive, email, or another management system instead of printing for the class
  9. Accept the submission of the majority of assignments paperlessly, though Haiku, Google Drive, email, or another management system
  10. Appropriately recycle electronic devises with IT when they no longer work
  11. Keep electronic devises for more than 2 years (expanding the "2, then renew" idea)
Energy and Water Conservation (Minimum 3 Points)

I…

  1. *Make a conscious effort to turn off all lights when leaving workspaces. This includes common areas such as offices, classrooms, jointly used spaces (if no one else is in there), hallways, faculty room
  2. Make a conscious effort to turn off all AV units when not in use, or to suspend if someone will be using immediately following
  3. Make an effort to tightly turn off faucets and showers and report any leaks to Work Orders
  4. Make an effort to turn off coffee machines and space heaters when not in use during vacation breaks/weekends
  5. Use natural light when possible
  6. Consider using less/dimmer light in the classrooms
  7. Use CFLs (Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs) or LEDs in desk lamps
  8. ALWAYS take the stairs instead of the elevator
  9. Use power strips and switch them off at night and/or unplug all appliances/chargers when not in use
  10. Carry a reusable water bottle and refill it regularly
  11. Shut off computers and/or manually send computers into energy-saving mode (standby or hibernate) when not in use
  12. Have invested in a Smart Power Strip to help manage vampire energy use
Transportation and Climate (Minimum 2 Points)

I…

  1. *Have taken a carbon footprint quiz like this one
  2. Walk or bike to locations less than 1.5 miles from campus
  3. Walk or bike to locations around campus (no driving to the gym, no driving to the day care)
  4. If you live off campus, carpool to work
  5. Use the campus Hybrid Focus cars when possible when driving for work
  6. Consider "green" hotel options when travelling
  7. Offset emissions from air travel by purchasing carbon offsets
Campus Engagement (Minimum 3 Points)

I…

  1. *Encourage at least one other colleague/student/friend to complete the Green Rhino Office/Room Certification Programs
  2. Encourage students/ colleagues to make environmentally friendly decisions at all times
  3. Know the location of campus recycling bins in spaces we use beyond our own office's recycling bins (ex: gym bins, library bins)
  4. Will donate unwanted items (clothes, food, appliances) to the Black Box program at the end of the year instead of throwing them away
  5. Will donate time to be involved in/volunteer at the Black Box
  6. Will model sustainable choices when eating in the dining hall by:
    1. Producing zero food waste
    2. Not using disposable dinnerware (ie: paper coffee cups, etc)
    3. Not removing dinnerware from the dining hall
    4. Eat meat never or only on occasion
  7. Will participate in No Impact Week (April)