Communications and Engagement:
Messaging Is Everything

The Communications and Engagement green team was formed specifically to encourage collaboration and participation between departments.

Our overall vision for community engagement and communications is to enable and promote a culture in which the entire community shares and coordinates in sustainability-related challenges, opportunities, efforts, and accomplishments. The power of an individual action may seem small, but multiplied by thousands it has great impact for the college community. The whole of our sustainability actions should be greater than the sum of its parts, and recognize Columbia College’s place in the broader community.

Online information on sustainability-related events, initiatives, programs, and green teams are located on this site. This will be continually updated and members of the community can sign up for activities, exhibitions, green teams, and learn more about courses and cases.

This is how Columbia will achieve them:

Incorporate sustainability into the recruitment and orientation process for new students, faculty, and staff.

Hold ongoing contests between residence halls, departments, and/or buildings to encourage and reward green behaviors (i.e. most energy saved or best reduction in water usage).

Maintain a robust sustainability website and social media efforts to promote sustainability.

Work with IT to create templates or dashboards which can be easily updated to inform the college community of progress.

College-sponsored events and exhibitions will continue to showcase environmental and social justice issues and tie it back to Columbia’s commitment; additionally, these events should be operated as green events with best practices in minimal waste, recycling, green suppliers, caterers, and minimal energy/material use.

Show how small efforts have an impact—in terms of CO2 removed, trees planted, or cars taken off the road—to encourage individual participation.

Better inform campus users—particularly building users—of relative costs and impacts of everyday practices, track trends, and recognize improvements.

Investigate community service opportunities for students, faculty, and staff in the areas of recycling, take-back programs, energy, and water efficiency/retrofits.

Hold town hall meetings to update and encourage participation in sustainability efforts and maintain a community dialogue to cultivate new ideas.

Communications and Engagement: Messaging Is Everything

Communications and Engagement:
Messaging Is Everything