Grass Roots Grant Scheme
Introduction
CSU Green, in consultation with the University Sustainability Advisory Group, seeks to establish a more engaging
‘grass roots’ level of grant scheme to allow staff and students to apply for funding for small workplace or campus
projects. The grants will be used to support sustainability focussed initiatives which will:

Engage staff and students, and raise awareness around the issues associated with environmental
sustainability;

Improve workplace and campus sustainability across all campuses of the University;

Reduce environmental impacts and assist CSU at reaching the targets outlined in the University’s
Sustainability Enabling Plan 2011-2015;

Promote social responsibility and well being.
Funding
The grant scheme will be open biannually for submissions with the total grant pool at $15,000. The funding for this
grass roots grant scheme will be drawn from the existing grant funding and enable staff to take ownership of
engaging workplace sustainability projects. This will remove one small grant opportunity from the annual
Sustainability Grants program if no additional funding is possible. Each grant is capped at $1,000; therefore
potentially 15 plus small workplace initiative projects can be undertaken each year.
Application Criteria
Projects will be required to meet general criteria to be considered worthy of funding. The criteria are based on the
environmental targets the University has set and to support general behaviour change within the workplace. The
criteria are listed below:
1. Alignment with one or more of the University’s Sustainability targets to reduce environmental impacts:

To reduce energy use and/or greenhouse gas emissions;

To reduce water use;

To increase biodiversity;

To reduce solid waste;

To engage all staff regarding environmental sustainability.
2. To foster sustainable behaviour change within the workplace, motivating staff to live and work sustainably.
3. Embedding workplace sustainability into everyday practices.
4. Promote social responsibility and well being amongst staff within the workplace.
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Application Requirements
To reduce potential barriers to staff applying for grant funding to increase workplace participation in sustainability
initiatives, the application process is simple and not time consuming. Applicants will be required to complete an
application by the closing date of the scheme biannually. These projects are ‘grass roots’ to achieve local changes
that are visible, raise awareness and motivate staff members to continue or start living and working sustainably. The
scheme will differ from the formal grants program, which requires the project to have a University-wide impact.
Applications will be accepted between defined dates in the first week of February and the first week of August each
year. Applicants will be required to complete an application form, which will require endorsement by the Head of
School or Supervisor. The applications will be deemed successful on a merit basis and judged by the CSU Green team
on the sustainability ‘value’ of the project per the application criteria. Successful applicants will be notified as soon
as possible by email. The project ideally will be completed within the six months following the reply to applicant for
successful funding.
Reporting
Successful applicants will be required to complete a case study on the sustainability initiative funded as governance
of grant funding. The case study may be in Microsoft Word or video format. A template of questions will be provided
to the successful applicants for this purpose. The case studies will be used for promotional purposes and will be
made available on the CSU Green website.
Enquiry Details
For further information or questions please contact:
Nicola Smith
Coordinator Partnerships
CSU Green
T: (02) 6933 4868
E: nismith@csu.edu.au
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