Designing and Implementing a
Multi-Part Campaign to
Promote Sustainable Behavior
Megan Zanella-Litke
Sustainability Coordinator
University of Richmond
Agenda
• Creating a concept
• The planning process
• Marketing, communications, and events
• Evaluating
• Moving forward
The Concept
• Initial Meeting
• Sustainability
• Communications
• Student representatives
• Goals
• Target Behavior Change
• “Fostering Sustainable
Behavior”
• Behaviors that would
impact UR’s GHG
calculations
• Increase visibility of
sustainability efforts
• Behaviors that had a high
chance of success
• Make “being sustainable”
achievable
• Focused
• Make it fun and have a cool
t-shirt
• Connect with existing
events
Stakeholders
Target Audience
Partners
• Faculty, Staff, Students
• Enthusiastic and committed
• Balance between a focused
message and multiple
audiences
• Resources
• High visibility
• New connections
• Potential for additional
partnerships
Drive-by Focus Group
• Groups of 2 students stopped other students to ask
questions and establish a baseline for awareness
• Questions included:
• On a scale of 1-10, how important do you feel
environmental issues are?
• What environmental issues do you feel are most
important?
• What campus programs related to sustainability or
environmental awareness are you aware of ?
Narrowing the Focus
• September: Transportation
• October: Water
• November: Food
• February: Energy
• February/March: Recycling
• April: Celebration
Creating a Brand
•
Theme creation by
communications
•
Program approval from
students
•
Presented to Sustainability
Working Group, partner
offices
Marketing Strategy
• Keep it green
• Use existing channels
• Make it clear
• Useful giveaways
Monthly Communications
• Web updates
• Spiderbyte
• School Newspaper
• Digital Signage
• Social Media
• Monthly Newsletter
• Events
Transportation
• Partnership with our
transportation office,
Ridefinders, GRTC
• Event: Transportation Days
• Buses and Zipcar onsite
• Games
• Commitments
• Giveaways
Commitments
Beyond the Event
• Signage near the shuttle
stops with shuttle
information
• Signage near prime traffic
areas with walking
information
Water
• Event
• Focus on global water use
and scarcity
• Information on Richmond’s
local water cycle and system
• Distributed shower hangers
reminding people to take
shorter showers
The Water Cycle
at the University of Richmond
Food
• Focus on food waste
• Students ran tables at the
entrance to the dining hall
• Dining hall events focused
on “Live Well, Dine Green”
theme and combined
healthy eating with
sustainable food choices
Food
Events
• Local apples
• Local peanuts
• Sustainable seafood
• Partnership with vendors on
sustainable packaging
Mid-year Evaluation
• Drive-by Focus Group
• Problems identified in
November
• Many students recognized
the brand, but didn’t know
what to associate it with
• Students wanted more
online messaging and more
classroom involvement
Energy:
Campus ConseRVAtion Nationals
• RVA competition:
VCU vs. UR
• Overlap with RecycleMania
Eco-Olympics Kick Off
• Utilized a high-traffic space
• Raffle for prizes to anyone
who signed a commitment
that day
• Signs explained the two
competitions
• Student volunteers ready to
answer questions
Recycling:
RecycleMania
• Coincided with the
University’s shift to single
stream recycling and
expansion of recycling
capacity
• Signage on recycling bins
ties to campaign but will
live beyond this year
Evaluation
• Transportation
• Number of bus passes
distributed
• Shuttle bus riders
• Use of Zipcar
• Water
• One meter for the campus
• Counted number of student
commitments related to
water
• Food
• Dining services began
regular inclusion of
sustainability in events
• Incorporated sustainability
logo into their green events
• Increase in local and
sustainable food purchases
Evaluation
RVA - CCN
• Two competitions
• On-campus apartments
• Residence halls
• Real-time monitors in halls,
students read meters weekly
at apartments
• Greater participation at
apartments
RecycleMania
• Recycling numbers had
fallen over the last year
• Weekly recycling doubled
when messaging and new
recycling system were
released
April
• Still to come…
Earth Day waste audit and celebration
• Trees with commitment leaves
• Recycling corn hole
• Final figures
Moving forward…
• The campaign ends, but the
brand continues…
More Information
Megan Zanella-Litke
Email: mlitke@richmond.edu
Web: sustainability.richmond.edu
Twitter: @BeAGreenSpider
Facebook: University of Richmond Sustainability