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According to the overall scores of the 37 institutions that completed and submitted every question,  KU ranked 28th.   

KU scores:
Education and Research: 25.3
Operations: 12.7
Administration and Finance: 35.9
Innovation: 0    
Total 24.7    

Average Doctorate-Granting University Scores: 
Education and Research: 29.5
Operations: 30.9
Administration and Finance: 54.8
Innovation: 1.9    
Total 40.3   

 The full PDF version of the STARS Pilot Results Report can be found on the AASHE Website.The results of this survey should not be surprising. While KU has made significant strides over the past few years to encourage recycling, reduce energy consumption, and form a sustainability center, the University of Kansas is lagging behind other major universities. The effort to green our campus should come from all levels of our institution. In fact, Danny Anderson (the Interim Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor) recently said in an email to faculty and staff that, “I am encouraged by the many examples of continuing engagement…  The task forces underway to address the Chancellor’s priorities, to promote sustainability initiatives, and to explore innovations in teaching and research are only a few examples.” KU will improve its sustainability score through the continued efforts of students, faculty, and staff with the endorsement of the top administration officials.    

The following  paragraphs explore how the STARS program could help us achieve our sustainability goals.    

After the results of STARS pilot program should The University of Kansas participate in the next STARS survey? The Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS) is an innovative, voluntary self-reporting framework for colleges and universities to gauge progress toward sustainability and earn recognition for sustainability leadership. After three years of development, STARS 1.0 is the first version through which participants will be able to earn a rating.          

• If KU participates in the STARS system, then we will have a framework for assessing the implications of sustainability on all sectors of the university. In addition, with the participation of other major universities, STARS will provide a defined standard of sustainability for institutions of higher education. If acting alone, KU may overlook important aspects of sustainability in operations by simply focusing all efforts on education and research, operations, and/or other sectors of the university. 

 (2) “…enable meaningful comparisons over time and across institutions by establishing a common standard of measurement for sustainability in higher education…” –              

• If KU participates in the STARS system, then we will be able to compare sustainability year-to-year. Last year, KU helped in the development of the STARS system through participating in the pilot program. We were able to identify aspects of the university for which we could encourage improvement. Through further participation in the STARS system the university will learn where it is deficient (whether it is in Education & Research, Operations, Administration, and/or Innovation) and move toward correcting these deficiencies, and then it will document an increasing (or decreasing) trend of sustainability.
• If KU participates in the STARS system, then we will be able to compare our progress to other universities. By participating in the STARS system, KU receives a score attributed to each section of the survey and, when added together and normalized with institutional characteristics, the scores are comparable to other universities. This would provide the university with an accurate ranking and measure of progress among comparable institutions.

 (3) “…create incentives for continual improvement toward sustainability…” –              

• Similar to other third party certifications, the STARS system provides a recognized benchmark of achievement on which the University could base future decisions regarding each survey section of Education & Research, Operations, Administration, and Innovation. KU will find incentive to improve its ranking through the identification of needed improvements, the creation of an action plan for corrections of deficiencies, and the ability to set measureable goals.

 (4) “…facilitate information sharing about higher education sustainability practices and performance…” –              

• If KU participates in the STARS system, then we will be able to better share/access university advancements in sustainability.  As a research institution, KU benefits from the academic advances on which its researchers base new inquiries and provide new breakthroughs. In the interest of advancing sustainability, KU has an external incentive to provide any breakthrough in sustainability with the larger group. Likewise, it is in KU’s best interest to adopt and apply the successful practices of other universities to advance sustainability on campus.

 (5) “…build a stronger, more diverse campus sustainability community.” –            

• If KU participates in the STARS system, then we will be part of a rising community of concerned universities whose main goals are to improve campus environments, cut costs through the implementation of sustainable practices, provide a growing base of sustainability research, and provide future generations with an understanding of sustainability and the need to reconcile environmental, social, and economic needs. 

- Joshua Foster  

It’s not enough to have a technically superior product. Betamax was technically superior to VHS. HD DVD was technically superior to Blue Ray. Consumers don’t always buy the best products – they purchase products they believe are best. Many consumers ignore organic foods because of price – despite the fact that they believe that organic foods are healthier. Solar energy has failed to gain acceptance except when the government heavily subsidizes the technology so that the price of solar is equal to or less than competing technologies.

It’s not easy to change assumptions. Companies that attempt to do so are seen by some as heretics. Apple is perhaps one of the best examples. Thousands of articles have been written during the past week about what’s NOT included in the upcoming iPad. People assume that because other manufacturers have included usb ports, cameras, and other bells & whistles on tablet PC’s, that the iPad should have all of those things too. But Apple has never followed – they’ve always led by asking their customers to change assumptions about how they would use their PC.

A x’mas gift from a colleague, who bought it from Tokyo.  She was telling me how people in Tokyo are so environmentally friendly and most women have their own handkerchiefs.  Inspired, she bought several as x’mas gifts for most of us.

How can i not support this green thought – very in line with one of my personal goals for this year (to be stepped up on green efforts).  Though I had to say that the handy was too lovely to use.  Instead of just admiring it, why not put it to good use and save our planet!  - my inner voice echoed.  I am starting to think of getting more handkerchiefs now since i started to use this.

Have you done your part for mother earth today?

Countdown: 353 days

A x’mas gift from a colleague, who bought it from Tokyo.  She was telling me how people in Tokyo are so environmentally friendly and most women have their own handkerchiefs.  Inspired, she bought several as x’mas gifts for most of us.

How can i not support this green thought – very in line with one of my personal goals for this year (to be stepped up on green efforts).  Though I had to say that the handy was too lovely to use.  Instead of just admiring it, why not put it to good use and save our planet!  - my inner voice echoed.  I am starting to think of getting more handkerchiefs now since i started to use this.

Have you done your part for mother earth today?

Love,

Summer

Lemon, Vinegar, Parsley, Thyme, ChickenBreast, Tomato, Avacado, Ziti, Shiraz, 6pack Keystone, Pickles, Parmesean, BlackPepper.

Fin

That’s a pretty compelling reason to pump up your green efforts, especially in the face of the current economy. Going green could actually be the catalyst to finding a whole new target market you may not have been reaching with your existing marketing tactics.

Going green can create efficiencies you never dreamed of, downsized line items as they pertain to energy costs, overhead and the like. There is no question that green efforts can also be positioned to differentiate you from your competitor who may not be practicing such earth-friendly ideologies in their business.

As for attracting new customers, it’s got a big hook! Just look at the numbers. 67% of Americans recognize sustainability as being an important factor in their reason behind purchases. Also, as you seek to increase loyalty in a tough market, a lot of big brands have found that there is a huge WIN factor in showing customers that green is good for them. (Examples include SunChips new 100% compostable packaging, Walmart’s initiative for Roll backs on Eco-friendly products,as well as their private label brands).

Saving the planet and producing results while weathering a most challenging economy can be what green marketing is all about to your company. Take a look at what you can do to be green and then tell everyone about your commitment to the planet. You will be amazed at the response! For more information on going green, contact Freakin’ Genius Marketing at 847-882-4234 or email us at info@freakingeniusmarketing.com

http://www.danielsgraphics.com/green

On Saturday, March 28, DiCaprio will be issued the Big Green Help Award by Cameron Diaz for his contributions to help the environment. This is the first time the award has been issued, kicking off Nickelodeon’s year of environmental consciousness for kids.

To view the original story, go to http://www.etonline.com/news/2009/03/72159/index.html.

Source: ET Online, March 25, 2009

]]> http://www.groupdaniels.com/blog/2008/12/29/the-ecofont/ Mon, 29 Dec 2008 16:26:42 +0000 The Daniels Group http://www.groupdaniels.com/blog/2008/12/29/the-ecofont/ An agency in The Netherlands has come up with a font that they claim will reduce ink usage by 20%

See it for yourself here:  http://www.ecofont.eu/look_at_ecofont_en.html

GREENER THAN YOU THINK

A new survey reveals surprisingly wrongheaded

beliefs about the environmental impact of direct mail

A recent survey of 1,000 consumers revealed a gulf between the perceived eco-impact of direct mail and its actual influence. “They wildly overestimate direct mail’s impact on the environment,” says Michael Critelli, executive chairman of Pitney Bowes Inc., which co-sponsored the 2007 DMNews/Pitney Bowes Survey of Consumer Attitudes. Critelli says he expected a disparity between perception and reality— “but not nearly as much as we saw.”

For instance, asked to estimate the amount of municipal waste created nationwide by advertising mail, 48 percent of respondents thought direct mail accounted for more than half of it. Thirty-six percent said it accounted for more than a third. And 12 percent thought it generated 9 percent. In fact, direct mail generates just 2 percent of all U.S. municipal waste, according to a DMNews article about the survey. (Two percent chose this answer.) Asked to rank select activities by the amount of carbon dioxide they generate, 16.8 percent chose the delivery of direct mail as third most harmful, ahead of using a year’s worth of electricity for select refrigerators and running a clothes dryer 10 times a week for a year. (Running the dryer creates the most CO2, according to a chart accompanying the DMNews article on the poll.) Experts trace these skewed perceptions to the fact that the typical mailing attracts only a tiny percentage of responses, leading others to view unsolicited material as wasteful. “[Mail] is something people see and handle every single day,” Critelli says. “Unfortunately, a lot of it doesn’t get a response.” The good news? More than two-thirds said they’d view direct mail more positively if senders recycled cardboard or planted new trees.

Of course, the reality is that many marketers are already ahead of them on this. — Anne Stuart

As usual, Print Guru Frank Romano has a sassy answer.

I think we all try to do our share and it will take each of us to really make a difference. The printing industry is among the greenest industries but now we have to prove it with complex paperwork — which creates more paper to re-cycle. The whole business of trading carbon contracts like bubble gum cards is being reviewed by the UN body that administers them. Carbon contracts remind me of Medieval indulgences that promised Heavenly benefits if you pay your money now.

Daniels Graphics is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), by the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) program and by the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes (PEFC).

Each of these organizations are focused on chain of custody (CoC) certification, which documents the entire path taken by a tree from the forest to the mill, to the printer, to the end-use consumer.

This effort takes environmentally minded paper past simply recycling.  This is an effort to reduce illegal deforestation which has an effect on both the ecological landscape,  and indigenous people.

We can gaurantee a printed piece has been ethically handled from the tree to the piece.

Have you checked out the Do The Green Thing website? I was tipped off the other day through WordPress’s Tagsurfer and decide to check it out for myself. What a great idea, encourage a community of people to make small changes to help out the environment. In their own words:

Green Thing is a community that’s here to help as many people as possible in as many countries as possible to do the Green Thing. A community of Green Things across the world will not only make a sizeable CO2 saving, it will encourage governments and businesses to do the Green Thing too.

To help achieve all of that, Green Thing is a number of things.

Green Thing is an easy thing. Because lots of small things can add up to more than a few big things, Green Thing suggests one easy thing a month to tempt as many people as possible to do it. Green Thing is also free which makes it easier to be part of.

Green Thing is a creative thing. Because entertainment is very inspiring and lectures a bit less so, the monthly Green Things are suggested with brilliant content from brilliant writers, musicians, designers, directors and artists – pro and am, young and old.

Green Thing is a not-for-profit thing. Because people are cynical about commercial or political agendas, Green Thing is an independent, not-for-profit thing powered by grants from foundations and individual contributions.

And so on, go here www.dothegreenthing.com to check out the rest… I love the message; it’s reasonable, not too preachy, and finally an easy approach to making a difference in the world. Check it out and see if you care to Do The Green Thing too.