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Take a look at what Chapman's Office of Sustainability has accomplished in the past!
Past Survey Results
Check out our past sustainability survey results! These results are analyzed and used to implement new policies and projects for future sustainability initiatives.
2023 Survey
Sustainability Curriculum
Respondents were asked to rank the curriculum initiatives displayed below from 1-4, 1 indicating the highest priority and 4 indicating the lowest priority. This visualization shows the percentage of respondents that ranked each initiative as the highest priority. Interact with the visualization by clicking on the section of the pie chart to highlight a particular curriculum initiative. Click the arrow to go to the second page and view the chart broken down by respondent affiliation (student or staff/faculty.)
Purchasing Policy
Respondents provided input on the extent to which they believe Chapman should pursue the development of a sustainable purchasing policy. A sustainable purchasing policy sets forth guidelines that various University departments and colleges would follow to procure goods and services that consider the economic, environmental, and social impact of our spending.
2018 Survey
Question: Does Chapman University need a campus-wide sustainable purchasing policy to prioritize environmentally-sustainable products when purchasing goods and services?
We took notice of the encouragement from students and faculty to implement a campus wide sustainable purchasing policy. The purchasing policy is under development, aiming to help our campustake steps towards a sustainable infrastructure.
Question: Does your room/office have a recycling bin?
According to our survey, nearly one third of our students lacked a recycling bin in their residence hall. One of the main reasons people do not recycle is inconvenience or lack of a recycling bin nearby, so the Office of Sustainability aims to ensure that each dorm room on campus is supplied with a recycling bin to increase our student's likeliness to recycle and divert recyclable items from being thrown in the landfill.
Question: Do you still have your regalia?
Question: How long do you plan to keep your gown and regalia after graduation?
After reviewing the survey results, we saw a considerable percentage of students bought and still owned their regalia and had no plans to use any of it after graduation day. We also saw students expressing that they would rent gowns if they had the option, but this is not always accessible. This prompted the inception of the Office of Sustainability’s Regalia Reuse program, where graduates can donate their regalia and students can use them at no cost. Check out our Regalia Reuse page for more information on how to donate or borrow graduation gear!
Weigh the Waste
The Weigh the Waste program at Chapman University was created as an educational tool geared toward promoting post-consumer food waste reduction. During Weigh the Waste events, the Office of Sustainability collects the uneaten food off students' plates before they leave the Dining Commons. After arranging the food onto trays, we calculate the weight of the discarded edible food waste. The trays of food waste are then put on display for the remainder of the day so that students could have a visual representation of the amount of food wasted in a single meal period. To increase student engagement, we post pictures and videos of the food waste on Instagram and set up a Google Form so that students can guess how many pounds of food waste were generated.
Explore the data from our past Weigh the Waste events ->
Past Awards
In 2022 Chapman received an award from the Campus Race to Zero Waste Organization! This reward was given for our case study in the Food Waste Reduction category. Chapman's efforts to reduce our food waste efforts with our Weigh the Waste events was awarded and highlighted as one of the winning campus waste minimization strategies in 2022.
Ecolympics
Last October, we hosted Ecolympics, a water conservation competition between the on-campus residence halls. Students conserved water in the kitchen, laundry room, and bathroom to compete for the gold medal. We plan to host more water and energy conservation competitions to encourage students to incorporate sustainable habits into their everyday life with some friendly competition!
