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Green Space is a simple sustainability assessment and certification program for departments and offices on the Cal Poly Pomona campus. The goal is to award departments and offices with a green certification rating and recognize their outstanding sustainability efforts to lower their environmental impact.
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1.) Application
I. Apply Online: The first step to office certification is to apply! Have a representative from your department or office fill out and submit the Green Space application. This can be done online through our website under 'Green Space' and then to 'Application' or simply click here.
II. Meet with the Interns: When the application has been processed, Green Campus interns will set up a meeting with your office to go over the next steps on getting green certified.
2.) Prerequisites
There are four prerequisites that must be completed by each department or office before proceeding to the checklist. Note that completing with all prerequisites makes your office Green Space eligible.
3.) Assessment & Checklist
Upon completion of the prerequisites, the checklist is used to perform an assessment of the office. Consulting with the Resource Guide and Assessment Checklist (both available on our website) can be useful at this stage in the process. The Resource Guide can be found under 'Resources' or simply click here.
I. Office Assessment: There are seven areas of sustainable office practices that are taken into consideration. These include: 1) Energy 2) Waste 3) Transportation 4) Purchasing 5) Food + Dining 6) Networking + Awareness 7) Innovation. The Green Delegate and department or office should identify which points they want to pursue.
II. Using the Checklist: While assessing the office, use the checklist to document each point that is pursued and provide a brief description explaining how your office has complied with the requirement. After the desired points are identified, simply use the checklist as a guide to improve your office’s sustainable practices.
III. Submitting the Checklist Online: Once the assessment checklist is complete, the results and documentation must be entered into the online Assessment Form and submitted via the web. A confirmation of your submission will be received through the email address provided. In order for you to submit your assessment online, please go to 'Green Space' and then to 'Assessment' or simply click here.
Special notes: For a point to be recognized, it must be valid for 75% of all staff members and/or buildings of the department. Points will only be certified for initiatives that have been active in the last year. However, there are occasional exceptions when circumstances will not permit the above. Please provide an explanation if you believe your office falls under this category.
4.) Verification
After completing the checklist, your office must submit the final Online Assessment Checklist through our website (Also accessible on this page under "Resources"). After your Online Assessment have been submitted, a team of student Green Campus Project Coordinators will schedule a time to come to your office to verify your assessment and application. At that time, a short audit and review meeting will be scheduled where additional information or minor modifications may be requested.
5.) Certification
Based on the total number of points your department or office earns from the Assessment, you will be awarded a level of certification. Your department or office will be widely recognized across campus for having achieved this certification. We will spotlight your achievements in the monthly newsletter Green Pastures (readership over 3,400) and on the Green Campus website. You will also be issued a Green Space certificate of achievement based on the level of certification. Certification is good for 2 years; criteria and other requirements are subject to change. After the 2 year period, we encourage you to get re-certified through the same process in order to get an audit checkup and be once again recognized for achieving certification.
6) Auditing (Platinum Certification)
The last step is optional to all Green Certified offices, but if an office is interested in having their office doing a full audit they must first be Green Certified (40+ points). The auditing step is quite simple, similar to the previous steps, the Green Delegate will go over another checklist, but in this case they will be following a different guideline and be providing PowerSave Campus additional information. Based on the information gathered from the first Green Space Assessment, an appropriate audit will be offer to your office. These audits can be small changes such as adjusting the thermostats to more accommodating temperatures to a major change such as replacing lamps. After the review, the office will then be awarded the Platinum Certification, which will be highly regarded by the PowerSave Campus and be able to display it off to everyone on campus.
I. Apply Online: The first step to office certification is to apply! Have a representative from your department or office fill out and submit the Green Space application. This can be done online through our website under 'Green Space' and then to 'Application' or simply click here.
II. Meet with the Interns: When the application has been processed, Green Campus interns will set up a meeting with your office to go over the next steps on getting green certified.
2.) Prerequisites
There are four prerequisites that must be completed by each department or office before proceeding to the checklist. Note that completing with all prerequisites makes your office Green Space eligible.
- Watch the Green Space video: The first step in completing the Green Space Prerequisites is to watch the Green Space video, which can be found above. The video is a quick and simple way to get to know what you and your office will go through during the Green Space process. If the above video is not working, please follow this link by clicking here.
- Choose a Green Delegate: The Green Delegate represents the office/department throughout the certification process (this could be yourself or the person who submitted the application). A Green Delegate should meet at least quarterly with the department/office to inform about the program, discuss green goals, announce certification progress, offer training, etc.
- Take the Quiz: At least 75% of the department or office staff must review and/or see the “Green 101” presentation and take the online quiz. Both can be accessed through our website under 'Resources' or simply click here.
- Sign the Pledge: At least 75% of the department or office staff must pledge to go green by participating in the online Sustainability Pledge. This can also be accessed through our website at by simply clicking here.
3.) Assessment & Checklist
Upon completion of the prerequisites, the checklist is used to perform an assessment of the office. Consulting with the Resource Guide and Assessment Checklist (both available on our website) can be useful at this stage in the process. The Resource Guide can be found under 'Resources' or simply click here.
I. Office Assessment: There are seven areas of sustainable office practices that are taken into consideration. These include: 1) Energy 2) Waste 3) Transportation 4) Purchasing 5) Food + Dining 6) Networking + Awareness 7) Innovation. The Green Delegate and department or office should identify which points they want to pursue.
II. Using the Checklist: While assessing the office, use the checklist to document each point that is pursued and provide a brief description explaining how your office has complied with the requirement. After the desired points are identified, simply use the checklist as a guide to improve your office’s sustainable practices.
III. Submitting the Checklist Online: Once the assessment checklist is complete, the results and documentation must be entered into the online Assessment Form and submitted via the web. A confirmation of your submission will be received through the email address provided. In order for you to submit your assessment online, please go to 'Green Space' and then to 'Assessment' or simply click here.
Special notes: For a point to be recognized, it must be valid for 75% of all staff members and/or buildings of the department. Points will only be certified for initiatives that have been active in the last year. However, there are occasional exceptions when circumstances will not permit the above. Please provide an explanation if you believe your office falls under this category.
4.) Verification
After completing the checklist, your office must submit the final Online Assessment Checklist through our website (Also accessible on this page under "Resources"). After your Online Assessment have been submitted, a team of student Green Campus Project Coordinators will schedule a time to come to your office to verify your assessment and application. At that time, a short audit and review meeting will be scheduled where additional information or minor modifications may be requested.
5.) Certification
Based on the total number of points your department or office earns from the Assessment, you will be awarded a level of certification. Your department or office will be widely recognized across campus for having achieved this certification. We will spotlight your achievements in the monthly newsletter Green Pastures (readership over 3,400) and on the Green Campus website. You will also be issued a Green Space certificate of achievement based on the level of certification. Certification is good for 2 years; criteria and other requirements are subject to change. After the 2 year period, we encourage you to get re-certified through the same process in order to get an audit checkup and be once again recognized for achieving certification.
6) Auditing (Platinum Certification)
The last step is optional to all Green Certified offices, but if an office is interested in having their office doing a full audit they must first be Green Certified (40+ points). The auditing step is quite simple, similar to the previous steps, the Green Delegate will go over another checklist, but in this case they will be following a different guideline and be providing PowerSave Campus additional information. Based on the information gathered from the first Green Space Assessment, an appropriate audit will be offer to your office. These audits can be small changes such as adjusting the thermostats to more accommodating temperatures to a major change such as replacing lamps. After the review, the office will then be awarded the Platinum Certification, which will be highly regarded by the PowerSave Campus and be able to display it off to everyone on campus.