Get to Know SUU's Green Office Program V2.0
Published: July 20, 2026 | Author: Tanner Gardiner | Read Time: 3 minutes
Think about your average week on campus. Between rushing to classes, attending meetings, and managing workloads, it's easy to fall into autopilot mode. We leave an office light on, grab plastic water bottles, or toss paper into the wrong bin just because it's the closest basket.
By themselves these choices seem small. Multiplied across thousands of students and staff, they create a massive environmental footprint. The SUU Green Office Program is a semester-based challenge that helps faculty and staff rethink everyday habits. Offices can earn points from actions they take, from reducing energy use, to rethinking office supplies. Whether your department is just starting out or already deeply sustainable, Version 2.0 is ready to help your team build serious momentum.
How to Join the Green Office Competition
All are welcome! Getting your workspace plugged into the challenge takes very little time, and anyone on campus can help kickstart the process.
Offices of any size can participate in the challenge. In fact, massive campus entities like the entire SUU Library and the whole College of Education and Human Development have stepped up to sign up as single, unified teams!
For Employees:
Bring the idea to your next office meeting and check out the Green Office website. Volunteer to be your team's Green Ambassador (or pick multiple co-ambassadors). It is a light lift: ambassadors serve as the main point of contact for the department and watch a brief 12-minute training video on recycling best practices, track progress, and share updates with their coworkers.
For Students:
Many campus offices employ student workers. If your workplace is participating, team up with your office's Green Ambassador to help implement sustainable everyday practices. You can also advocate for change by encouraging any department or academic office you interact with daily to register!
How to Sign Up
Signing up takes only 18 minutes for new offices and five minutes for renewing departments. Your ambassador will use a tracking document to log sustainable points throughout the semester. During the final month, it takes about 10 minutes to submit your point total. Finals Week is the ultimate deadline.
Competition Prizes
Points are tracked on a scoreboard that ranks participating SUU offices into Bronze, Silver, Gold, or Green tiers based on the sustainability of their everyday workplace practices. To keep things fun, the office with the highest score each semester wins ultimate campus bragging rights: displaying the coveted Greenest Office Trophy Terrarium in their workspace.
How the Competition is Helping
Looking closely at how the Green Office challenge drives real success on campus, it is easy to see how the program is shaping our community and where we are headed next:
Transforming Campus Recycling: Effective campus recycling relies entirely on education. Without a clear understanding of the how and why behind waste management, bins get contaminated and cause the system to break down.
This educational push is working: SUU successfully recycled 26 tons of material this year, marking a major jump from last year's 21 tons!
A Bike-Friendly Campus: Tracking staff commuting habits helps the university log campus bike use and pinpoint real-world structural barriers to cycling.
This vital data allowed SUU to officially apply for the Bike Friendly University designation through the League of American Bicyclists, with a bronze rating expected later this year.
Shattering Global Benchmarks: SUU tracks its comprehensive environmental performance via STARS (a global university-rating system). Last year, our campus scored a low 23.9 points out of 100. Thanks directly to the data and engagement from the Green Office Program, our score reached 25.5 points, officially crossing the global Bronze benchmark!
Energy conservation at SUU is an initiative to which everyone can contribute; even small conservation efforts turn into big savings on a university campus.
Contact Information
Brooke Heath
435-586-5400
brookeheath1@suu.edu