Create a greener workspace with the Sustainable Office Program

Lafayette’s Sustainable Office Program guides our 69 buildings, 108 departments, and over 850 full-time employees towards a more sustainable future. 

This voluntary self-guided program will present offices with a checklist of sustainability-focused actions they can incorporate into day-to-day workplace operations. Offices will then be certified based on their score and will have the opportunity to showcase their efforts to the Lafayette community! One office member (or more!) will take on the role of Sustainable Office Ambassador to lead the office and keep their peers on track and up to date.

Register your office now!

The logo for the Sustainable Office Program

Have Questions About the Sustainable Office Program?

What are the goals of this program and why should my office be involved?

The Sustainable Office Program (SOP) aims to incorporate sustainable behaviors into the workplace, foster a culture of sustainability across Lafayette, create an opportunity for offices to showcase and share their sustainability efforts, and work towards Lafayette’s sustainability goals and commitments (carbon neutrality by 2035, 40% waste diversion from landfills by 2030, and 60% waste diversion from landfills by 2035).

SOP helps lead offices operationalize the College’s sustainability commitments through tangible everyday actions in key areas such as consumption, waste reduction, and carbon emissions.

What is considered an “office”?

For the purposes of the Sustainable Office Program, we define an office as a workspace shared by full-time and part-time faculty and/or staff employed as part of the same department. This can include an entire building, a floor, multiple office spaces, or one single office space, as well as the accompanying kitchens, bathrooms, meeting rooms, and other areas shared by the office. Offices in leased spaces are also included in this definition.

What are the steps to certification?

The certification steps include 

  1. Register: Fill out a registration form. Once your registration is submitted, a member of the Sustainable Office team will contact you.
  2. Baseline Survey: Complete the baseline survey.  You can view a PDF version of the baseline survey before you begin. 
  3. Review:  Meet with the Office of Sustainability’s Sustainable Office Program team to go over your baseline survey, discuss office improvements, and determine next steps.
  4. Checklist of Actions: Complete the checklist of actions. You can view a PDF version of the checklist of actions before you begin.
  5. Certification Celebration: Receive certification and recommendations to reach the next level

What is included in the baseline inventory and baseline checklist?

The baseline inventory asks you to record your office’s assets under the categories of Energy and Waste and Recycling. We will use your inventory to quantify your office’s environmental impact and improvement. See a copy of the inventory here.

The baseline checklist assesses current actions that your office does, or can, take across seven different categories. See a copy of the checklist here.

The baseline inventory takes anywhere from 15-25 minutes to complete. The checklist of actions, being slightly longer, takes about 30-40 minutes.

What are the levels of certification?

The levels of certification are Bronze (10 pts), Silver (35 pts), Gold (60 pts), and Platinum (95 pts).

What are the responsibilities of the Sustainable Office Ambassador?

  1. Filling out the baseline checklist and inventory, and recertifying the office yearly
  2. Disseminating sustainability information to office members via the Sustainability newsletter and  Sustainability website
  3. Reporting Sustainable Office Program success and participation to the Office of Sustainability at least once a semester (report your numbers here)
  4. Hosting or encouraging your team to attend Earth Month or Campus Sustainability Month event/activity (optional)
  5. Attending monthly Sustainability Community Meetings (optional)
  6. Joining the Sustainable Office Ambassador Slack channel (optional)

Can my office recertify?

Yes, offices can recertify every 12 months to attempt to achieve a higher level of certification!

Certified Offices

Silver

  • Human Resources
  • Facilities Planning
  • International and Off-Campus Education
  • Development and College Relations
  • Development Services and Gift Accounting
  • Alumni Engagement and Annual Giving
  • Engineering Division

Gold

  • Gateway Career Center
  • Recreation Services
  • Dyer Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship
  • Skillman Library

Platinum

  • This could be you!

Connect with us

Office of Sustainability

Rockwell Integrated Sciences Center Room 203
746 High Street
Easton PA, 18042
sustainability@lafayette.edu