BOSTON UNIVERSITY’S

“SIP SMART” CAMPAIGN

Go Bare on Campus Planning Review October 22, 2010

Advisor: Steve Quigley Team Members: Virginia

Soskey, Nina DiMaggio, Maurice Rahmey, Betsy Stavis

ExplanationThis is the first campaign plan that I have ever designed. I was responsible for both writing and extensively editing this document.

Table of Context

Phases

Background BU 2010 Sustainability Report Card

Phase One Flier the Campus (Promo: Coffee And Conversation)

Phase Two Coffee and Conversation

Phase Three Flier the Campus (Promo: Espresso Royale Caffe Partnership)

Phase Four Espresso RoyaleCaffe Partnership

Phase Five Flier the Campus (Informational)

Phase Six Case Study at PRSSA Meeting

Appendices

Appendix One Flier Draft One

Appendix Two Flier Draft Two

Appendix Three Flier Draft Three

Appendix Four Coffee and Conversation Questions

Background BU 2010 Sustainability Report Card

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The following information was adapted and summarized from the 2010 Sustainability Report

Card by the Sustainable Endowments Institute.

Dining Survey (Grade: A)

DISHWARE AND ECO-FRIENDLY INCENTIVES

BU’s Dining Service’s currently uses both reusable and disposable dishware. Disposable

materials include plastic or polystyrene, postconsumer recycled content, and

biodegradable/compostable. Currently, 90% of our disposable containers are bio-based and

compostable. Our school’s goal for the fall is to have 95% compostable disposables as we

introduce post-consumer composting programs into our retail dining. Dining Services offers a

$.10 discount for using refillable coffee mugs at all of our retail locations. Beginning this fall, our

school will increase the cash incentive and include cold beverages in an effort to increase

participation.

Dining Services made a conscious decision to eliminate all non-compostable disposables,

including Polystyrene. The only remaining Polystyrene product is the Dunkin Donuts coffee cup

which BU is required to purchase as part of a franchise agreement. Our school continues to

work with all of the franchise partners to eliminate all non-compostable disposable products.

FOOD COMPOSTING AND WASTE DIVERSION

All dining facilities on BU’s campus run pre-consumer compost programs. Pre-consumer and

post-consumer food wastes are not separated. All dining locations on campus collect pre-

consumer food waste.

Half of BU’s dining facilities run post-consumer compost programs.  The majority of the post-

consumer food waste is generated in the residential dining facilities, which is then collected for

composting (5 total). Dining Services collects over 400 tons of food waste on an annual basis.

That’s an increase of 300% from the previous year. The collected food waste is brought to local

industrial composting facilities and resold as a soil amendment. Beginning this fall, we will

introduce post-consumer programs into our retail operations.

RECYCLING OF TRADITIONAL MATERIALS

BU’s dining facilities recycle aluminum, cardboard, glass, paper, all plastics and cooking oil.

Dining Services has installed cardboard balers at multiple dining locations across campus.

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Cooking oil is recycled locally at the rate of 40,000 pounds per year.

All retail-dining locations have recycling receptacles. Recycling receptacles in residential dining

locations are located just outside the dining facility.

7% of BU’s recyclable waste was diverted from traditional disposal. The percentage reflects

diversion from university-wide waste disposal. Other departments in addition to Dining Services

use dumpsters and compactors for trash. At this time, we do not have trash figures specific to

Dining Services. The University generates 8171 tons of waste yearly. Dining services diverted

544 tons of material from the waste stream. The material diverted was 429 tons of food related

waste, 90 tons of cardboard and 25 tons of cans and bottles. This was a 244% increase from

prior year .The University recycled a total of 1308 tons with dining services accounting for 42%

of the total amount recycled.

AFFILIATIONS

Dining Services formed a Sustainability Committee in 2007. The committee meets on a monthly

basis and is comprised of staff from Dining Services, Facilities Management & Planning,

Auxiliary Services and the Office of Sustainability.

In 2008, Dining Services hired Kelly Dunn, a full-time sustainability coordinator to oversee

sustainability initiatives within the dining program. Ms. Dunn is an experienced sustainability

professional with a background in developing effective waste reduction and education outreach

programs. She chairs the Dining Sustainability Committee, and is also a member of the BU

Waste Management and Recycling Working Group, a sub-committee of the university

Sustainability Committee.

Phase One Flier the Campus Promo: Coffee and Conversation

We plan on printing and distributing Sip Smart fliers across campus in the three days prior to our

first event.

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Fliers will be placed at, but not limited to, the following locations: all Boston University

dormitories, residence halls and apartment complexes; all Boston University dinning halls; the

library; the school buildings; and the student union.

We also plan on sending out viral promotional materials via Facebook and Twitter. On

Facebook the team members will set their profile picture to the flier as well as send out an

informational message to all Boston University friends explaining the campaign and the

sustainability pledge. On Twitter we are going to use the Boston University PRSSA Twitter

handle (@buprssa) to tweet the hashtag (#sipsmart) during the campaign to create traffic and

awareness online.

Our goal with these fliers and social media presence is to encourage Boston University students

to come to Coffee and Conversation and learn about sustainability. Another goal is to get

students to ask questions on what they can do in their personal lives to live greener lifestyles

and promote the Go Bare on Campus Pledge. Please see Appendix One for a copy of this flier.

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Phase Two Coffee and Conversation

Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore

Tentative Date: Friday November 5th at 3 pm (If not that Friday, then one of the others in

November)

Coffee and Conversation began with Dean Elmore’s passion to connect with his students and

address issues within the Boston University community. In order to connect with his students

and discuss the issues of the day, Dean Elmore began a weekly dialogue open to all students

and faculty.

In keeping with this concept the Go Bare, our team will focus the discussion at Coffee and

Conversation around the importance of sustainability and its practical implications. Not only will

we provide participants with coffee served in the Bare by Solo cups, but we will also provide the

topics for conversation, outlined in Appendix Four. We will also encourage our students and

faculty to get more involved in the issue by providing a laptop where they can take the Go Bare

Pledge while at the event. We will distribute fliers promoting the Facebook pledge and the

upcoming partnership event with the local coffee house, Espresso Royale Caffe.

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Phase Three Flyer the Campus Promo: Espresso Royale Caffe Partnership

Like Phase One, we once again plan on printing and distributing Sip Smart flyers all across

campus in the three days prior to our second event. We will also continue our promotion through

the various social media tools BU students use such as Facebook and Twitter, as previously

mentioned. Unlike the first event that was with a BU-affiliated organization, our next event will

promote the idea of sustainability in partnership with a local student hangout, Espresso Royale

Caffe.

Our goal is to encourage Boston University students to come check out the promotional table

we are hosting with the Caffe. There, students will learn about sustainability and take the Go

Bare Pledge to receive free coffee. Please see Appendix Two for a copy of this flyer.

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Phase Four Espresso Royale Caffe Partnership

General Manager Markus McVay

Tentative Date: Tuesday November 9th from 8 am – 2 pm (This will the Tuesday following

Coffee and Conversation, whichever date that may be)

Espresso Royale Caffe has developed a reputation among locals, tourists and students for

being a great place to relax, meet friends, study or just re-fuel. The Caffe is located on Boston

University’s campus, although it is not associated with the school. Unlike many coffee houses,

Espresso Royale Caffe promotes sustainability within their stores by distributing its coffee in

reusable ceramic mugs or single-use Bare by Solo cups. In addition, Espresso Royal Caffe only

purchases fair trade coffee and is known for using less non-renewable resources than their

competitors.

Our goal is to raise awareness of sustainability through our partnership with the environmentally

conscious Espresso Royale Caffe. We hope to attract its current clientele who are students and

local professionals and encourage them to take the Go Bare Pledge on Facebook.

Espresso Royale Caffe has generously offered to donate cups and coffee, and we will be setting

up a table in Marsh Plaza, a central campus location with high student traffic. We will be offering

free coffee for anyone who wants to take the Go Bare Pledge on Facebook. As an added

incentive, we will be hosting a raffle for a Gift Card to Espresso Royale Caffe for those who take

the pledge. Through these efforts, we hope to inspire an interest among students to go online

and take the pledge.

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Phase Five Flier the Campus Informational

Like Phases One and Three, we once again plan on printing and distributing Sip Smart fliers all

across campus in the three days prior to our first event. This time, however, the fliers will be

more informational than promotional.

Our goal is to encourage Boston University students to learn about sustainability. In addition,

there will be a call to action to take the Go Bare Pledge so they can learn more about the ways

they can be environmentally conscious on campus. Please see Appendix Three for a copy of

the flier.

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Phase Six Case Study at PRSSA Meeting After our events have taken place, we plan on presenting a case study to the rest of our chapter

members. We will explain what our objectives were, our strategy to complete our objectives,

and the tactics we used to do our campaign.

We will then present the results of our events and campaign. We plan on not only showing our

results through hard data but through rich multimedia as well. During all of our events, we will

not only be taking pictures but also video interviewing students who took the Go Bare Pledge.

We will ask them what sustainability means to them and what they do to incorporate

sustainability in their own lives. We will also be filming our events as they occur and showing

highlights to the chapter at our meeting.

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Appendix One Flier Draft One

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Appendix Two Flier Draft Two

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Appendix Three Flier Draft Three

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Appendix Four Coffee and Conversation Questions

1) The city government of Washington DC has imposed a tax of 5 cents per plastic bags for supermarket customers. City officials plan to use the increased revenue to combat pollution in a local river. According to manufacturers of plastic bags, who obviously aren't pleased with the new tax, the decision will cost the families of Washington "$ 5 million in 2010." Or, in other words, residence will have 100 million opportunities to choose an eco-friendly alternative to plastic bags next year. Should more cities impose these taxes?

2) The government is giving heavy tax credits to those who by hybrid cars. A recent example is the Nissan Leaf, specifically in California. After tax credits, the car’s consumer price is discounted from $32,780 to $20,280. Should we be rewarding people who go green? Is that a better approach than punishing people who do both? Should we do both?

3) Sun Chips recently decided to make their bags environmentally friendly and the news of the bag redesign caused a lot of noise among consumers—literally. Frito Lay, the company who owns Sun Chips, actually reverted back to the old, less environmentally friendly bag after complaints from customers. As we try to become more environmentally friendly, we will have to make certain sacrifices to our lifestyles. As ridiculous as an example as the Sun Chip bag is, how do you think people will react when bigger changes are put into effect?

4) Certain cities such as San Francisco have been on the cutting edge when it comes to making environmentally conscious decisions. Unfortunately, many other areas around the country still lag behind in the green movement because of lack of public interest, high expenses to get started, etc. Do you think we can ever reach a point of full sustainability? What do you think is going to help us get there?

5) BU has been working to promote Sustainability on campus. Other brands like Solo are trying to get people to take the pledge to go green on their campuses as well. What are some ways you’d like to see BU and brands like Solo promote sustainability on campus that haven’t been done so far? Do you think the recent effort in the GSU to promote proper waste management has been successful or only as successful as the people who monitor the bins? How has the effort changed since those employees left their “posts?”

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