Grassroots success at NAU Heather Farley Sustainability Coordinator NAU - Flagstaff, AZ

Organization of Presentation Introduction What do we mean by “grassroots” efforts? Why does it work to effectuate change? Examples at NAU – Herbicide Elimination Committee – Yellow Bike Prgm – Departmental Green Teams – Campus Dining Conclusion: Buy-in at all levels

Introduction Sustainability Coordinator in the Office of Sustainability Politics and International Affairs Grad student – Environmental Policy NAU –22,000 students enrolled at NAU and 15,000 on campus –Located at 7000 ft –President John Haeger

Classic Organizational Model Weber’s rational bureaucracy = hierarchy Includes management at the top, middle managers, and implementers at the foundation

In the context of a university setting President & Cabinet Directors, Deans, Unit Managers Students, Staff, and Faculty Broad mandates, policy changes, and institutional goal setting Lead the implementation of mandates, policies, and goals implementers

Levels of Decision-making BUT… The university exists not just to perpetuate the bureaucracy through top-down decision making We play other roles as well that serve students, employ citizens, and support faculty development. SO… There are undeniably other levels of decision- making power within the foundation of the bureaucracy (faculty, staff, and students)

Levels of Decision-making Grassroots organization is a means for influence in the decision-making process This is most readily seen in the formation of staff councils, student government organizations, and faculty senates who can work as a unified voice on issues of concern

What do we mean by “grassroots” efforts? Encarta refers to – “the ordinary people in a community or the ordinary members of an organization, as opposed to the leadership” Also referred to as a bottom-up approach driven by the constituents of a community In the context of the university we mean an approach to decision making that does not involve mandate by the upper administration – ground-up initiatives

Why does it work? Allows non-decision makers access to the decision-making process Engages “silent voices” Power in numbers Uses multiple skill sets and ideas Helps solve local problems/issues (sustainability and/or environmental issues for example) Creates Buy-in

Successes at NAU Herbicide Elimination Committee –Originally raised as an issue by an employee in the IT department –Faculty Senate took this on as a priority and called for a faculty/staff committee to be formed –Committee worked with Grounds department and Administration to set up a pilot program

Successes at NAU ACUPCC –President Haeger was a charter signatory –An undergraduate read about ACUPCC, ed Dr. Haeger and two days later we were a participating university

Successes at NAU Yellow Bike Program –Interdisciplinary Carbon Mitigation research class –Proposed to those with budget resources –Piloted in 2007 and revised in 2008

Successes at NAU Departmental Green Teams –First popped up in the HR department and later moved to other departments including the library and university advancement –Helps to create internal accountability and peer pressure –Allows department-specific solutions to resource use to emerge

Successes at NAU Campus Dining –Some struggle to get sustainability into the dining contract and then get it implemented –Found an ally in dining in the marketing director –Helped her produce an image for dining services while simultaneously giving her an outlet to practice a value that was important to her –Community food surplus program (student collaboration), reverse osmosis water station, Trayless dining, vegetarian, local, and organic push

Conclusions This is not an argument for the elimination of Presidential or administrative involvement in sustainability Highlights that those “on the ground” have a unique opportunity to find solutions to sustainability issues on campus A call for sustainability “buy-in” at multiple levels

Contact Us Thank You! Office of Sustainability (928)