UMD OFFICE OF SUSTAINABLITY

Mission Statement:The Office of Sustainability and the UMD Campus are committed to communicating, educating, and inspiring action to integrate sustainability into all aspects of campus life.

LiNCS Objectives

• Assess need for signage around elevator/stairs to decrease elevator use

• Evaluate results to cater signs towards target audience

• Create signs

The Elevator Project

The Issue: Heavy elevator use on campus.

The Facts: Electricity and energy use account for 90% of UMD’s carbon footprint.*

*Statistic taken from UMD’s Office of Sustainability website

The Survey

Surveyed 712 UMD elevator riders in five different on campus elevators 14 hours.

Most Highly Used Elevators on Campus:

Darland Administration Building (2 units)

Solon Campus Center

Labovitz School of Business & Economics (2 units)

Library (2 units)

The Findings

559 people (78%) reported they took the elevator for convenience.

153 (22%) reported they took the elevator for health reasons.

When asked for what reasons they would opt the stairs:

386 people said they would take the stairs because it’s healthier for them

189 people said they would take the stairs because it uses less energy on campus

340 people said they would still take the elevator

The Next Steps…

Making Point-of-Decision Prompts (PODP’s) to encourage stair use

Inform people about health or weight loss benefits from taking the stairs

Remind people already predisposed to becoming more active, for health or other reasons, about an opportunity at hand to do so

Information from: http://www.thecommunityguide.org/pa/environmental-policy/podp.html

Biggest Area of Responsibility

Responsibility I: Assess Needs, Assets, and Capacity for Health Education

&

Responsibility IV: Conduct Evaluation and Research Related to Health Education

Theory

Precaution Adoption Process Model specifies seven distinct stages in the journey from lack of awareness to adoption and/or maintenance of a behavior. It begins with lack of awareness and advances through subsequent stages of becoming aware, deciding whether or not to act, acting, and maintaining the behavior.

Precaution Adoption Process Model

Greatest Challenge

Riding in an elevator for 14 hours.

Finding time.. It’s been a busy semester!

Most Rewarding Experience

Calculating the data and knowing that the hardest part was over!

If I had to do it over again..

Have a better idea of how much time I would realistically have to dedicate to this project.