THE POWER OF YOU
Overview to Date
The Power of You (PoU) is a voluntary engagement, awareness, and behavior change strategy launched by the Sustainability Office in 2013. The PoU serves as a key initiative to advance the culture of sustainability at UBC Okanagan by engaging campus constituents in actions they can take to help advance UBC’s sustainability goals.
The first phase of the program targeted awareness and behavior change to support energy conservation. Implementation of PoU activities and events were designed to support operational measures by building capacity and encouraging actions that individuals can take to help reduce energy consumption, carbon emissions and associated costs, and increase overall sustainability performance.
This document provides an overview of planning, events, and activities implemented during the first phase, as well as key findings that will help guide the development of subsequent phases.
Program Development
- Energy use practices on campus were audited through an online Baseline Energy Behavior Survey completed by 220 staff and faculty.
- 89% of respondents agreed contributing to an energy-responsible campus is important.
Executive Endorsement
- PoU was officially endorsed by the Okanagan Senior Executive Committee (OEC) following a presentation which highlighted the PoU program’s objectives, values, and anticipated outcomes.
Sponsorship
- Sponsorship and partnership in kind provided by FortisBC.
Volunteer Engagement
- Recruiting volunteers to assist with the implementation of PoU activities was fundamental to the operability and success of the program. Targeted volunteer recruitment was facilitated by a “Join the Energy Conversation” event. More than 30 volunteers comprised of staff, faculty, and students joined the team.
- The OSO provided in-depth sustainability training and education opportunities to volunteers over several months prior to the program’s launch.