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Green Office Program

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Sustainability

Sustainable Actions, Powered by You

The Green Office Program makes it easy for departments across Cal State Monterey Bay to take meaningful steps toward sustainability — at a pace that works for you.

Welcome to the Green Office Program

Looking for ways your office can make an impact? The Green Office Program offers a flexible, approachable way to strengthen your team’s sustainability practices. Designed with busy campus environments in mind, the program allows offices to participate anytime and choose actions that fit their goals and capacity.

How it Works

Every office begins at Level 0. From there, you can move up by completing sustainability actions at each level.

  • Each level includes three action options
  • Choose the action that works best for your office
  • Learn why each action matters and how to complete it
  • Submit your form for review by the Sustainability Office

Once approved, your office advances to the next level.

Green Office Levels

As your office progresses, actions become more impactful and build on previous efforts. Some actions may appear at multiple levels, giving you flexibility to complete them over time.

The more you engage, the greater your impact, helping create a more sustainable campus for everyone.

How much time does it take to participate in the Green Office Program?

That all depends on the office. Offices can pick their own commitment level. The levels are here for your office to complete at any time. You’ll remain at your current Green Office level until your office chooses to take another action.

Does it cost money to participate in the Green Office Program?

We’ve designed the Green Office Program so that most of the actions cost little to nothing for offices to complete. Sustainability doesn’t have to mean spending money to solve our environmental and social issues. The actions highlights many ways departments can be sustainable without breaking the bank.

How are our efforts recognized?

Once an office completes level 1, they’ll receive a Green Office certificate they can post in their office. The certificate will be laminated so the office can update their level directly on the certificate. Show off your Green Office pride!

Additionally, the list of green offices is below and will be updated each time an office completes a level. The Sustainability Office social media accounts will highlight your awesome accomplishments with a post. Broader public recognition in presentations or campus shout outs will occur for “milestone” levels (aka every 10 levels).

What if we can't complete any of the actions in a certain level?

Reach out to the Sustainability Office (sustainability@csumb.edu) and we can discuss an alternative. We don't want any office to get stuck because the actions in a level aren't applicable to them or aren't feasible.

How are the actions picked?

We undertook an extensive review of possible actions offices can take including the level of effort they take to complete, the costs involved, the practicality to complete, and their impact on building a sustainable campus. We consulted with staff on campus as well as the President’s Sustainability Committee to develop this list. This is not a comprehensive list of all actions an office can take; new levels are being developed and will be launched in the future. Do you have an idea of an action offices can take? Reach out to the Sustainability Office (sustainability@csumb.edu) and share your ideas. We’re always looking for ways to improve.

List of Green Offices

Safety, Risk, and Sustainability Level 1