Measuring Progress Over Time: The Sustainability Cultural Indicators Program at the University of Michigan

Abstract

The Sustainability Cultural Indicators Program (SCIP) is a multi-year project designed to measure and track the culture of sustainability at the University of Michigan. It is intended to inform U-M administrators and others responsible for day-to-day operations of the University including its academic programs. Furthermore, it is intended to serve as a model demonstrating how behavioral research can be used to address critical environmental issues within universities generally and in other organizational settings. Culture of sustainability is meant to reflect a set of attitudes, behaviors, levels of understanding and commitment, degrees of engagement, and dispositions among a population such as members of a university community. This paper presents findings from three years of data collection (2012–2014)—focusing on trends in responses from over 17,000 students, faculty, and staff. One of the most positive findings is that respondents report increasing levels of sustainability knowledge over time. However, SCIP results indicate that there is considerable room for improvement with regard to pro-environment behavior, engagement, and expressed commitment to sustainability. Finally, a brief overview is provided of how SCIP results are being used by multiple units on campus to guide programming and how SCIP is informing efforts at other institutions.