Publications : Spring 2003 Student Survey

University of Colorado
Spring 2003 Student Environmental Survey

Executive Summary

In April 2003 the UCSU Environmental Center contracted Aspen Media and Marketing to conduct a phone survey of 300 randomly chosen, full-time CU-Boulder students to gauge the current level of environmental concern at the university. The results were then weighted by class standing to assure that the sample matched the actual breakdown of students by year in school. The results revealed that the majority of students surveyed are in favor of campus environmental action and would like to see more steps taken for CU to become a national leader in campus environmental policy. Students believe that the university should expand the use of renewable energy even if it costs them additional money, either in fees or residence hall rents. Students would also like to see the university make an effort to use recycled or tree-free paper and a ban of chemical pesticides used on campus lawns. A strong majority of students believe that campus food outlets should offer organic options, and 40 percent would be willing to pay significantly higher prices for organic food. Ninety-two percent of the students surveyed indicate that they participate in the campus recycling program. Ninety percent of residence hall students support the use of biodiesel in the Williams Village buses, even if they have to pay slightly higher rent to cover this; and two-thirds of residence hall students support a rent increase to fund the incremental costs of green building in the residence halls.

A few of these questions were also asked in a 1999 survey conducted by Aspen Media for the Environmental center. The answers closely track the 2003 numbers. In those cases where the same questions were asked in both surveys, the 2003 and 1999 numbers are shown below.

(Conducted for the CU Environmental Center using Aspen Media and Market Research to conduct a telephone survey of 300 randomly selected students. This has a margin of error of +/- five percent.)

CU has been a leader in some environmental areas, such as recycling and the student pass program. On a scale of 1-4, where 1 is important and 4 is not at all important, how important is it to you for CU to be a leader in campus environmental causes?

  2003 1999 Very important 46.5% 41.3% Somewhat important 39.4% 50.8% Not very important 10.3% 7.1% Not at all important 3.6%   Don’t know/Refused 0.2%  

 

Did CU’s environmental reputation play a role in your decision to attend the university?

Yes 11.2% No 88.2% Don’t know/Refused 0.6%

 

Some people have proposed that traffic and air pollution could be reduced by restricting freshman and sophomores who live on campus from bringing their cars. To what extent would a ban on freshman cars have affected your decision to attend CU?

More likely to attend 8.0% Less likely to attend 23.6% Would not attend 7.8% Would have had no impact 60.6%

 

What single environmental improvement would you most like to see on campus? (the answers to this open ended question clustered as follows)

Energy/renewables 80 Recycling/trash 53 Water conservation/quality 29 Miscellaneous 25 Transportation (bikes, biodiesel, transit) 20 Green purchasing, paper use 18 Pesticide use 5 More outreach/awareness 2 Organic food 2

 

Questions about the Environmental Center

The University of Colorado Environmental Center is a student run center that works to improve environmental management on campus.

Have you heard of the Environmental Center?

Yes 48.0% No 50.5% Don’t know/Refused 1.5%

What interaction with the E Center have you had? (asked of the 140 people who answered yes to the previous question)

Seen articles 25.8% Seen newsletter 15.3% Gone to event 10.5% Visit Web site 11.0% Seen posters 40.8% Other interaction 38.1% Don’t Know/Refused 15.4%

 

The Environmental Center administers a number of programs on campus. Are you aware of:

The student bus pass program?

Yes 79.0% No 20.0% Don’t know/Refused 0.4%

CU recycling?

Yes 87.4% No 12.6%

The “when not in use, turn off the juice” energy conservation program?

Yes 89.7% No 10.3%

 

Questions about recycling

How often do you recycle?

Always 51.4% Sometimes 40.6% Never 7.6% Don’t know/Refused 0.4%

 

Which of these three reasons to recycle is the most important to you?

Saves resources 69.1% Saves the campus money 14.8% It’s the right thing to do 26.1%

 

There is a proposal to build a parking structure and athletics field house east of the stadium. This would displace the campus recycling facility. If it is moved off campus, transportation costs will be higher and it may be difficult to expand the collection of recyclable materials from campus. If it is moved to another location campus, costs will be lower and it may be easier to expand collections of recyclable materials, but 70 parking spaces would be lost.

Which option would you support?

Off campus option 14.3% On campus option 73.5% Neither 2.5% Either one/doesn’t matter 3.2% Don’t know/Refused 6.5%

If the facility is moved, it will be replaced by a new parking structure with up to 885 spaces. Does knowing this affect your answer? (asked of the 72 people who answered off campus option, either one, or don’t know)

Yes 36.8% No 55.3% Don’t know 7.9%

 

Questions about campus purchasing decisions

CU consumes hundreds of tons of paper every year. On a scale of 1-4, where 1 is very important and 4 is not at all important, how important is it to you for CU to use 100 percent recycled or tree-free paper?

  2003 1999 Very important 37.4% 48.2% Somewhat important 46.1% 45.2% Not very important 12.4% 6.3% Not at all important 3.6%   Don’t know/Refused 0.4%  

 

In general, how important a factor should environmental concerns be in campus purchasing decisions? Please use the same scale where 1 is very important and 4 is not at all important.

Very important 38.3% Somewhat important 49.9% Not very important 10.1% Not at all important 1.5% Don’t know/Refused 0.2%

 

Currently, you do not pay a charge when you print in a campus computer lab. CU is planning to move the cost of printing to a user fee, which is charged to each student account. This means the people using less paper would pay less than people who use more. Paper use is expected to drop by 30-50 percent if pay for print is implemented. Would you say you would strongly support, somewhat support or not support this charge?

  2003 1999 Strongly support 25.3% 34.1% Somewhat support 37.7% 34.9% Neutral/don’t care 3.4% 1.6% Would not support 32.2% 29.4% Don’t know/ Refused 1.5% 1.6%

 

Questions about food

CU serves a variety of foods and beverages through residence hall dining halls, UMC food services, and departmental catering. Some people argue that CU should purchase organically grown, shade-grown coffee. Do you strongly support, somewhat support, somewhat oppose, or strongly oppose this?

Strongly support 12.8% Somewhat support 34.1% Somewhat oppose 18.1% Strongly oppose 12.0% Don’t know/Refused/No opinion 22.9%

 

Purchasing organic coffee could increase the cost of coffee on campus. Would you purchase organic coffee if the price increased by 25 cents?

Yes 42.5% No 48.6% Don’t know 8.9%

 

Do you believe that CU should offer organic food options in dining halls and the UMC?

Yes 74.9% No 16.2% Depends 4.6% Don’t know 4.2%

 

Would you purchase organic options if the price were 20 percent higher?

Yes 40.0% No 50.7% Don’t know 9.3%

 

Question about pesticide use

If campus lawns were managed organically, without the use of pesticides, some people believe there would be more dandelions and other weeds. Would you support organic lawn management even if it meant more dandelions and other weeds?

  2003 1999 Yes 73.7% 84.1% No 21.3% 12.7% Depends 1.3% 3.2% Don’t know/Refused 3.8%  

Note that these numbers are quite stable, despite a significant dandelion outbreak on campus in spring of 2003.

 

Questions about energy use

CU is currently encouraging students and staff to reduce energy use by turning off lights and by enabling energy saving options on computers. These steps could save hundreds of thousands of dollars per year. Some people have proposed that a portion of these savings be invested in solar and other renewable energy. Others think that, given the budget crisis, all of this money should go into budget savings. What percentage do you think should be invested in renewable energy?

0% 4.0% 1%-10% 14.5% 11%-25% 29.2% 26%-50% 32.0% more than 50% 16.0% Don’t Know/Refused 3.2% Budgets savings now/Renewables later 1.1%

 

CU purchases one-third of the electricity used by Wardenburg, the UMC, and the Recreation Center from the “windsource” program, which supports building wind turbines to generate electricity. CU could increase this to 100 percent. This would conserve fossil fuels and reduce emissions of carbon dioxide into the air, but would also cost more. Student fees pay for the power used by these buildings. How much more would you be willing to pay in student fees per semester in order to purchase 100 percent wind generated electricity for these buildings?

Would you be willing to pay $2.00 per semester?

Yes 92.0% No 7.4% Don’t know 0.6%

Would you be willing to pay $1.00 per semester? (asked of the 24 who answered No or Don’t know to the previous question)

Yes 44.8% No 55.2%

 

Most energy for heating and cooling campus buildings, and for providing electricity to campus, currently comes from burning fossil fuels such as coal and natural gas. Currently less than two percent of CU’s electricity comes from renewable sources such as wind power. What percentage of CU’s electricity do you think should come from wind, solar, or other renewable sources?

Average (mean) of all answers 42.2%

 

Questions asked of 140 residence hall students

Currently, the residence halls do not purchase any wind-generated electricity.

Would you support the purchase of wind energy by residence halls if it required that rents be increased by $10/month?

Yes 72.1% No 22.9% Don’t know 5.0%

Would you support the purchase of wind energy by the residence halls if it required that rents be increased by $5/month? (asked of the 39 who answered no or don’t know to the previous question)

Yes 48.7% No 43.6% Don’t know 7.7%

 

The Housing Department will be renovating many buildings in the next few years.

On a scale of 1-4, where 1 is very important and 4 is not at all important, how important is it to you for these renovations to be “green” — that is, to address energy efficiency, efficient use, indoor air quality, and use of recycled building materials?

Very important 40.7% Somewhat important 41.4% Not very important 15.7% Not at all important 2.1%

If it were more expensive to build green, would you support a rent increase to fund green building?

Yes 60.0% No 30.0% Don’t know 10.0%

Would you support a rent increase of $10/month to fund green building? (asked of the 98 who answered yes or don’t know to the previous question)

Yes 81.6% No 15.3% Don’t know 3.1%

Would you support a rent increase of $5/month to fund green building? (asked of the 18 who answered no or don’t know to the previous question)

Yes 88.9% No 11.1%

 

Housing runs the Buff Bus between Williams Village and main campus. Switching to the use of biodiesel in these buses would reduce air pollution, but would be more expensive than conventional diesel. Would you be willing to support a rent increase of $1.00 per month to pay for this?

Yes 90.0% No 10.0%