Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) has launched a new sustainability and wellbeing behaviour change initiative, using gamification to drive engagement.
ARUgreen, operated by Green Rewards through its JUMP engagement programme, is being piloted for six months, initially covering 700 of ARU's 18,000 employees. The pilot launched on Monday 17 September 2018.
The initiative involves the use of an interactive online and app-based platform which encourages members to engage in a range of actions. These come under themes relevant to ARU's key sustainability priorities of energy saving, sustainable travel, waste reduction, responsible purchasing and health and wellbeing.
Staff can opt in to activities they would like to participate in, and will then receive weekly emails, prompting them to report their actions. Activities are grouped into the following themes: get involved, sustainable travel, waste and recycling, energy saving, health and wellbeing, and responsible purchasing.
Members' achievements are then translated into 'green points', and employees can compete with their colleagues to win monthly voucher prizes. For example, 150 Green Points are awarded for referring a colleague to sign up, 5 for every mile travelled actively to and from work, 20 for avoiding single-use plastics, 300 for reading tips to reduce energy consumption, 100 for exploring biodiversity trails on campus and 100 for purchasing Fairtrade products.
Each month, five vouchers for Love2Shop, Marks and Spencer, National Garden and B&Q will be given out to those individuals who have earned the most points.
In addition, five raffle prizes are given out randomly each month to members that have earned points each week during the period. Prizes include an ARU KeepCup and a £5 on-campus catering voucher.
Departments are encouraged to compete against each other through the online leader board. At the end of the pilot, the top-performing team will receive £100 to donate to their chosen charity.
Simon Chubb, environmental manager for ARU, said: "At ARU we have pledged to incorporate sustainability into every aspect of our university life, from sustainability research including our Global Sustainability Institute to the impacts of our campuses.
"ARUgreen is a great opportunity for our employees to play their part in cutting our carbon footprint, and at the same time make some valuable cost savings."
Green Rewards currently provides JUMP programmes for nine other universities, including Bristol, Reading and Glasgow.
Graham Simmonds, managing director at Green Rewards, said: "It's great to see Anglia Ruskin University launching its pilot programme. In the last academic year we recorded 215,348 positive actions across all our university clients and we're excited by the potential of ARUgreen."
