Green Office Certification Program

The Green Office Certification program helps campus offices of any size to become more sustainable workplaces through a guided certification process.

The program is designed to give UW–Madison employees the information and tools they need to learn about sustainability, better understand the impacts of their practices, and create healthy and sustainable work environments.

Join the Green Office program to become part of a campus community where sustainability is meaningful and widespread!

From left to right: Britta Wellenstein, Narayani Varanasi, Elisabeth Bautista, Kylie Schedler, Thomas Hadcock
From left to right: Britta Wellenstein, Narayani Varanasi, Elisabeth Bautista, Kylie Schedler, Thomas Hadcock

Overview

What does a green office look like? Some ideas may spring to mind quickly: turning off lights, recycling, and using less paper—and these are a good start! But sustainability encompasses much more, from purchasing choices to employee health and wellness.

The Green Office Certification consists of two levels. For each level of certification, participating offices receive an educational presentation from the Green Office team, a checklist of action items to complete, and a two-week check-in to discuss their progress and move forward.

Offices can take a step above and beyond to achieve Platinum level certification. The Office of Sustainability is available as a resource throughout these steps.

These certification steps won’t take up much of your office’s time but can have meaningful and lasting impacts on our campus and community. The average certification process requires one 1-hour meeting and a checklist to complete over 3 months but can be adapted to your office’s needs. Begin your journey through certification now!

How to get started

Contact us

Contact our Green Office Team to schedule an initial overview presentation. The OS interns will visit your office to give a short presentation (around 15 minutes) about the Green Office Program, how it might work for your staff, and why it is important for our campus community. We’ll then invite you to designate a Green Officer to lead your office through the certification process.

Get Educated

The Green Office team will present to your entire office about sustainable practices and what sustainability looks like on our campus, focusing on a range of sustainability issues. The team will provide you with beginner knowledge and tips on how to improve on these issues within your office.

Take Action

For each level, complete the action items on your checklist to make your office a more sustainable workplace. If you’re hoping to achieve Platinum certification, you can complete three extra activities.

Move Forward

The Green Office team will check in after two weeks to go over your progress and answer any questions you may have. There is no deadline to finish the checklist, as the team wants the process to be convenient for you and your office!

To learn more or join the program, read on or contact our staff at greenoffice@g-groups.wisc.edu.

Certified Offices

Green Office Platinum

SoHE Advising & Career Center – January 2024

UW Makerspace – December 2023

CALS Academic Affairs Office – August 2023

Department of Physical Therapy – April 2023

Arboretum – February 2023

Morgridge Center – February 2023

Office of Sustainability – January 2023

Student Print – April 2022

Goodnight Hall – February 2022

Grainger Hall– April 2020

Department of Biochemistry – January 2020

Green Office Certified

South Madison Partnership – March 2024

Office of Student Financial Aid – March 2024

Data, Academic Planning and Institutional Research – February 2024

The Chazen Museum of Art – February 2024

International Services – January 2024

Employee Assistance Office – September 2023

Department of Horticulture – July 2023

International Studies Major – February 2023

Division of Continuing Studies– March 2023

SoHe Advising and Career Center – November 2022

Employee Assistance Office – August 2022

College Library – February 2022

CALS Academic Affairs Office– March 2022

CALS HR Office– February 2021

IAP – February 2020

Medical Scientist Training Program – January 2020