The University of Michigan will launch its latest Sustainability Cultural Indicators Program (SCIP) surveys on October 7. These surveys aim to assess sustainability knowledge, behaviors, and attitudes among students, faculty, and staff. Managed by the Institute for Social Research and the Graham Sustainability Institute, SCIP has provided valuable insights for campus operations since its inception in Fall 2012. 

The surveys, last conducted in 2021, comprise two questionnaires—one for faculty and staff and another for students—targeting a random sample of 2,000 faculty and staff and 5,000 students on the Ann Arbor campus. Similar, yet campus-specific versions for Flint and Dearborn will also launch later this month, marking the second round of data collection for these campuses since SCIP expanded in 2021. To enhance data quality, this survey will double the sampling size compared to previous cycles. 

This year’s survey will focus on critical topics including carbon neutrality, transportation, waste prevention, climate change, and food sustainability. New questions on climate anxiety will explore respondents' feelings about climate issues and their experiences with direct impacts.

The program aims for a robust survey response rate to strengthen U-M’s sustainability strategies. Results will be compared with earlier surveys to track changes in sustainability culture at U-M since the program’s inception. U-M’s heightened focus on climate action and carbon neutrality underscores the significance of these efforts.

“One of the strengths of SCIP is the broad community engagement we deploy to revise and improve the questionnaires to reflect current programs and concerns,” said co-investigator John Callewaert, director of strategic projects for the College of Engineering and research investigator at the Institute for Social Research’s Survey Research Center. “This year we worked with several dozen students, faculty, and staff across Dearborn, Flint, and Ann Arbor to update and test the questionnaires. This collaboration also supports broad utilization of results.”

Data from past surveys are integrated into the Assessing Sustainability Culture course (ENVIRON 302) offered by the Program in the Environment (PitE) through the School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS) and the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts (LSA). Students analyze SCIP data, gaining practical experience while contributing to sustainability discussions on campus.

“We are excited for the opportunity to integrate SCIP into a PitE course and demonstrate how this data resource can inform not only campus operations, but also can provide educational opportunities for students, in line with the vision for utilizing the campus as a living laboratory,” said Noah Webster, adjunct lecturer, Program in the Environment and associate research scientist at the Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research.

This year, U-M has partnered with Rutgers University, conducting a comparable survey concurrently. U-M also collaborates with the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, a private research university in Monterrey, Mexico, with 35 campuses across the country, to implement a similar program for the first time in early 2025. Members of the University Climate Change Coalition (UC3), which connects 23 leading research universities committed to accelerating climate action on campus, in communities, and globally, have shown interest in implementing similar surveys on their campuses.

Previous SCIP questionnaires have recently become publicly available through the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR), garnering over 1,000 downloads in just one week.

“There is a growing recognition in the U. S. and elsewhere that strengthening the sustainability culture at universities is a needed complement to the technological improvements required to achieve carbon neutrality and become a highly sustainable institution,” said co-investigator Robert Marans, research professor at the Institute for Social Research and professor emeritus in the A. Alfred Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning. “At the same time, surveys such as SCIP are seen as ways of measuring and monitoring cultural change over time.”  

The U-M community is encouraged to participate in this important survey, as your insights are crucial for shaping effective sustainability strategies and programs. Look for the survey in your email soon.

For more information about the survey, visit graham.umich.edu/scip.