Sustainability Literacy Survey
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SUSTAINABILITY LITERACY SURVEY
The Sustainability Literacy Survey is intended to be the benchmark in a series of annual surveys of incoming students, to be supplemented with annual assessments of graduating seniors. The survey has been given to all incoming students since Fall 2013 throughout today. The post-test has been given to all graduating seniors since May 2017 and each year since then.
| *** | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2019* | 2020 | 2022 | Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Climate Change | 3.36 | 3.73 | 3.99 | 3.98 | 4.14 | 4.42 | 4.09 | 4.2 | 4.0 |
| Energy | 2.77 | 3.41 | 3.36 | 3.30 | 3.44 | 3.52 | 3.43 | 3.6 | 3.4 |
| Planetary Assets | 3.34 | 3.80 | 3.89 | 3.90 | 4.08 | 4.01 | 3.96 | 4.2 | 3.9 |
| Systems | 2.26 | 4.24 | 4.35 | 4.32 | 4.49 | 4.41 | 4.44 | 4.6 | 4.1 |
| Environmental Justice | 3.01 | 4.02 | 4.10 | 4.09 | 3.60 | 4.32 | 2.55 | 4.4 | 3.8 |
| Business | 2.19 | 3.93 | 3.98 | 3.95 | 3.95 | 4.04 | 4.00 | 4.0 | 3.8 |
| Definitions | 4.39 | 3.41 | 3.39 | 3.36 | 3.39 | 3.16 | 3.11 | 3.5 | 3.5 |
| Attitudes | 2.17 | 3.71 | 3.85 | 3.84 | 4.02 | 4.94 | 3.80 | 3.4 | 3.7 |
| Behaviors | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 2.73 | 3.45 | 3.9 | 3.3 |
| I know enough about sustainability | N/A | N/A | N/A | 2.22 | 3.17 | 3.46 | 3.20 | 3.1 | 3.0 |
| SU's sustainability practices contributed to my decision to enroll here | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 15% very much, 43% somewhat, 42% not at all | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Willingness to support $1/credit fee for sustainability support | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 47% yes, 47% maybe | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Importance of SU carbon neutrality | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 3.89 | 4.01 | N/A | N/A |
| Importance of fossil fuels divestment | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 59.4% yes, 5.9% no, 34.7% no understanding | 45% yes, 23% no, 32% no understanding | N/A | N/A |
| Would donate to offset | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 39% yes, 55% maybe, 6% no | N/A | N/A |
***Means are for 1-5 scales; higher numbers indicate more sustainability literacy.
*No survey conducted for 2018 Freshmen
| *** | 2017–18* | 2020** | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Climate Change | 4.13 | 4.21 | 4.4 | 4.2 | 4.3 | 4.2 |
| Energy | 3.44 | 2.82 | 3.7 | 3.6 | 3.5 | 3.4 |
| Planetary Assets | 4.06 | 3.38 | 4.3 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 4.0 |
| Systems | 4.47 | 4.62 | 4.8 | 4.6 | 4.5 | 4.6 |
| Environmental Justice | 4.41 | 4.53 | 4.6 | 4.5 | 4.6 | 4.5 |
| Business | 4.20 | 4.13 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 4.1 | 4.2 |
| Definitions | 3.54 | 3.56 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.4 | 3.5 |
| Attitudes | 4.00 | 3.96 | 3.6 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 3.7 |
| Behaviors | 2.76 | 3.46 | 4.1 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.6 |
| I know enough about sustainability | N/A | 3.34 | 3.6 | 3.5 | 3.2 | 3.4 |
| Importance of SU commitment to sustainability | N/A | 3.09 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Importance of SU carbon neutrality | N/A | 4.22 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Importance of fossil fuels divestment | N/A | 80% Yes, 10% No 10%, No understanding | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
*The same survey was inadvertently distributed twice, to 2017 graduating seniors in the Spring and to 2018 graduating seniors in the Fall.
**No survey of grads was conducted in 2019.
***Means are for 1-5 scales; higher numbers indicate more sustainability literacy.