2016 SWANA EXCELLENCE AWARD ENTRY

Transcription

1 2016 SWANA EXCELLENCE AWARD ENTRY Category: Education Program Entrant Organization: BC Housing Title of Entry: Tenant Engagement on Sustainability, Focusing on Waste Reduction and Diversion Contact: Magda Szpala, Senior Strategic Advisor, Sustainability, BC Housing Or Alida Kusch, Associate, Dillon Consul ng Limited Jurisdic on: BC Housing sites are located across the province of Bri sh Columbia Popula on: 7,000 housing sites. This project took place at four sites (540 units) Cost per unit: $75 Approximate budget: $42,000 April 2016

2 2016 Excellence Award Entry Category: Educa on Program Entrant: BC Housing Executive Summary BC Housing assists in providing social housing for low income adults, families, seniors, as well as people with mental health, physical and addic on challenges, across the province of Bri sh Columbia. The livegreen Tenant Engagement on Sustainability toolkit was developed following the pilo ng of waste management ac vi es at four BC Housing sites that are representa ve of BC Housing s tenant and por olio diversity. Piloted ac vi es were evaluated for their overall success in terms of engagement and tenant sa sfac on, as well as, waste reduc on and diversion. Based on the successes and lessons learned, several resources were developed that would enable others to replicate the ac vi es and apply them in their own buildings. They include: Facilitator s Handbook, Guide, as well as, communica on and games materials. The inten on of the Tenant Engagement on Sustainability toolkit is to assist other organiza ons with achieving their waste reduc on and diversion goals. Thank you for considering BC Housing for a SWANA 2016 Educa on Program Excellence Award. 2.0 Research BC Housing s Sustainability Objectives BC Housing is responsible for developing, managing, and administering subsidized housing for those most in need across the province. This encompasses a wide range of housing op ons across Bri sh Columbia, and means that we are the biggest developer of housing, and one of the largest landlords in the province. Our por olio includes: residen al towers, midand low-rise buildings, single family homes and others. BC Housing partners with non-profit housing providers, health authori es, community groups, businesses and others to create the best system of housing and support. BC Housing s livegreen mascot Sparkie One of BC Housing s key objec ves is to promote sustainability leadership within the housing sector. For the past few years, BC Housing has developed a livegreen Sustainability Plan which sets a number of ambi ous plans and targets which e into a core mandate in order to encourage environmental and social benefits. The livegreen Sustainability Plan aims to make strong linkages between BC Housing s sustainability strategies and work that is completed on a day-to-day basis. As part of the livegreen strategy, BC Housing has been working on how best to engage tenants on issues related to sustainability. These efforts have led to the development of a Tenant Engagement Strategy. The Strategy has three main objec ves: 1. Reducing u lity costs, waste, energy consump on, and greenhouse gas emissions; 2. Increasing community capacity through community development; and 3. Increasing tenant well-being and sa sfac on.

3 2016 Excellence Award Entry Category: Educa on Program Entrant: BC Housing 2 Need for this Program In the fall of 2014, the majority of BC Housing loca ons had some form of basic recycling program for materials such as plas c, paper, and cardboard while only a few sites had begun diver ng organic waste. Across the province, regula ons vary by municipality and region in terms of banning recyclables and organics from landfill, policies, increasing disposal fees, and waste diversion targets. A driver for this waste diversion ini a ve for sites located within Metro Vancouver was the an cipa on of the Regional Organics Ban (effec ve January 2015). The Regional Organics Ban meant that food waste in the garbage stream would be considered contamina on at waste facili es within the region. Incoming loads of garbage at Metro Vancouver s waste facili es that contain organics above a certain threshold could result in a 50% surcharge on the fees paid to dispose of this waste. For social housing providers this could mean an increase in waste disposal fees if organic waste diversion efforts are not effec vely implemented. One of BC Housing s key approaches to achieving their waste diversion and reduc on goals was to increase tenant engagement through effec ve and sustainable educa on and outreach programs. It was recognized that the support and development of tenant and staff capacity would be a cri cal component of driving change. Research Methods and Findings It is no secret that diver ng waste in the mul -family sector is more challenging than diver ng waste in the single-family sector. Studies have shown that some of the common challenges associated with increasing diversion in this sector include: Language barriers; Transient nature of tenants; Inconvenience; Lack of financial incen ve/disincen ve; Lack of appropriate infrastructure; Anonymity (neighbours won t know if you recycle regularly compared to weekly set outs at single family households); and, Each building is unique. Tenant par cipa on in waste management programs varies significantly based on residence type, access to, and awareness of programs. While there are a number of challenges associated with tenant engagement in mul -family buildings, BC Housing sites have addi onal challenges due to the wide diversity of tenants and various health and social challenges. There are many different tools that can be used to influence effec ve and sustainable behavioural change within a community. CBSM is an approach to fostering sustainable behavioural change based on research that demonstrates that behavioural change is most effec vely achieved through ac vi es delivered at the community level. CBSM is an alterna ve to conven onal educa on and awareness

4 2016 Excellence Award Entry Category: Educa on Program Entrant: BC Housing 3 methods, such as large-scale informa on campaigns and adver sing. Numerous studies have shown that informa on campaigns and adver sing are effec ve in crea ng public awareness and changing a tudes; however, they are not effec ve in bringing about an actual behavioural change. The CBSM method focuses on removing barriers to an ac vity while simultaneously enhancing the ac vity s benefits. CBSM provides a personal approach that allows for clear and tailored communica on and is especially effec ve when applied in communi es with various language proficiencies, as it can provide face-to-face tailored communica on in different languages as needed. To deliver the most effec ve program with BC Housing s diverse tenant popula on it was determined that components of CBSM would be applied to the project. Establishment of Baseline Data In order to understand the composi on of waste being produced at BC Housing sites, baseline waste audits were completed in The results of these baseline audits indicated that on average, 47% of waste produced at BC Housing sites was considered diver ble organic material, and 17% was recyclable material. This is similar to findings in regional mul -family composi on studies. Literature Review Background informa on at each of the four pilot sites was reviewed prior to the project ini a on. Informa on was reviewed from a variety of resources including: Garbage 36% Recycling 17% Organics 47% Exis ng waste audit data; Exis ng background informa on from surveys, focus groups, and informa onal interviews with the tenants within the four buildings; and Research reports on tenant engagement plans and strategies from BC Housing s exis ng database. Addi onal baseline informa on was collected which included the comple on of site assessments with building managers, in order to iden fy barriers and benefits for waste diversion at each site. This informa on served as the framework to understanding the diversity and complexity of each site and what types of customized ac vi es would work best at each site to encourage waste reduc on and diversion. 3.0 Planning and Goal Setting The overall project focused on crea ng a high level of tenant engagement on sustainability, with a specific focus on waste reduc on and diversion. There were four key components to the project which are highlighted in the table below.

5 2016 Excellence Award Entry Category: Educa on Program Entrant: BC Housing 4 Objec ves Approach Objec ve 1: Implement engagement ac vi es with BC Housing s diverse popula on of tenants at four pilot sites. Objec ve 2: Iden fy exis ng barriers and benefits for waste diversion at each pilot building and evaluate various tenant engagement ac vi es in terms of their effec veness. Objec ve 3: Develop support systems such as new community partners and funding that will help sustain a high level of tenant engagement. Objec ve 4: Develop informa onal tools and resources that could be u lized by other facilitators and adapted to suit similar projects. Develop customized engagement ac vi es which includes (where possible) the input of building managers. Complete feedback forms with tenants and building managers and incorporate observa ons from facilitators. Seek support from local municipali es (program materials), dona ons (food/gi cards) from grocery stores and involve on-site staff in planning and implementa on. Develop a toolkit and resources that can be widely used at other BC Housing sites and by other Social Housing providers. At the onset of the project, BC Housing retained Dillon Consul ng Limited to assist in the development and implementa on of the project. Target Audience Four sites were selected to pilot the tenant engagement ac vi es. These sites were representa ve of BC Housing s diverse tenant types and were in different municipali es that varied in the waste and recycling services provided to the building. When selec ng each site, considera ons were made on the number of buildings, units, general layout of building/complex, exis ng programs in place, contamina on in recycling carts, and use of garbage chutes. The objec ve was not to select sites that already had high diversion rates, but rather to use buildings where there was opportunity for improvements in diversion efforts and/or exis ng programing to determine what results could be achievable at other social housing sites. Several important characteris cs of the pilot program loca ons include: Three out of the four sites had a common space where tenants could meet for engagement ac vi es; The level of staff support provided varied across the four sites, from part- me to no staff support; and Two of the four sites already had a program in place to collect food scraps and other organic waste.

6 2016 Excellence Award Entry Category: Educa on Program Entrant: BC Housing 5 Photos of buildings from each site are shown below. Site 1 Site 2 Site 3 Site 4 Informa on on each of the sites is provided in the table below. Characteristics Site 1 Site 2 Site 3 Site 4 Municipality Surrey New Westminster Richmond Richmond Year built 1973 (renovations in 2010) ~1985 Between 1970 and 1975 Between 1970 and 1975 # of Units # of Floors Townhouses 1 Tower, 16 floors Townhouses 2 Towers, 7 floors each Adult / Family Families Adults Families Adults On-site tenant support Part time Part time No No

7 2016 Excellence Award Entry Category: Educa on Program Entrant: BC Housing 6 Characteristics Site 1 Site 2 Site 3 Site 4 Tenant population characteristics Common languages and/or cultural groups Pre pilot program waste programs in place Pre pilot program - other waste reduction and diversion activities Physical and mental health barriers Some multiculturalism High number of children High number of Arabic and Somali refugees Garbage: Containers located in outdoor parking areas Recycling: Carts located in parking areas (multistream) Organics: Carts located in parking areas and kitchen catchers are provided to tenants. This program was implemented three months before the pilot program Waste Haulers: Garbage and recycling collection private collection; Organics collection municipal collection None Physical and mental health barriers Some multiculturalism English is the most common language spoken (90%) This site had the least diversity in languages Garbage: Containers are located outside at the rear of property Recycling: Multi- stream recycling containers are located outside at rear Organics: Carts are located onsite in the same area as the garbage. Kitchen catchers are also provided to tenants. Program implemented approximately a year before the pilot program Waste Haulers: Garbage private collection; Recycling and organics municipal collection Building manager provides constant reminders, education, and instructions regarding recycling Highly multicultural site Low-income families Some physical/mental health barriers English (66%), followed by Mandarin (6%) This site had the greatest language diversity of pilot sites Garbage: large garbage containers in common areas outdoors Recycling: Individual blue boxes for mixed containers, grey bins for glass, and bags for mixed paper. Tenants are responsible for setting out their recycling Organics: Each tenant has their own cart that they are responsible to bring to the curb. Kitchen catchers are also provided to tenants. Program roll-out a year before pilot program Waste Haulers: Garbage private collection; Recycling and organics municipal collection Many tenants donate used clothing items and other items they no longer use (culture of exchange onsite) Multicultural site Physical and mental health barriers Mainly seniors English (77%), followed by Mandarin (10%) Garbage: Garbage chute on each floor with container located in garbage room at rear of each tower. Recycling: Mid-size carts located at rear of property (multi - stream) Organics: No program in place. Program was implemented during pilot Waste Haulers: Garbage private collection; Recycling and organics municipal collection None Development of Customized Engagement Activities A customized engagement plan was developed for each site based on the iden fica on of capacity building, community development opportuni es and CBSM strategies. Two tenant community engagement ac vi es were developed for each site and, where feasible, local community groups and organiza ons were iden fied to par cipate in these ac vi es. Site 1: Staff interviews and research indicated that this site had the highest number of youth and children, out of the four pilot sites. There was also a great indoor and outdoor space for community

8 2016 Excellence Award Entry Category: Educa on Program Entrant: BC Housing 7 gatherings. Ac vi es selected were focused on waste diversion educa on, roll-out of the organic waste diversion program, and community outreach. They included indoor and outdoor events. Site 2: Tenants living on this site were mainly seniors and people with physical and mental health challenges. There were also a number of tenants for who English language was a barrier. The tenants were using garbage chutes in both towers which would provide a huge disincen ve for the implementa on of the organic waste diversion program. Selected ac vi es focused on: communica on strategy related to the closing of the garbage chutes and launch of the organic waste diversion program. This includes: use of pictures (rather than words) in communica on and educa on, informa on sessions, le ers and in-person contacts. Site 3: This site was similar to Site 1 in regards to the demographic at this loca on - predominantly families with many children and youth, living in a complex of townhouses. What was different for this site was lack of indoor common space, as well as the fact that the organic waste diversion program was already in place with an extremely low uptake. This site also had a different (curb-site) waste collec on system. Selected ac vi es focused on: addressing the confusion about waste diversion (loca ons, schedules, diversion streams), crea ng an outdoor community event, providing educa on specific to children and youth. Site 4: Tenants living on this site included seniors and people with mental and physical challenges. Some of them, however, were already par cipa ng in recycling and organic waste diversion programs. The building manager on this site offered a high level of support. Ac vi es selected were focusing on increasing the par cipa on levels and reducing contamina on, through community events. Success Measurement Success for these ac vi es was measured through a series of qualita ve and quan ta ve measures. Qualita ve measurements of success included surveys where staff, adult par cipants, and children/youth par cipants would provide feedback on the ac vi es. Facilitators observa ons were also incorporated into the feedback. The table below illustrates the qualita ve measurements of success for each ac vity. Evaluation Process Criteria Participation rate Number of participants compared to number of possible participants (e.g., tenants at activity compared to total number of tenants at the site) Quality of participation The degree at which tenants are engaged in an activity Representativeness The level of how well or how accurately the sample of tenants that attended the activity reflects the demographics at the particular site (e.g., ethnicity and age) Continuity The quality and consistency of an activity that does not stop or change over a period of time. This includes comparisons of attendance, weather, the day activity is held, the types of activities, and changes in staffing

9 2016 Excellence Award Entry Category: Educa on Program Entrant: BC Housing 8 Evaluation Criteria Convenience The ease or comfort of completing the process Satisfaction Fulfillment of the expectations of the participants Outcome Social impact Net effect of the activity on the community and well-being of tenants Effect on tenants support How well tenants agree with or approve of the activity Cost effectiveness Benefits are worth the costs associated with planning and implementation Quan ta ve measurement was set to occur several weeks (and months) a er the comple on of the engagement ac vi es through a series of waste composi on studies. The results would be compared to the baseline data to determine if there were any changes to the amount of divertable materials that were in the waste stream. Program Budget Projections In collabora on with BC Housing, the en re project was completed under a $42,000 contract with Dillon. Program costs included planning, implementa on, rentals, developing partnership with the local community for dona ons and program support, and developing the toolkits and resources. At the onset of the project, $1,000 of the contract price was allocated to cover any of the ac vity costs ($125 per ac vity). This included food and materials/supplies. Timeline The figure below illustrates the project meline. July 2014 Project Initiation August 2014 Development of Customized Engagement Activities Sept to Nov 2014 Tenant Engagement Activity Implementation Staff and Tenant Feedback Jan 2015 Tenant Engagement Activity Analysis Mar 2015 Development of Toolkit and Resources Apr 2015 to Feb 2016 Waste Composition Studies 4.0 Implementation Implementation of Customized Engagement Activities Customized engagement ac vi es were developed and implemented at the four BC Housing sites based on the baseline data and review of exis ng informa on. At each of the sites Tenant Engagement Facilitators were present for each of the ac vi es. The role of the facilitator was to develop a rela onship with staff and tenants and to plan, prepare and lead all site-specific ac vi es. Where possible and appropriate, the building managers and tenant support workers were included in the

10 2016 Excellence Award Entry Category: Educa on Program Entrant: BC Housing 9 planning and delivery of the engagement ac vi es. Through the delivery of these engagement ac vi es residents were able to gain new skills on waste reduc on and diversion methods by breaking them down into steps, as well as gain knowledge on waste in their own buildings. Tenants were provided with training and informa on on how to properly divert waste and why it s important to do so. The ac vi es also helped to connect tenants to each other and to create a sense of community. Several items to note about each of the ac vi es include the following: Food was provided at every ac vity and the me of month that ac vi es were held was typically before government assistance check were received to a ract more tenants to par cipate. Invita ons and ckets were created for each ac vity. These were distributed through door-to-door outreach and each tenant was personally invited to the ac vity. Invita ons were printed in both English and Chinese for one building that had a large popula on of tenants who spoke Cantonese and Mandarin. In an effort to lead by example, all tenant engagement ac vi es were planned with sustainability in mind. Paper cups, plates, bags, and napkins were used whenever possible to show tenants how these items could be composted and/or recycled. These also acted as a conversa on point about the benefits of using reusable and compostable alterna ves rather than plas c. Costs for each ac vity were minimized by applying for dona ons from local stores and supermarkets where possible. The following table describes the two ac vi es completed at each of the four buildings. Building Site 1 Descrip on of Ac vi es Community Sustainability Passport Party. Several sustainability themed ac vity sta ons were set up and tenants received a passport to collect stamps in as they completed each ac vity. Once all ac vi es were complete the tenant received a prize. The recycling themed sta ons included a sustainability pledge tree where tenants wrote down a goal to reduce their waste, a waste sor ng game sta on where tenants were provided with a mix of different items and had to place them in the proper waste receptacle, an informa on sta on for adults with organics and recycling informa on, and an arts and cra s sta on using items recyclable at home. In order to encourage young adults to par cipate, the City of Surrey Youth Services Workers requested for the complex s young adults to volunteer at the ac vity. Many community partners event outreach teams par cipated including BC Hydro, the City of Surrey s Opera on Save H2O team, and the City of Surrey s Salman Habitat Restora on Program to provide educa on on their sustainable ini a ves. WALL-E Movie Screening. The second ac vity included a screening of the movie WALL-E. Following the film screening, tenants par cipated in an ac vity that focused on living more sustainably and making

11 2016 Excellence Award Entry Category: Educa on Program Entrant: BC Housing 10 Building Descrip on of Ac vi es sustainable decisions. Site 2 Site 3 Site 4 Community Hub Ac vity. The first ac vity at this site was aimed at educa ng tenants about the current waste system requirements and informing them of the baseline waste audit results. Several interac ve learning ac vi es were organized including waste bingo and a waste sor ng game and focused on educa ng tenants on methods to improve their waste diversion. The Lorax Movie Screening The second ac vity at this site was a screening of The Lorax movie. The message of The Lorax is the importance of conserva on of natural areas, local eco-systems and the environmental issues with consumerism. Following the film screening a number of ques ons were asked to help s mulate a discussion on how society uses and disposes of everyday products. This discussion was then directed to cover the issues of how waste affects our landscape and our environment, drawing from themes seen in the film. Community Barbeque. In addi on to providing food to tenants, a variety of hands-on ac vi es were used to educate, and promote waste reduc on and diversion. Ac vi es included a waste sor ng game, waste bingo, a colouring sta on, and a waste educa on sta on. The Richmond RCMP and City of Richmond staff also a ended the ac vity. Holiday Celebra on Ac vity. The focus of the second ac vity at this site was to encourage recycling and reusing products. The ac vity also served to remind tenants of the me and loca on of their recycling and organics pick up as residents o en forgot what day their recyclables and organics were collected. Visual informa on on waste diversion, collec on and reduc on were u lized to educate tenants. Garbage Chute Educa on and Sustainability Ac vity. At the onset of the program, it was determined that in order for an organics program to be successful at this site, the garbage chute must be closed so that tenants would be required to bring all of their waste materials down to a centralized loca on. The purpose of the first ac vity was to discuss the closure of the garbage chutes at the building in order to support the introduc on of an organics collec on program and to increase recycling par cipa on rates. Emphasis was placed on how closing the chute was beneficial for health, and waste diversion. Organics Kick-off Ac vity. The purposed of the second ac vity was to inform tenants of the newly implemented organics collec on program. Ac vi es that relied on pictures instead of word were used to educate tenants as the majority of the par cipants spoke languages other than English. The City of Richmond provided tenants with organics collec on containers to use in their units and addi onal educa onal materials. Following the ac vity the facilitators went door-to-door to distribute informa on and collec on containers to tenants who were unable to a end the ac vity.

12 2016 Excellence Award Entry Category: Educa on Program Entrant: BC Housing 11 Site 1 Community Passport Party Site 2 Community Hub Site 3 Community Barbeque Site 4 Garbage Chute Educa on Engagement Initiative Successes The following table outlines the key engagement strategies that proved to be successful and why they were successful: Successes Why Ac vi es were Successful Children & Youth Ac vi es Focusing ac vi es to a ract children at loca ons where families made up the majority of the tenant demographic at the site assisted with drawing adults to the ac vity since many of them would a end the ac vity with their family. Incen ves: Food, gi cards, and prized were used to a ract more tenants to the ac vi es. Door-to-Door Invita ons: Doorto door outreach was completed to inform tenants of the upcoming ac vi es. Having food as an incen ve to a end the ac vity a racted more tenants (more substan al food such as barbeques drew more tenants than ac vi es adver sed as having light refreshments); Offering gi cards or other small prizes for adults who completed a feedback survey assisted with willingness to complete a feedback form; and Having one sta on with prizes for children who completed all the ac vi es at the ac vity was an effec ve way to obtain feedback from them and ask their opinion of the ac vity. Children were happy with small prizes such as pencils and erasers and did not need big prizes to encourage them to par cipate. Conduc ng door-to-door outreach a few days prior to an ac vity was more effec ve at genera ng a be er turn out then going door-to-door a week ahead of me since tenants tended to forget the date of the ac vity if door-to-door invita ons did not occur during the same week as the ac vity.

13 2016 Excellence Award Entry Category: Educa on Program Entrant: BC Housing 12 Successes Door-to-Door Reminders: Reminders about ac vi es were completed to increase tenant turnout. Ac vity Scheduling: Scheduling of ac vi es was completed one a er the other for several reasons. Food was re-useable within this me frame, and educa onal lessons were reaffirmed. Low Cost Ac vi es-dona ons and partnerships with local agencies were u lized to reduce the cost of this project. Why Ac vi es were Successful Conduc ng a second round of door-to-door outreach on the day of the ac vity to remind tenants of an ac vity was a very effec ve way to increase the number of a endees who may have forgo en about the ac vity. Scheduling ac vi es consecu vely a er each other at mul ple sites allowed for any le over food from one ac vity to be used at the next ac vity. This also assisted with saving costs. For ac vi es that were not scheduled consecu vely, any food le over at the end of the ac vity that would spoil before the next ac vity were handed out to tenants. The cra sta ons aimed toward families were a great success. Children were provided with items des ned for the garbage and were very imagina ve in crea ng cra s out of what they were provided with. It was not necessary to purchase any expensive materials for them to have fun. Engagement Initiative Challenges and Lessons Learned The following table outlines some of the challenges that arose from the engagement ac vi es. Challenges Dona on Requests: Dona on requests were made to grocery stores to supply food for the ac vi es. This was a method used to reduce cost. High Turnout of Children: Some of the ac vi es children came to without their parents or guardians. Why Ac vi es had Challenges Many grocery stores require at least two weeks and a le er of request in order to provide dona ons. The amount of me necessary to obtain dona ons varied at certain loca ons, even within the same grocery chain. Dona on requests should be undertaken as soon as possible when planning an ac vity. At one ac vity (the WALL-E movie screening), having a large number of children in a endance was counterproduc ve as they have a tendency to become loud and excitable when there are not a variety of different ac vi es for them to par cipate in. Possible recommenda ons include: spli ng the children into different age groups and conduc ng more age specific ac vi es, and involving onsite staff (where available) in the early stages of planning to discuss what may or may not work at that site. At ac vi es held outdoors, many tenants suggested that the ac vi es should be Outdoor Ac vi es: Outdoor held in the spring or summer when nicer weather would draw more tenants to ac vi es o en were the most the ac vity. The ac vi es during this project were held in the winter (based on successful; however, there are s ll project schedule) and it was o en cold, rainy or dark which could have deterred lessons learned about hos ng some tenants from a ending. However, the outdoor loca on ac vity was in the engagement ac vi es outdoors. middle of the complex which most units could see. This could have a racted more tenants than if the ac vity had been held offsite. Diverse Op ons: Having diversity in op ons of ac vi es was o en posi ve and well received. Ac vi es where there were many different op ons available with a large number of staff in a endance were the best a ended. Developing partnerships with local community groups and having them par cipate at the ac vity

14 2016 Excellence Award Entry Category: Educa on Program Entrant: BC Housing 13 Challenges Conversely, there are s ll lessons learned about the partnership required for these ac vi es to be successful. Why Ac vi es had Challenges increased tenant sa sfac on as well as strengthened the sense of community at that loca on. Staffed Ac vi es: Ac vi es with a Ac vi es with a large number of staff and ac vi es were o en the most large number of staff and ac vi es engaging; however, this came at a higher cost in both staff me and expenses. were o en the most engaging. Actual Versus Project Program Costs The total project was completed on budget. Actual expenses ranged from $25 to $100 per ac vity and were on average, $60 per ac vity ($65 less than projected). This was due to the number of community partnerships and dona ons for prizes, food and supplies (approximate value of $500). At the end of the project, the project scope was increased by approximately $5,000 to develop extra reports and resources that were used throughout the project for BC Housing facilitators (e.g., facilitator s handbook, bingo cards, sor ng game kits etc.). 5.0 Results Results for the project were measured both qualita vely and quan ta vely. Qualita ve results were obtained through the analysis of informa on collected in staff and tenant feedback surveys following each engagement ac vity and the observa ons of facilitators using the qualita ve measures of success. The table below highlights the results from the analysis of each of the engagement ac vi es. Based on the results, successes and lessons learned during the tenant engagement ac vi es, a toolkit was developed that could be used by facilitators looking to increase waste diversion and reduc on at their own sites. The toolkit consists of the following components.

15 2016 Excellence Award Entry Category: Educa on Program Entrant: BC Housing 14 Guide for Social Housing Providers: This guide was developed with the inten on of sharing informa on for engaging tenants of social housing on issues related to waste reduc on and diversion. It includes prac cal steps on how to plan and implement an effec ve tenant engagement ini a ve that results in an increase in waste reduc on and diversion. This guide consists of an overview of the Livegreen Tenant Engagement Strategy (TES) and a descrip on of the management and resources necessary to get started. The guide describes how to assess poten al barriers and benefits to waste reduc on and diversion behaviours, waste to engage staff and tenants, and provides an overview of engagement strategies that may be used. Facilitator s Handbook for Social Housing Providers: This handbook is designed for facilitators who will be directly implemen ng the Livegreen TES with a focus on waste reduc on and diversion with tenants of social housing. The handbook includes social marke ng materials, educa onal resources, and a step-by-step guide for planning interac ve ac vity modules and tenant engagement ac vi es. This handbook consists of informa on on CBSM and how it can be incorporated into the Livegreen TES and detailed instruc ons on how to carry out six different types of tenant ac vity modules. The informa on includes the purpose of the ac vity, target age group, level of par cipa on, me requirements, and materials need to carry out the ac vity. Communica on Materials: These documents have been designed as a tool to help achieve increased waste reduc on and diversion. BC Housing has made this informa on available on their website to help provide other social housing providers with tools and resources that may be useful in their efforts to increase waste diversion and reduc on through tenant engagement. Housing providers can use the toolkit to apply the steps and strategies from similar tenant profiles to their own sites or develop tailored site-specific plans using the tools and resources provided in the toolkit. These guidebooks allow for any social housing provider to adapt, re-create, and reuse effec ve waste management ac vi es that have worked at BC Housing sites. Full copies of both resources can be accessed at the links below. Guide for Social Housing Providers Facilitator s Handbook: h p:// Partner_Resources/Ongoing_Mainten ance/waste_diversion_guide.pdf h p:// Partner_Resources/Ongoing_Mainten ance/waste_diversion_facilitator_ha ndbook.pdf

16 2016 Excellence Award Entry Category: Educa on Program Entrant: BC Housing 15 Following the development of the toolkit and resources, several waste audits were completed by a third party at each site over the course of several months. The waste audit results measured the effec veness of the engagement ac vi es shortly a er the ac vi es took place (waste audit 1), and several months later (waste audits 2 and 3). The table below highlights the percentage of organics found in the garbage stream at each building during each of the waste audits. Site Average BC Housing Building % Organics Waste Audit #1 %Organics Waste Audit #2 %Organics Waste Audit #3 %Organics Site 1 46% 37% *- Site 2 23% 25% 20% 47% Site 3 32% 30% 34% Site 4 *- 27% 34% * For Building 4, the waste audit was complete prior to the engagement ac vi es which is why there is no value for Waste Audit 1. * For Building 1, all waste audits were completed by the municipality and only two audits were completed. The results of the waste audit indicate that in the weeks following the implementa on of the engagement ac vi es the amount of organics was reduced in the garbage stream. Between Waste Audit 2 and Waste Audit 3, Building 3 and 4 increased the amount of organics that were in the garbage stream. These percentages are s ll below the baseline percentage; however, it highlights that the messaging of the engagement ac vi es needs to con nue to be reinforced in order to sustain the desired sustainable behaviour. 6.0 Evaluation The implementa on of effec ve waste management strategies and engagement in mul -family buildings has proven to be challenging but also with certain level of success despite addi onal barriers common in social housing such as: language, or mental and physical disability. The program showed that effec ve engagement of tenants and site staff can bring significant, posi ve results. One of the most valuable components of this program is its contribu on to a broader audience. BC Housing is not only commi ed to increasing waste diversion and reduc on at BC Housing sites but is also providing a free, shared resource that can be accessed and used by other organiza ons looking to implement similar programs in their mul -family buildings. The toolkit and resources are available online.