TEMPLATE TO WRITE A FUNDING PROPOSAL FOR YOUR

GREEN OFFICE

[We encourage you to use this template as a source of inspirati on to develop a

funding proposal for your Green Offi ce. While doing this, it is very important that
you adapt the 6 Green Offi ce Principles 1 to the specifi c context of your university,
and to conti nuously improve upon the design and writi ngs of this template. Please
contact us for further support on how to design your Green Offi ce:
info@rootAbility.com ]

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION..................................................................................................................... 2
2. GREEN OFFICE MODEL........................................................................................................3
BACKGROUND....................................................................................................................... 3
6 GREEN OFFICE PRINCIPLES.............................................................................................3
ACHIEVEMENTS & RECOGNITION.......................................................................................4
IMPACTS................................................................................................................................. 4
3. SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS......................................................................................................5
4. [Put the name of your Green Office here]............................................................................6
OBJECTIVES........................................................................................................................... 6
ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE..........................................................................................6
PARTNERS............................................................................................................................. 7
INTEGRATION......................................................................................................................... 7
ACTIVITIES............................................................................................................................. 7
4. BUDGET................................................................................................................................. 8

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“Educational institutions and governments should provide the institutional support, resources and
legitimacy for youth-led change processes towards sustainability. This requires a combination of bottom-
up initiatives and top-down steering. Mechanisms should include dedicated funding, institutional
integration, working space, mandates, recognition, and training for youth-led sustainability initiatives.”

UNESCO Education for Sustainable Development Youth Statement 2, Japan 2014

1. INTRODUCTION

Our current way of life is deeply unsustainable: Humanity consumes the resources of 1.8 planets. If
present trends continue, we will need three planets by 2050. Creating a socially desirable and
economically viable human civilization flourishing within planetary boundaries is the primary challenge
of our time, the call of action for our generation. The necessary changes will not come easy or through
technical fixes alone. On the contrary they require deep transformations in the way we think, live,
travel, eat, vote and work.

It is the responsibility of universities as public institutions to be the engines of local, national and global
sustainability transitions: Universities should educate students as sustainability change agents, create
new knowledge to inform these transitions, and reduce the ecological and social footprints of running
the organisation itself. Creating more sustainable universities requires dedicated change agents.

Students are oftentimes overlooked and side-lined within a university’s sustainability efforts. This is a
missed opportunity, given the energy and spirit of students, the learning opportunities that
sustainability engagement presents and the sheer size of the student body as largest stakeholder group
on campus. Yet for a large number of students to unleash their full potential as sustainability change
agents, the institutional support, resources and legitimacy of universities and governments are
required.

As a student-led and staff-supported sustainability hub, the Green Office Model presents an
internationally recognized and open-source model to structurally empower students. The Green Office
acts as a platform for students and staff running sustainability initiatives, improves the communication
around these initiatives, coordinates the development and implementation of the university’s
sustainability strategy, and provides new impulses to create a buzz around sustainability.

This funding proposal outlines the rationale, structure and budget for a Green Office at our university.
You can find information on what the Green Office Model is, how it inspired a movement, and how this
model can be adopted to energize and inspire the sustainability transition of our university. To better
understand how such a Green Office model would benefit our university we first need to better
understand the Green Office Model.

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[This is a very generic introduction that you might want to improve, making it more specific to the
context of your university: What are the challenges that the university faces to become more
sustainable? Why is it important that it contributes to sustainability? Why should student engagement
be improved? Please contact us if you need any help with this: info@rootAbility.com]

2. GREEN OFFICE MODEL

A Green Office is a student-led and staff-supported sustainability unit. Its primary aim is to boost student
engagement on sustainability issues, as well as student and staff to collaborate on solving pressing
sustainability problems at your university and community.

BACKGROUND
The first Green Office was established in September 2010 at Maastricht University3. A group of students
and staff lobbied the university to provide funding, a mandate, office space and support for a student-
led and staff-supported sustainability unit.

By the beginning of 2015, the Green Office Model had inspired student-led and staff-supported
sustainability hubs at 10 Universities in the Netherlands, Germany and the United Kingdom, namely in
Amsterdam, Exeter, Greenwich, Groningen, Kent, Konstanz, Rotterdam, Utrecht, and Wageningen. Over
58 students and staff work for these Green Offices, which have a combined annual budget of 800 000
Euro.

Currently students and staff at universities across Sweden, Italy, the Netherlands, Germany and Great
Britain are developing concept papers and funding applications for their Green Offices. In this sense, the
Green Office Model gave rise to the growing and internationally active Green Office Movement4. The
goal of this movement is to engage over 10 000 students and staff in 100 Green Offices by 2025, and to
help universities, higher education sectors and societies transition towards a more sustainable future.

6 GREEN OFFICE PRINCIPLES

rootAbility5 – a non-profit organisation set up by co-founders of Maastricht University Green Office to
promote and support the idea of Green Offices – makes the Green Office Model available to everyone
under a Creative Commons Licence.

The model is based on the 6 Green Offices Principles6 that need to be adapted to the context of our
university:

1) Students and Staff: A dynamic team of student employees, volunteers and university staff form the
core of a Green Office. They are directly responsible for running the Green Office and its activities.

3
www.greenofficemaastricht.nl
4
http://rootability.com/the-green-office-movement/
5
www.rootability.com
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http://rootability.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/rootAbility_Green-Office-Model_Six-principles-and-their-adaptation-
range_Feb-20151.pdf

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2) Mandate: The Green Office receives an official mandate to drive the sustainability transition of the
university and/or local community, by creating new impulses, connecting and empowering actors,
improving communications or implementing sustainability strategies.

3) Resources: The university grants a budget to pay for salaries, training, project expenses and office
space. These resources are crucial to guarantee the continuity and commitment of student, and enable
them to implement high-impact projects.

4) Integration: The Green Office is integrated into the institution’s organisational structure, and is
supervised by a steering group. The Green Office team also joins relevant sustainability committees.
5) Collaboration: All activities of the team are conducted in close collaboration and partnership with
internal and external stakeholders. The Green Office also becomes part of the vibrant network of Green
Offices around Europe.

6) Training: The Green Office and its volunteers receive training from other Green Office Alumni that are
engaged as rootAbility Fellows, to guarantee the quality and impact of their work.

ACHIEVEMENTS & RECOGNITION

 In 2012, Maastricht University won the Sustainabul Award as the Dutch university with the most
transparent sustainability efforts, thanks to the relentless efforts of students and staff in the Green
Office.
 Two Green Offices – Maastricht and Exeter – won the Student Sustainability Award of the
International Sustainable Campus Network und oikos international two consecutive times, in 2012
and 2014.
 In 2013, the Green Office Model was recognized and recommended as a good practice by Uwe
Schneidewind und Mandy Singer-Brodowski in their book “Transformative Science”, and a report by
the expert commission “Science for Sustainability” of the government of Baden-Württemberg,
Germany.
 The Green Office Model was presented as a good practice on the UNESCO Education for Sustainable
World Conference in Japan in 2014, and inspired the central recommendation of the UNESCO
Education for Sustainable Youth Statement7 that universities and governments should provide
structural support for student-led change processes.

IMPACTS

The impacts of Maastricht University Green Office on the institution and the students working in the
Green Office have been evaluated by two studies.

INSTITUTIONAL IMPACTS

In 2013, a study on the impacts of Maastricht University Green Office on the energy efficiency regime of
Maastricht University found that, the Green Office…

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www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/ED/pdf/esd2014/UNESCO_ESD_Youth_Statement_English_Final.pdf
Recommendation 2.a)

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 Empowered students to contribute to the university’s energy efficiency efforts,

 Emerged as a network hub connecting a diversity of actors around energy efficiency issues,
 Expanded capacity to work on energy efficiency
 Increased the awareness for the importance of energy efficiency among higher management and
project managers, and
 Integrated goals on energy efficiency in a larger framework of sustainability goals that include the
promotion of renewable energies.

Downsides remain that the Green Office did not have an impact on the awareness around energy
efficiency of the larger university community, and its efforts also had not led to any tangible
improvements of energy efficiency between 2010 and 2013. 8

PERSONAL IMPACTS

In 2014, an explorative study examined the impact of Maastricht University Green Office on the
competencies and skills of current and former student employees. The study found that working in the
Green Office…

 Contributed to the development of professional competencies and environmental knowledge,

 Enabled student to acquire generic labour-market skills including the ability to manage
stakeholders, volunteers, time and projects, and to communicate effectively.
 Enabled former student employees to acquire competencies that they use to a large extent in their
current employment or studies.
 Contributed to student employee’s self-development and future career, as well as enabling them
to bridge the gap between Higher Education institutions and the labor market.

Room for improvement remains as working in the Green Office had little impact on analytical
competency and international orientation, and insufficient focus on competencies which student
employees would actually like to acquire/ improve. 9

3. SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS

[In this section, you present and discuss the results of the situational analysis of your university’s
sustainability efforts. This can be done in multiple ways. In general, it is important that you focus on two
aspects:

• Provide a brief overview of existing sustainability initiatives by students and staff, as well as relevant
sustainability policies, strategies and visions.

8
Spira, F. and Baker-Shelley, A. (2015) 'Driving the Energy Transition at Maastricht University? Analysing the Transformative
Potential of the Student-Driven and Staff-Supported Maastricht University Green Office, in Transformative Approaches to
Sustainable Development at Universities, W.Leal Filho (ed.), p. 207-224, World Sustainability Series, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-
08837-2_15
9
Fella, S., Haberl, B., Heibach, J., Xiang, G. (2014) Preparing Students for Careers in the Sustainability-related sector of the 21st
Century: What Are the Achievements of Maastricht University Green Office and rootAbility?, PREMIUM Project, Maastricht
University

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• Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of these existing efforts, with a special focus on engaging
students and staff to create a dynamic change process.
• Provide strong arguments why ‘business as ususal’ is no option anymore]

4. [Put the name of your Green Office here]

OBJECTIVES
[The objectives determine the mandate of your Green Office, i.e. what you want the Green Office to do at
your university or/and local community. Please check the section ‘2 nd Principle: Mandate’ on pages 9-10
in one of our open-source documents10 to learn more about the mandate that you might want to develop
for your Green Office.

To provide you with an example on what to put in this section:

Our Green Office will work towards six strategic objectives:

• Coordinate the implementation of the university’s sustainability strategy

• Connecting initiatives and efforts of students and staff
• Enhance communication and visibility of sustainability efforts and ambitions
• Empower students and staff to realise their potentials and aspirations as sustainability change
agents
• Provide new impulses through additional activities to create the necessary buzz around
sustainability.
• Create links and synergies with the emerging, international Green Office Movement.]

ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE
[The organisational structure that your Green Office again depends on several factors. Please consult the
explanations in our open-source document11 about the ‘1st Principle: Students and Staff’ on pages 6-8. In
this section, you might also want to develop a graphic of your desired organisational structure and put it
here to make it easier for people to grasp how you want to internally organise the Green Office.]

Green Office Team

● Green Office Coordinator: 1 staff member (XYZ hours/week) who coordinates, inspires and guides
the work of the students employees, provides the link to the university and is responsible for the
budget.
● XYZ Student Employees: XYZ students (XYZ hours/week) to connect stakeholders, implement
activities, develop policies and support initiatives, coordinate the team, and organise the
communication and outreach activities of the Green Office.
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range_Feb-20151.pdf
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● XYZ student volunteers who volunteer in activities that are led by the student assistants, or who run
their own activities through the Green Office.

[To guarantee continuity and commitment of the student team, student employees have a minimum,
one-year contract to work for the Green Office, with possibility of extension. To guarantee continuity of
projects, half of the team should be replaced every semester.]

Steering Committee
The Steering Committee provides feedback and advice on the strategic direction of the Green Office,
approves the annual budget and plans, and gives specific assistance in case that there are problems with
organising certain activities of the Green Office. The Steering Committee meets the Green Office twice
per year and is comprised of researchers, employees and external stakeholders.

[Please consult the explanations under ‘4 th Principle: Integration’ of our open-source document on pages
16-17 to learn more about the design of the Steering Committee.]

PARTNERS
[Here you can provide a list of internal and external partners that you want to work together with. To
better identify potential partners, you can learn more about this on page 18, ‘5 th Principle: Collaboration’
of our open-source document.]

INTEGRATION
[Describe here how you want to integrate the Green Office into your university, e.g. making it part of
Facility Services, the Sustainability Team, the Students’ Union, a faculty or research institute. There are
multiple options on how to do this. Pages 16-17 about the ‘4th Principle: Integration’ in our open-source
document12 provides you with an overview.]

ACTIVITIES
To give an idea of what we expect our Green Office to undertake and implement we present a short
overview of the activities that we would like to implement in the first two years:

[Provide the overview of activities here. The selection of events, projects and programmes should be
informed by your situational analysis, conversations with stakeholder at your university and by scanning
the websites of other Green Offices to see what they have achieved. In our comparison of five Green
Offices13, we have also provided an overview of some of the projects that they have implemented.

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range_Feb-20151.pdf
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http://www.rootability.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/rootAbility_Green-Office-Model_Five-case-studies_Aug-
20141.pdf

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You can present your overview of activities and projects, by either loosely listing them, or clustering the
activities and projects into categories, such as education, research, operations, community, and
governance. Please contact us know if you want to discuss your project ideas.]

4. BUDGET

[Presenting a sound and detailed budget for your Green Office is very important to obtain the funding
from the university. To read more about the cost structure of a Green Office, please consult pages 11-15,
‘2nd GO principle: Resources’ in our open-source document. The exact size of your budget depends on the
cost structure of your university, i.e. if you need to pay for office space or not, as well as the activities
that you want to organise. Just send us an Email to learn how other Green Offices have developed their
budgets and to discuss your budget proposal: info@rootAbility.com]

The first budget should be granted for a three year period. Afterwards, the Green Office will be
evaluated, the model improved and a new budget developed.

Figure 1 puts our budget in comparison with the budget of the other Green Offices.

Name Annual budget

Students' Green Unit (Exeter University) 175,000 Euro

Maastricht University Green Office 167,000 Euro

Erasmus Sustainability Hub 150,000 Euro

Greenwich Sustainability Hub (Greenwich University) 100,000 Euro

VU Green Office 75,000 Euro

Groningen Green Office 67,000 Euro

Green Office Utrecht 54,000 Euro

Wageningen Green Office 35,000 Euro

Green Office Konstanz 15,000 Euro

Table 1: Budgets of other Green Offices

Based on our calculations for our proposed Green Office the budget for the first three years is as follows:

ITEMS 1st 2nd 3rd

YEAR YEAR YEAR
Green Office Coordinator (Salary, XYZ hours/week) XYZ XYZ XYZ
[This item might not be applicable for all Green Offices, e.g. if the
coordinator is an existing sustainability staff that becomes integrated into

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the Green Office.]

XYZ Student Employees (Salary, XYZ hours/week) XYZ XYZ XYZ

Office space (Rent) XYZ XYZ XYZ

[This item might not be applicable for all Green Offices, e.g. if your
university can provide you office space for free.]
Projects, programmes and events (Activities) XYZ XYZ XYZ
[Here you might want to list the detailed costs that you expect for your
activities.]
Design, website and printing (Promotion) XYZ XYZ XYZ
[List the items that will incur a cost when promoting the Green Office and
its activities. This item might not be applicable for all Green Offices, e.g. if
you do not want to print anything or you have a designer in your team.]
Two annual working retreats XYZ XYZ XYZ
The working retreats aim to facilitate the transition between outgoing and
incoming student employees and are thus important for the continuity,
motivation and commitment of the team.
[List the transportation, accommodation, and catering costs that you
expect for this.]
Attendance of sustainability conferences XYZ XYZ XYZ
It is important that the team attends sustainability conferences as a
learning and networking opportunity
[List the participation fees, transportation and accommodation costs that
you expect for this, as well as the conferences that you want your team
members to attend.]
Green Office Start-up Package XYZ XYZ XYZ
rootAbility will provide this service to support the student employees,
volunteers and staff of our Green Office. The package consists of three
workshops per year, an online help-desk, provision of good practice
material, and the organisation of the European Green Office Summit. This
service is important to build competencies in our team, be inspired and
become an integral part of the emerging, international Green Office
Movement.
[Please contact us to receive more information and inquire about the costs
of this Start-up Package.]

TOTAL XYZ XYZ XYZ

[Depending on your motivation and the requirements of your university, you might want to add more
sections to this concept paper, e.g. on ‘Roadmap for establishment’ or ‘Monitoring and Evaluation’. Just
be careful for the document not to become too long, i.e. 8-12 pages of written text is a reasonable
length. Just write us an Email to discuss this, and to get feedback on the first draft of your proposal:
info@rootAbility.com]