Matching Items (43,917)
Description
In a fast-paced world, Americans enjoy restaurants as a convenient, time-saving alternative to cooking at home. Restaurants also serve as spaces for people to take a break from their hectic schedules and enjoy food in a comfortable environment. While restaurants provide an important value to American society, they also contribute greatly to global sustainability problems. In general, fast-food and fast-casual establishments in the US perpetuate plastic pollution, diet-related health problems, food waste, greenhouse gas emissions, and unsustainable agricultural practices. Health food restaurants typically cater to wealthier demographics, resulting in an accessibility issue for people of lower-income levels. Restaurant owners that have the desire to make their operations more sustainable often times lack the tools needed to taking those first steps. Seeing these challenges as opportunities, I’ve partnered up with The Bodhi, a nutrition-focused fast-casual restaurant in Tempe, to create a 5-year sustainable business plan and consult them in their journey to sustainability. This plan is designed to maintain The Bodhi’s mission of promoting personal wellness while synergistically incorporating and influencing environmental/social stewardship. The findings of this project are informed by an analysis of existing sustainable restaurant frameworks, an energy and waste stream audit of the Bodhi, and a market analysis. Based on these findings, I have made recommendations that can be applied to The Bodhi’s current and future locations. This project has shown that sustainability can be made possible in restaurants, but there is no ‘one size fits all’ solution. What matters in the cases of all successful sustainable restaurants is that all levels of employees are engaged and have a stake in the process. To create organizational change, stakeholders must share a clear vision for the desired future and create a comprehensive strategy to turn aspiration into a reality.
Contributors
Mays, Kiana (Writer of accompanying material)
Created
2019-12-05
Description
Aramark is a 14.6 billion-dollar Fortune 500 company that provides food services in education, healthcare, business, leisure, and more. They run 72 food operations across Arizona State University's (ASU) campuses. The company has internal commitments to environmental sustainability and health and wellness respectively outlined in, "Green Thread," and "Healthy for Life 20 By 20." ASU follows the sustainability guidelines presented by The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). In recognition of the negative environmental effects of animal agriculture, the AASHE guidelines have recently changed, which requires Aramark to source more plant-based products. On March 14th, Aramark and I hosted, “Eat Well, Live Well,” ASU’s first large event to celebrate plant-based diets and sustainability. The event had 3 objectives: to educate and excite event-goers about plant-based diets and sustainability, to alter perceptions, and to stimulate behavior change. Before entering the event, event-goers (largely students) were prompted to fill out a survey that measures their perceptions on the benefits and barriers to consuming a plant-based diet. A post-event survey was distributed to measure the same event-goers’ change in knowledge, perceptions, and behavior. The post-event survey results indicate that, “Eat Well, Live Well,” motivated 59% of event-goers to reduce their consumption of animal-products. The post-event survey results are used to understand whether the event met its objectives. This project takes a community based social marketing (CBSM) approach to fostering sustainable behavior within the student body, as it uses students’ perceived barriers and benefits to develop a compelling case to Aramark on how they should offer and promote plant-based diets on all of ASU campuses.
Contributors
Stoffo, Alessandra (Writer of accompanying material)
Created
2019-04-26
Description
The purpose of this project was to drive and enhance the sustainability behavior of office workers at Arizona State University. Sustainability behavior is understood to mean behavior that is not solely pro-environmental in nature, but also that which provides clear economic and human benefits to ASU and its employees. Pro-environmental interventions and outcomes, while critical, are just one third of the holistic sustainability sought by ASU. This project focuses on pro-environmental behavior (PEB), as a driver of overall sustainability. As defined by Kollmuss and Agyeman, PEB is “behavior that consciously seeks to minimize the negative impact of one’s actions on the natural and built world” (2002).
The problem for this project is that participation with the ASU Sustainability Certification for Offices is low, and to date, the certification has not enhanced the sustainability of offices at ASU.
University Sustainability Practices, who administer the office certification and much of ASU sustainability efforts, is looking for ways to drive greater participation and engagement in the certification process. Three actions have been taken in the projecti n an attempt to improve participation and engagement. Surveys, focus groups, and interviews have collected data from ASU's office worker to ascertain the attitudes of workers surrounding office culture and sustainability, and to identify barriers to their greater participation in PEB.
The conclusions drawn from this phase of the project inform a robust set of recommendations that will help overcome key barriers revealed by the research, such as a knowledge gap among ASU office staff about the existence of the office certification. Conclusions and solution sets were provided to USP in a set of documents that will allow them to easily implement the recommendations, and provide a path for next steps.
The problem for this project is that participation with the ASU Sustainability Certification for Offices is low, and to date, the certification has not enhanced the sustainability of offices at ASU.
University Sustainability Practices, who administer the office certification and much of ASU sustainability efforts, is looking for ways to drive greater participation and engagement in the certification process. Three actions have been taken in the projecti n an attempt to improve participation and engagement. Surveys, focus groups, and interviews have collected data from ASU's office worker to ascertain the attitudes of workers surrounding office culture and sustainability, and to identify barriers to their greater participation in PEB.
The conclusions drawn from this phase of the project inform a robust set of recommendations that will help overcome key barriers revealed by the research, such as a knowledge gap among ASU office staff about the existence of the office certification. Conclusions and solution sets were provided to USP in a set of documents that will allow them to easily implement the recommendations, and provide a path for next steps.
Contributors
Faught, David (Author)
Created
2019-07-22
Description
Small local organizations are rightfully preoccupied with the hard work they're doing and often see no incentives, for example fiscal or social, to review or improve the environmental sustainability of their operations. Small businesses make up the vast majority of firms in the United States and therefore, while their impact seems small independently, they are unknowingly wasting the greatest amounts of resources: energy, water, paper, plastic, and labor. Addressing the sustainability of local business operations will save our finite resources, cut their expenses, improve their brand image, and help secure the future of their business in this rapidly changing world.
Contributors
Vitale, Sophia (Author)
Created
2019-05-16
Description
In the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District (MPUSD), we ask our students to ‘dream big and dare greatly,’ but threats like climate change, population growth, and technological automation are threatening the realization of those dreams. Therefore, we must implement Sustainability NOW—an interdisciplinary, project-based curriculum that can help us address these threats while improving our local educational system. Sustainability NOW is an innovative, project-based, and STEM-centered curriculum that represents a strategic lever for the Educational Partnership Center (EPC) in achieving expanded outcomes that benefit the greater social good. But Sustainability NOW is more than a curriculum, it is a full-fledged organizational strategy. This report illustrates how a sustainability education program was designed and strategically mapped for MPUSD and the EPC.
Contributors
Mutshnick, Christopher (Author)
Created
2019-05-15
Description
Incorporating a Sustainability (S) focus curriculum through a sustainability lens, across all degree pathways in higher educational institutions using Indigenous Knowledge as a foundational learning platform can increase successful student learning outcomes. By realizing shared values of open communication, respect and diversity, and high expectation of knowledge explorations; Science, Sustainability, and Indigenous Knowledge systems can build upon curriculum that supports the college, students, our community, and global awareness of unsustainable practice. Higher education institutions have relied mainly on empirical evidence that supports reasoning and logic while Indigenous Knowledge systems uses experiential observations and learning. Being Indigenous Native Hawaiian and doing academic research from scholarly works of Native Hawaiians and their methodology in Science observations; I realized that a sustainability systems model share common value systems, but there is a disconnect between these two powerful systems. Building a coalition of experts in each field of study can create a new learning paradigm through curriculum as a holistic approach to systems thinking. All of the key components to creating a Sustainability focus curriculum are already in place at universities, and now is the time to bridge them together through collective shared values.
Contributors
Kakalia, Gordean (Author)
Created
2019-05-15
Description
When I first arrived in Colombia, I did not think I would be running a sustainable tourism business. I did not even know what sustainable tourism meant. And when I started to brainstorm the idea, I did not know I would be focusing on a narrow niche of LGBT travelers. But today I am running a travel and tourism agency that is recognized as an emerging leader in the field of LGBT and sustainable travel in Colombia. As a potential entrepreneur considering launching a sustainable tourism business in a developing country, you might have a lot of doubts and questions. Certainly, many of those questions are the same ones I had when I started out. Just like I did, on your journey, you will need to establish your business, build credibility in your host country, and learn and develop key competencies. Then, you will define your objective and develop a vision and mission to serve as guideposts. After that you will need to get to know your target audience, and then take steps to create that initial product that you will sell to your customers. By building that product with a network of suppliers, you will have a greater impact and inspire a wave of innovation that will transform the tourism industry in your host country. The transformation will lead to improvements in the quality of life for local community members. And you will elevate to expert status, building your brand and inspiring generations to come to realize change they might not have otherwise imagined to be possible.
Contributors
Holdren, Samuel (Author, Owner)
Created
2015-05-15
Description
While the term sustainability is commonly used in 2019, in 1950, it was sparsely uttered. To understand how Contento Recycling LLC became Central New York’s leader in sustainable development, you must go back to Gerald Contento Sr, and the year 1950. This was the year my grandfather started our family’s vehicle dismantling and scrap metal recycling business. Over the course of the next 70 years, Contento’s and now, Contento Recycling, has evolved into a leader in recycling and environmental work in Central New York. To see how I created a sustainable business enterprise, you must analyze my family’s past. My family’s history provides a roadmap to a more sustainable future.
When I established Contento Recycling LLC in 2017, it was poised to be Central New York’s first ever construction and demolition debris recycling business. I was tasked with the challenge that many sustainability professionals are tasked with and that was to show the community why they should stop taking their construction debris to the landfill, and instead bring it to my recycling center for processing, recycling, and landfill diversion. Over the last several years I applied for state grant funding, spread awareness about my new business, designed and constructed a material recovery facility, outfitted equipment, and trained staff. I now have a facility that accepts about 40 tons of mixed C&D debris per day, and diverts about 20% of that from the landfill.
On a more personal level, I learned a tremendous amount about dealing with change management. I’ve learned a lot about business development, and some keys to success when building a business. I’ve figured out how to help my employees and customers grow. I’ve learned to be more patient and flexible with my business endeavors. I have a much clearer vision of what I want for my business and for myself. I have developed a rousing optimism on the impact that my business, and myself can have on the sustainable development of Central New York. I will be a leader in environmental stewardship and partner with other people and organizations who want to work towards a more sustainable future.
When I established Contento Recycling LLC in 2017, it was poised to be Central New York’s first ever construction and demolition debris recycling business. I was tasked with the challenge that many sustainability professionals are tasked with and that was to show the community why they should stop taking their construction debris to the landfill, and instead bring it to my recycling center for processing, recycling, and landfill diversion. Over the last several years I applied for state grant funding, spread awareness about my new business, designed and constructed a material recovery facility, outfitted equipment, and trained staff. I now have a facility that accepts about 40 tons of mixed C&D debris per day, and diverts about 20% of that from the landfill.
On a more personal level, I learned a tremendous amount about dealing with change management. I’ve learned a lot about business development, and some keys to success when building a business. I’ve figured out how to help my employees and customers grow. I’ve learned to be more patient and flexible with my business endeavors. I have a much clearer vision of what I want for my business and for myself. I have developed a rousing optimism on the impact that my business, and myself can have on the sustainable development of Central New York. I will be a leader in environmental stewardship and partner with other people and organizations who want to work towards a more sustainable future.
Contributors
Contento, Anthony (Author, Project director)
Created
2019-05-15
Description
The trend couldn’t be clearer. The White House is doing everything it can to reverse the economic, social, and environmental progress bringing the age of fossil fuels to an end. From subsidies for the dying coal industry to gutting regulations on air pollution, recent actions by the president and his cabinet show every intention of turning the dial on our energy policy back a full 30 years (Barba, 2017). Now, the fossil fuel industry is turning to a new strategy: building ethane cracker plants. These facilities turn fracked gas into plastics and – just as important – create more infrastructures for fossil fuels. All in places like the Ohio River Valley where communities are fighting hard to leave natural gas and the impacts of dirty energy behind.
The good news is that more and more communities see these plants for what they are: a wrong turn back to the dark days of dirty energy degrading community health, driving climate change and polluting the air, water, and soil we all share. With our planet’s future and the health of their families all on the line, everyday activists in communities throughout the Ohio River Basin are now banding together to fight back. You can too.
The good news is that more and more communities see these plants for what they are: a wrong turn back to the dark days of dirty energy degrading community health, driving climate change and polluting the air, water, and soil we all share. With our planet’s future and the health of their families all on the line, everyday activists in communities throughout the Ohio River Basin are now banding together to fight back. You can too.
Contributors
Collins, Kathleen (Author)
Created
2019-05-15
Description
Members of the United States Climate Alliance, all of which have committed to the goals of the Paris Agreement, are actively pursuing ways to mitigate climate change. This project is intended to support the integration of agriculture into U.S. state and territory efforts by aiding in the creation of an agricultural policy toolkit for Alliance members in partnership with the American Farmland Trust and the Coalition on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases. My contribution was phase one of the toolkit, for which I created fourteen state profiles of existing efforts related to agriculture and climate change and used these for a comparative analysis. I also developed an outline of the toolkit based on conversations and a list of partner ideas I maintained and drafted an internal protocol to assist in development and implementation. Further, I analyzed the outline using a sustainability framework to identify additional efforts that could strengthen the toolkit’s sustainability. In April 2019 I presented my phase 1 efforts and the toolkit plans alongside my partners at a C-AGG conference. Overall, through this project, I generated forward momentum for integrating and supporting agriculture in climate change efforts
Contributors
Harmon, Anna (Author)
Created
2019-05-15