Smart and Sustainable Campus Conference 2014 Campus as a Learning Laboratory Wesley Beckner B.S....

Smart and Sustainable Campus Conference 2014Campus as a Learning Laboratory

Wesley BecknerB.S. Chemical Engineering '14 | Cockrell School of EngineeringAssistant Director, Campus Environmental CenterThe University of Texas at Austin(817) 676-6617 | [email protected]

Green EventsEngaging Students in Sustainable Practice

through On-Campus Event Planning

The University of Texas

Sustainability at UT

Green Events

International/Cultural

Educational/Departmental

Honorary

Legislative

Political

Professional

recreational

Religious

Service

Social

Special Interest

sTUDENT oRGANIZATIONS bY tYPE

Organization CategoryNumber of

Organizations

International/Cultural 60

Educational/Departmental 158

Honorary 39

Legislative 46

Political 48

Professional 226

recreational 132

Religious 113

Service 171

Social 126

Special Interest 152Total 1271

The University of Texas at Austin

-Engaging a Diverse Campus in Sustainability-


-Engaging a Diverse Campus in Sustainability-

Architecture Business

Communication

Education

Engineering

Fine Arts

Geoscienes

Information

Intercollegial

Law

Liberal Arts

Natural Sciences

Nursing

PharmacyPublic Affairs

Social Work

Undergraduate Studies

Total Enrollment by collegeCollege Total

EnrollmentArchitecture 628

Business 4,960Communication 4,594

Education 3,321Engineering 7,084

Fine Arts 1,753Geoscienes 573Information 269Intercollegial 141

Law 1,099Liberal Arts 9,621

Natural Sciences 11,150Nursing 910

Pharmacy 588Public Affairs 361Social Work 746

Undergraduate Studies 1,651

Total 49,449

How does the university

engage such a diverse student

body with sustainability?

-Sustainability on the 40 Acres-

1990

1995

2000

2005

2010



Student-led Groups

and Initiatives

Engineers for a

Sustainable World

Net Impact

The Campus Environmental

Center

Institutional Initiatives

The President’s

Sustainability Steering

Committee

The Campus Sustainability

Policy

The Office of SustainabilityDHFS

Facilities Services



Sponsors and Partners

-university entities-

Programs and Initiatives

-Past and Present-

Despite efforts from the CEC and

other organizations on campus, most students at the

university are not actively engaged in sustainability



Sponsors and Partners

-university entities-

Programs and Initiatives

-Past and Present-Mainstream sustainability at the University of Texas at Austin

Teach student leaders of other organizations how to incorporate sustainability into their operations

Form partnerships with campus entities to institutionalize Green Events and create a culture of sustainability on campus

Key Objectives

“Green Events is a student run

initiative that aims to make

campus events more sustainable

and create a culture of

sustainability at the University of Texas at Austin”-Green Events

mission statement

Green Events-The Model-

Assess Align Engage Educate Communicate Create short

term wins

Support Sustain

Creating a Climate for

Change

Engaging and Enabling the Whole Organization

Implementing and

Sustaining Change

Hires• Student

Consultants

• Staff Advisor

Provides• Office

Space• Working

Budget

Green Events-The Nuts and Bolts-

Provides• Free

work orders for Green Events

Provides• Access to

organic recycle dumpster

Division of Housing and Food Service

Working Budget

Green Events-The Nuts and Bolts-

2012-2013 Expenses

Two GE coordinators $6,000 (320 hours each, $9.00/hr)

Recycling Bins $500

Composting Bins $500

Compost Services $50

Custom Signage $20Total $7,070

Mainstreaming Sustainability in

a university where many

students do not yet identify with

an environmental

ethic

Student Co-Learning

Opportunities

Partnerships, Expansion, and Institutionalizati

on

Green Events-Case Studies-

• Rez Week• 40 Acres Fest

• Holi• Iron Spikes• One-time Events

• Events Co-Sponsorship Board

• Facilities• DHFS• Online

Platform• Green

Certification

Green EventsMainstreaming Sustainability

-Case Studies-

• Rez Week

• 5 day event with performances

• 24-hour a day coffee house and $1 lunches

• Facilities provided free work order for tables, chairs, and stage

Served 3000 beverages (organic and free-trade tea, coffee, and cocoa)

Cups and serving utensils were industrially compostable

Composting bins were situated near serving area

Recycling bins were available for students who came with bottles and cans of their own


-Case Studies-

• Rez WeekItem Vendor Amt (unit) Price price/unit Amt to

Purchase (unit) Cost Shipping to ATX Total cost Cost for non-green

Dunkin' Donuts Original Blend Costco 40 oz $22.99 $0.57 400 oz $229.90 $229.90 Organic Ethiopia Fair-Trade Coffee coffeeam.com 80 oz $58.95 $0.74

Organic FT Yirgacheffe soap.com 80 oz $50.99 $0.64

Equal Exchange FT Organic qualitycoach.net 160 oz $76.00 $0.48 $15.50

Equal Exchange FT/O Swiss Choclate Almond Coffee qualitycoach.net 160 oz $70.77 $0.44 400 oz $176.93 $15.50 $192.43

Lipton Regular tea bags Costco 100 bags $4.89 $0.05 1000 bags $48.90 $48.90

Lipton Green Tea Fusion, organic Costco 30 bags $25.99 $ 0.87 Equal Exchange Green and Black Tea FT/O qualitycoach.net 20 bags $4.50 $0.23

Equal Exchange Grean Tea FT/O 6 pack qualitycoach.net 120 bags $24.30 $0.20

Celestial Seasonings vitacost.com 20 bags $2.89 $0.14 1000 bags $144.50 $4.99 $149.49

Swiss Miss Regular Hot Cocoa Mix Costco 50 bags $10.39 $0.21 500 oz $103.90 $103.90

Equal Exchange FT/O Hot Cocoa qualitycoach.net 80 oz $29.00 $0.36 500 oz $181.25 same shipment with coffee $181.25

Dart Drink Foam Cup 10 oz Costco 1000 cups $27.99 $0.03 3000 cups $83.97 $ 83.97

Hot Cups from Planet+ 8 oz, biodegradable greenpaperproducts.com 1000 cups $85.20 $0.09

Dixie Paper Hot Cup 8 pz wayfair supply 1000 cups $35.46 $0.04 $8.99

world art hot cup 8 oz ecoproductsstore 1000 cups $83.95 $0.08 3000 cups $251.85 Free $251.85

Sugarcane Bowl 12 oz ecoproductsstore 1000 bowls $101.83 $0.10 Free

Recyclable/Compostable hot dog tray amazon (southern champion) 1000 trays $27.65 $0.03 $18.34

Recyclable/Compostable plaid food tray amazon (southern champion) 1000 trays $20.99 $0.02 $10.24

Recycled Paper Bowl 12 oz foodservicefiresale.com 1000 bowls $77.15 $0.08 $12.12

6" Fork plantware compostable fork ecoproductsstore 1000 forks $61.52 $0.06 Free

Totals $ 775.02 $ 466.67

Difference $ 308.35

• The event generated huge visibility for Green Events.

• We established a long-term relationship with the student group.

• Creating a sustainability budget for the student organization ensured that socially responsible and environmentally friendly products were used

Key Outcomes

• The bins were contaminated with trash and had to be sorted at the end of the day.

• The food vendor served food with both plastic and biodegradable forks.

Key Issues


-Case Studies-

• 40 Acres Fest• Day-long campus-wide event

• More than 50 participating student organizations

Recycling bins were situated around the event area

Participating student orgs came to a mandatory orientation where they received a presentation on green tabling and activities


-Case Studies-

• 40 Acres Fest

• Presenting to student organizations before the festival set the bar ahead of time and allowed the coordinators to not only ‘Green’ the event but educate as well.

• The organization orientation allowed Green Events to broadcast their services to a wide audience

Key Outcomes

• Some student groups still used Styrofoam or similar unrecoverable serving utensils.

Key Issues


-Case Studies-

• 40 Acres Fest Mainstream sustainability by • targeting large, long-

standing events on campus and

• advertising Green Events as both a sustainable initiative and as a consulting service that can improve the overall quality of an organization’s event

Key Lessons

• Some student groups still used Styrofoam or similar unrecoverable serving utensils.

• When starting a Green Events program, set realistic goals for the student organizations and work with them directly to attain those goals.

• Not all organizations will get a green event perfect the first time.

Tip:

Green EventsCo-Learning Opportunities

-Case Studies-

• Holi• “Festival of Color” hosted by the Hindu Students Association (HSA)

• Attracts 2000 students in 3 hours

• Method of distributing colored powder ‘Gulal’ had previously been a major source of waste

GE and HSA worked together to reduce the use of single-use products

All waste was composted


-Case Studies-

• HoliOld Method:

New Method• The higher cost per

biodegradable bag was mitigated through improved logistics.

• 1/5 of the amount of usual bags was used and all waste was recovered and composted.

• The HSA officers were engaged in sustainable thinking.

Key Outcomes

• Sustainable thinking was still for the most part limited to the core group of HSA officers.

Key Issues


-Case Studies-

• Iron Spikes Tailgate• Off-campus tailgate event

Recycled all plastic cups, cans, and bottles

Effectively communicated recycling initiative to organization members despite the high level of “rowdiness”


-Case Studies-

• New and non-annual events

• Events at the Community Garden

• LAC Earth Week

Facilitate co-learning by• working with both small and

large and new and annual events

• have a Green Event coordinator research school resources, the impacts of waste, and other sustainability concerns so that they can communicate this information to other students

Key Lessons

Green EventsPartnership and Expansion

-Case Studies-

• Facilities and DHFS

Large-impact events receive free work orders fulfilled by Facilities Services

Green Events pays a fee to DHFS at the end of the year for the generated compost (by weight)

Division of Housing and Food Service


-Case Studies-

• Events Co-Sponsorship Board (ECB)• $70,000 in available funds

• Sponsored by University Unions, a private entity on campus.

GE and ECB had one meeting in the Fall of 2013 to begin co-programming student events


-Case Studies-

• Green Events Website

• $70,000 in available funds

• Sponsored by University Unions, a private entity on campus.

GE and ECB had one meeting in the Fall of 2013 to begin co-programming student events


-Case Studies-

• Green Certification• Showcases past

events• Provides

advertising space for co-programmed events

• Generates recognition on campus for student organizations engaged in sustainability


-Case Studies-

• Green Certification

Talking Points: Diverted

15 lbs of compost from landfills

Sourced local food

Reused materials from previous years

Green Events kicked off the semester with Hindu Student Association’s (HSA) Sankranti kite festival this past Sunday, composting 14 lbs of food and serve-ware! Green Events and HSA collaborated in the fall to ensure that compostable plates and cups and local food were sourced for the event. Keep an eye out for Green Events’ new compost bins at events on campus this spring!

• Showcase for past events

• Space for advertising co-programmed events

• Generates recognition on campus for student organizations engaged in sustainability

Gain partners and expand a Green Events program by• Quantifying sustainability

goals so event achievements can be understood by a general audience

• Broadcasting these achievements so that other departments and organizations of the University will contribute to the momentum

Key Lessons

The University of

Texas

Sustainability at UT Green Events

Green Events-Review-

Mainstreaming Sustainability in

a university where many

students do not yet identify with

an environmental

ethic

Student Co-Learning

Opportunities

Partnerships, Expansion, and Institutionalizati

on

Green Events

Special thank you to the following:• CEC staff advisor

Jennifer Hobson• GE coordinators

Christopher Nickelson and Kendall Vela

• The office of Sustainability, Facilities Services, and DHFS

Smart and Sustainable Campus Conference 2014 Campus as a Learning Laboratory Wesley Beckner B.S....

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