Tulane’s Office of Sustainability teamed up with faculty and student groups from Environmental Studies, Business, and Marketing to tackle the issues of waste and recycling diversion, sustainable dining, and energy efficiency this past fall. This provides students experience in solving real world challenges that the university faces as we work to become a more environmentally sustainable and efficient institution.
Students in “Approaches to Environmental Studies” (EVST 3310) did nightly observations of trash dumpsters for two weeks to estimate the amount of trash generated on the uptown campus and calculate our overall recycling diversion rate. Additionally, student teams in the class, taught by Professor Nicole Katin, developed proposals for low-cost campus sustainability improvements, such as solar umbrellas and a compost club.
Many students in MGMT 4150, “Environment, Society and Capitalism,” taught by Professor Robert Moreau, chose a campus focus for their final projects. One group reviewed the sustainable features of the Goldring/Woldenberg addition, while another proposed sustainability measures for dining.
The Office of Sustainability staff spoke to all four sections of “Introduction to Environmental Studies” (EVST 1010) to present Tulane ‘s greenhouse gas emissions inventory and discuss how to measure an institution’s impact on climate change. Many students later joined “Tulane Unplugged,” the residence hall energy efficiency competition organized through the Office of Sustainability.
Lastly, students in “Relationship Marketing” MKTG 4240 taught by Professor Rob Hailey met with our staff and developed marketing strategies for dining service’s expansion of the OZZI reusable food container program.
Click here (link to page that will replace http://green.tulane.edu/publications.html) for more information on hands on student sustainability research that’s been conducted at Tulane.
