Sustainability News

CALENDAR/MEDIA ALERT: Global Institute of Sustainability hosts an intimate conversation between David Brancaccio and John Hofmeister

WHAT: American Public Media’s Marketplace in partnership with Arizona State University’s Global Institute of Sustainability, hosts an evening event bringing one of the world’s foremost experts on energy and climate to the general public. The wide-ranging conversation will cover everything from climate change and energy independence to global energy leadership and the unrest currently remaking the Middle East.

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TEMPE, Ariz., -- Michael Hanemann, a world-renowned environmental economist, has been elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences. Hanemann is the Julie A. Wrigley Chair in Sustainability at Arizona State University (ASU), where he holds joint appointments in the Department of Economics of the W. P. Carey School of Business, and in the School of Sustainability.

Hanemann is working on the future water needs of the Hopi Tribe under the new Arizona standard for Indian water rights, which calls for a supply of water adequate to make the Reservation a “comfortable homeland” and to permit sustained economic growth. He also is assisting the U.S. Geological Survey as it moves forward to implement an adaptive management strategy for the Glen Canyon Dam.

A leading expert hired by the California Energy Commission, the California State Assembly, and local governments in the San Francisco Bay Area, Hanemann is recognized globally for his research in non-market valuation and his work on the economics of water and the economics of irreversibility and adaptive management.  His recent work includes assessing the vulnerability of Bay Area communities to climate change and developing appropriate adaptation strategies – focused particularly on water, transportation, coastal impacts, agriculture, and health.

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ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY Press Release

April 14, 2011

Year-end donation and recycling drive earns honors for diverting waste while supporting local charities.

TEMPE, Ariz.— Every year the average U.S. student throws away nearly 200 pounds of ‘stuff’ during end-of-the-year move-out from dorms and other student housing. To turn all that stuff into gold, Arizona State University (ASU) joined with Swift Charities for Children and student housing communities (Capstone Companies and American Campus Communities) to sponsor the Ditch the Dumpster project, an annual year-end donation and recycling drive.

In recognition of the drive’s mission, Ditch the Dumpster was one of the few projects to receive the 2011 ASU President’s Award for Sustainability (awarded on April 13, 2011).

Launched in 2008, ASU’s Ditch the Dumpster initiative is held at the end of every academic year to encourage students to donate or recycle their unwanted, usable items rather than simply toss them in the trash. Over the past three years, the initiative has grown exponentially and students learn about the benefits and value of recycling and reusing.

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ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY

MEDIA ADVISORY

April 13, 2011

Neely Foundation Funds Student Grant Program for Sustainability Research and Applied Projects on Food and Agriculture

May 4 deadline for $1000-$4000 applied research awards; awards to be determined by May 15

Who/Eligibility:

Graduate students in the School of Sustainability and senior and junior undergraduate sustainability majors.

What:

The C.W. and Modene Neely Foundation of Gilbert, Ariz., has awarded a grant to ASU’s Global Institute of Sustainability to support graduate and undergraduate student research and applied projects.

The Neely Foundation Food and Agriculture Sustainability Research Grants Program offers funding for ASU sustainability student-proposed research and applied projects designed to support and advance food and agricultural system sustainability. Projects can cover any aspect of food and agricultural systems and range from local to global in scope. Most winning projects may expect $1000-$4000. Awards will be determined by May 15, 2011.

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Tempe-area Chipotle locations to co-host fundraiser to benefit the newly established Chipotle Sustainable Food Systems Scholarship

At least one ASU School of Sustainability student to be awarded a $1,000 scholarship annually from new Chipotle fund

Who:

Chipotle (Chi-POAT-lay) Mexican Grill, the chain of burrito restaurants committed to serving food made with more sustainably raised ingredients; Arizona State University (ASU) School of Sustainability students; and all Tempe big burrito lovers.

What:

In 2011, Chipotle established the Chipotle Sustainable Food Systems Scholarship for ASU’s School of Sustainability. Through the fund, Chipotle will annually award at least one $1,000 scholarship to a School of Sustainability undergraduate student, with the first award to be given in May 2011.

To raise funds for the Chipotle Sustainable Food Systems Scholarship, the three Tempe Chipotle locations will host a fundraiser on Earth Day, Friday, April 22, from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. During the fundraiser, for customers who stop by one of these locations, purchase some grub and show a fundraiser flyer, event graphic on their smart phone, or just mention they’re dining at Chipotle in support of the fund, 50 percent of their purchase will go directly to the Chipotle Sustainable Food Systems Scholarship.

Where:

- Tempe Marketplace Chipotle – 2000 East Rio Salado Parkway, Tempe, Ariz. 85281

- Rural & Baseline Chipotle – 815 East Baseline Road, Tempe, Ariz. 85283

- Mill Avenue & 11th Street Chipotle – 1038 South Mill Ave., Tempe, Ariz. 85281

When:

Friday, April 22 from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

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The Global Institute of Sustainability headquarters building on Arizona State University’s Tempe campus was renamed in honor of Julie Ann Wrigley. ASU President Michael Crow, along with Rob Walton, chairman of the board of Walmart and co-chair of the Board of Trustees for Sustainability at ASU,  a crowd of community and business leaders, and the ASU community, honored the Institute’s founding benefactor as the university celebrated the newly named Wrigley Hall.

 

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PASADENA, CALIF. (March 14, 2011) -- Clean Agency, a research-based consulting firm that provides consumer product companies with life cycle assessment, carbon footprint and product packaging solutions, has become a member of the Sustainability Consortium. Clean joins a diverse group of retailers, manufacturers, government, academic and public interest groups working to reduce the environmental and social impacts associated with global consumption.

“Joining the Sustainability Consortium is an important step in our continued effort to leverage the power of business to create impactful solutions to global environmental issues,” said Seri McClendon, chief executive officer, Clean Agency. We’re eager to contribute our research expertise and to work with other consortium members to reduce negative impacts on our natural resources and influence consumption towards a more sustainable future.”

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The city of Phoenix began accepting funding applications Tuesday from multi-family housing owners along a 10-mile stretch of the Phoenix light rail corridor. $25 million in grants are available under the Energize Phoenix program, a joint public-private program that seeks to provide energy efficiency measures for about 2,000 homes and more than 30 million square feet of commercial and industrial space.

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ASU hosts two international conferences to advance sustainability efforts and progress                

PHOENIX/TEMPE, Ariz. – Reinforcing its role as a leader in interdisciplinary global environmental and climate change conversations, Arizona State University (ASU) will host conferences for both the International Conference on Urbanization and Global Environmental Change (UGEC) and the Global Land Project’s (GLP) Open Science Meeting.

How have humans changed the Earth’s surface? How do urbanization and global environmental change interface? What are new pathways for sustainability that link urbanization and land change? How can we adapt to changes that have already occurred?

These themes play significantly in both of the groups’ individual and joint conferences. They are also top of mind among next-phase thinkers in the fields of environment and sustainability and are expected to play prominently in upcoming agenda-setting reports.

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Arizona State University broadens scope of sustainability education offerings

TEMPE, Ariz. – Arizona State University (ASU) has launched a new minor in sustainability that can complement a student’s major in another academic discipline. This unique 18 credit hour program enables undergraduate students to explore the challenges of sustainability and learn what determines the sustainability of human institutions, organizations, cultures, and technologies in different environments at the local, national, and international levels.

The minor offered this fall, 2010, marks a milestone for ASU’s initiative to make sustainability education and practices university-wide across all four campuses.

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TEMPE, Ariz.—Professor Kevin Dooley has been appointed Interim Co-Director of The Sustainability Consortium for Arizona State University (ASU). Dooley, a Distinguished Professor of Supply Chain Management in the W. P. Carey School of Business and Affiliate Professor in the School of Sustainability, has deep knowledge and experience with the Consortium and its activities. Jon Johnson will continue as the Consortium's Co-Director for the University of Arkansas. Johnson is the Walton College Professor of Sustainability, Sam M. Walton College of Business, University of Arkansas.

The Sustainability Consortium develops transparent methodologies, tools and strategies to drive a new generation of products and supply networks that address environmental, social and economic imperatives.

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BAGSVAERD, Denmark – August 2, 2010 – Novozymes has become a founding member of The Sustainability Consortium, a new global organization with aims to improve the sustainability of consumer products. The company will join a diverse group of academics, governments, non-government organizations and businesses to fulfill The Sustainability Consortium’s mission of driving a new generation of products and supply networks that address environmental, social and economic imperatives. Other members include Dell, Disney, Wal-Mart, WWF and BASF to name a few.

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TEMPE, Ariz. (July 13, 2010) — Is Arizona prepared to take the lead in the shift to renewable energy, using its greatest natural resource – the sun? A major research effort led by Arizona State University and initially funded through a grant from Science Foundation Arizona is trying to answer that question by analyzing how best to use solar and other sustainable energy throughout the state.

A top official from the U.S. Department of Energy, Undersecretary Kristina Johnson, recently visited the project, and other VIPs are coming soon. The hope is that the Az SMART project will provide an example for other states to follow in President Obama’s plan to reduce emissions, reduce foreign oil dependence and create jobs in a clean technology economy. The project includes tools to benefit homeowners, businesses and the leaders who need to make informed decisions about which power-generation methods to use and where to locate new facilities, such as solar fields.

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New program will reduce electricity consumption, generate thousands of green jobs and create a more sustainable city in the desert

TEMPE, Ariz. – The City of Phoenix was awarded a $25-million federal grant from the U.S. Department of Energy and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to launch, in partnership with Arizona State University and Arizona Public Service, "Energize Phoenix," a project that will save energy, create jobs and transform neighborhoods.

The grant will be used as seed funding to establish a fiscally viable, permanent program that will eventually be expanded throughout the city. Locally, the funds will be leveraged by at least $190 million of additional funding from a combination of banks, local businesses and public partners.

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FLORHAM PARK, NJ – BASF today announced that it is the first chemical company to become a member of The Sustainability Consortium, an independent organization of diverse global participants that work collaboratively to build a scientific foundation that drives innovation to improve consumer product sustainability. The company joins other retailers and consumer product manufacturers that have become members of the Consortium and its product "life cycle" mission, including social and environmental considerations.

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PHOENIX, AZ  – The Phoenix Green Chamber of Commerce (PGCC) announces today that Arizona State University's prestigious Global Institute of Sustainability (GIOS) has joined the Chamber. The School of Sustainability is part of GIOS and also will be a participant in the Chamber.

The Green Chamber promotes sustainable business practices, including recycling, energy and water conservation, pollution prevention, and the use of energy-efficient facilities and equipment. It provides education forums on topical issues in sustainability, and business opportunities among members.

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TEMPE, Ariz. – As graduate students in the School of Sustainability at Arizona State University, Maren Mahoney and Zach Hughes had seen plenty of academic journals related to sustainability. But nowhere could they find a publication that made the complex concept of sustainability accessible to the everyday reader.

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PLEASANTON, Calif. - March 1, 2010 - Safeway Inc. (NYSE: SWY) has become the first U.S.-based retail grocery chain and manufacturer for private label merchandise to join The Sustainability Consortium in support of the organization's science-based work toward a more sustainable global supply chain. The company joins other retailers and consumer product manufacturers that have become members of the Consortium and its product "life cycle" mission including social and environmental considerations.

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Best Buy, Dell, HP, Intel, Toshiba and Walmart to Establish System to Help Consumers Identify "Green" Electronics

TEMPE, Ariz.- The Sustainability Consortium, along with leaders in the manufacturing and sales of consumer electronics, today announced plans to establish a system, including social and environmental considerations, to help consumers identify "green" electronics. The Sustainability Consortium is co-administered by Arizona State University and the University of Arkansas.

Working with Best Buy, Dell, HP, Intel, Toshiba, and Walmart, the consortium will research and publish findings on the lifecycle environmental and social impacts of electronic products. These findings will be used to support efforts to identify products as sustainable or "green." This type of information is designed to reduce consumer confusion and help standardize product claims.

"Customers tell us they want to purchase electronics that have a minimal impact on our planet. This is an effort to help them do that using a common methodology that manufacturers across the industry participate in," said Scott O’Connell, environmental strategist, Dell. "This is about making it easy for customers to determine what’s ‘green’ and what’s not, and we’d like to have the whole industry involved."

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Daniel M. Bodansky, a preeminent authority in international climate change law, has been appointed the Lincoln Professor of Law, Ethics, and Sustainability at Arizona State University, according to Paul Schiff Berman, Dean of the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law.

Bodansky also has been named an Affiliated Faculty member in both the College of Law's Center for Law and Global Affairs, and in the Global Institute of Sustainability's School of Sustainability at ASU. His appointment is effective Aug. 1, 2010.

"The hiring of Dan Bodansky is a tremendously positive step for advancing ASU," said ASU President Michael Crow. "On the law and sustainability front, Dan will bring us global thinking at the highest level. This is a great day for ASU."

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