2017 H I GH LI GHTS
Food’s Bright Future New ASU center will take a holistic approach to improving our food systems. [pg. 16]
Navigating an uncertain future “The more I’ve gotten familiar with Hawai’i and the Polynesian culture, the more I’ve come to admire their seafaring tradition. What kind of a society creates a mind that’s prepared to get into a canoe and sail over the horizon with no fixed point of reference? Thinking about our own situation, we’re sailing over the horizon with no fixed point of reference. We need navigators.” – Gary Dirks, Director, ASU Wrigley Institute
Global Engagement
Solar-powered library connects remote regions Not everyone in our highly-connected world is a text or tweet away. For those in off-grid locales like Samoa, lack of information access means fewer educational opportunities. That’s where ASU’s SolarSPELL comes in. The digital library, developed by Senior Sustainability Scientist Laura Hosman, is both portable and solar-powered. With its own Wi-Fi hotspot, it functions without electricity or existing internet connectivity. Hosman’s innovative device received one of the inaugural PLuS Alliance Prizes at the 2017 Times Higher Education World Academic Summit in London.
Breaking records – In October 2017, volunteers came to ASU’s Polytechnic campus and built 150 SolarSPELLs in one day!
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Global Engagement
Sustainability ed spreads in Germany The State of Lower Saxony partnered with the Global Consortium for Sustainability Outcomes to provide a sustainability certification for k-12 teachers. Hundreds of teachers will be trained through this certification, modeled after GCSO’s Sustainability Education program. The ASU Wrigley Institute is GCSO’s managing partner. GCSO Sustainability Ed’s Impact 3 countries Mexico Ireland Germany 30 k-12 schools 80 teachers ~3,000 students
Change agents in Latin America For Jason Sauer, the wetlands of Valdivia, Chile blurred the lines that usually separate urban and natural settings. He was studying how the ecosystem benefits the city’s residents, an opportunity provided by the Resilient Urban Latin America International Research Experience for Students project. RULA IRES, offered through the Urban Resilience to Extremes Sustainability Research Network, enables students to be change agents in urban communities facing climate extremes.
Listen: Created by UREx SRN graduate students and postdocs, the Future Cities Podcast explores ways cities are building resilience to extreme weather events. bit.ly/fut17cities 4
Global Engagement
Water management in Brazil One of the most pressing global challenges for sustainable development is freshwater management. That’s why ASU’s Decision Center for a Desert City collaborated with scientists, managers, policymakers and other stakeholders in Pernambuco, Brazil – to build local capacity to manage existing and future water resources efficiently, sustainably and equitably. Together, the team developed modeling tools and a decision support system that prepares users for whatever water scenarios come their way.
Mekong’s hydropower dilemma Helping countries on the Mekong River enjoy the clean energy benefits of hydropower without disruption to their food supply or livelihoods, Senior Sustainability Scientist John Sabo and his collaborators developed an algorithm for proper dam management.
HYDRO
CHINA
MYANMAR LAOS
VIETNAM
THAILAND CAMBODIA
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Arizona Impact
Phoenix riverbed primed for transformation Inspired by a similar effort in San Antonio, U.S. Senator John McCain plans to transform the Phoenix river corridor with help from ASU. Rio Reimagined will run through Greater Phoenix and serve as an urban and environmental amenity. It will use ASU expertise in areas like hydrology, biology, architecture, planning, finance and sustainability – but not without community input. “The university will be a convener of community interests and key stakeholders to make sure all voices are heard and reflected in the work to be done,” said Senior Sustainability Scientist Duke Reiter.
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Arizona Impact
Tiny homes for homeless vets At 300-to-450 square feet, the homes of Micro on Madison will not only be sustainable, cost-effective and easy to replicate – they’ll also provide muchneeded shelter to homeless veterans in Phoenix. Members of GreenLight Solutions, a consulting nonprofit started by ASU School of Sustainability students, helped break ground on the project. It is just one part of a plan to build 1,200 tiny homes throughout the Valley.
Solutions for East Valley city Apache Junction has new strategies for waste management, understanding homelessness, marketing and off-leash dog parks, thanks to Project Cities – a program led by ASU’s Sustainable Cities Network. AJ was the inaugural partner of the program, which plugs ASU students and faculty into projects that make cities better places to live.
Prepping Tempe leaders for future Electric, self-driving cars? Giant shade structures? These are just a few possibilities considered by Tempe municipal leaders as they envisioned the city in 2040. They were playing AudaCITY, a game created by Senior Sustainability Scientist Lauren Withycombe-Keeler that helps participants set sustainability goals and meet them. It took place at the second in a series of resilience and sustainability workshops hosted by the School of Sustainability’s Executive and Professional Education program.
Desert Laboratory
A water experiment to remember Eight people spend a month in the Mojave desert without AC – and with only four gallons of water a day. This was the premise of Drylab, an “extreme experiential learning” experience directed by Senior Sustainability Scientists Marco Janssen and Adriene Jenik. Drylab participants – ASU students from the arts and sciences – developed clever strategies for survival in this near-future scenario. They ate locally-grown, vegan meals and used baby wipes in lieu of showers.
Most importantly, though, they learned the importance of working together. “Trying to change behavior during scarcity can be difficult,” said participant Sarra Tekola, a PhD student in the School of Sustainability. “We don’t have to work together, except in times of crisis. ... I think our society needs to practice cooperation.”
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Desert Laboratory
Perceptions and practices in a desert metropolis Every five years, researchers from the Central Arizona–Phoenix Long-Term Ecological Research project survey households in select Metro Phoenix neighborhoods. They gauge people’s perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors on environmental issues like heat stress, water scarcity, landscape choices and urban wildlife. The latest effort is detailed in Phoenix Area Social Survey IV, led by Senior Sustainability Scientist Kelli Larson and PhD student Riley Andrade. Survey data will inform strategies for mitigating and adapting to challenges the Valley faces.
Forecasting dryland vulnerability Sustainability scientists from ASU’s Global Drylands Center are among those researching the effects of climate change on vegetation and ecosystem processes across three deserts in the western U.S. Their findings will be used to manage Department of Defense drylands.
Military
Building naval excellence ASU is one of six universities helping the U.S. Navy improve its renewable energy profile through the NEPTUNE program. NEPTUNE, which entered its second iteration in 2017, achieves this by giving active-duty military, military students and veterans the chance to develop state-of-the-art technologies at the university level. In November 2017, 10 ASU student veterans presented their NEPTUNE research at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.
“ASU is the center of the sustainability universe.” — Addison “Tad” Davis, principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for energy, installations & environment
Serving country and planet During an inaugural Army Reserve Mission Resilience and Sustainability conference hosted by ASU, over 150 military personnel, Department of the Army civilians and contractors were given the mandate to change the “sustainability DNA” of their organizations. 10
Carbon Collabs
Explaining CO2 spike
Earth’s tropical regions were the cause of the largest annual increases in atmospheric CO2 concentration seen in at least 2,000 years. That’s according to a NASA study with input from ASU’s Kevin Gurney – an atmospheric and senior sustainability scientist. The team found space-based evidence that total carbon increased by 3 gigatons in 2015 due to El Niño, a reccurring warming of water in the Pacific Ocean.
Air capture apprentice Albert Kyi committed to finding solutions to climate change in fourth grade. By the time Kyi was a sophomore at Grace Church High School in New York City, he set out to build his own Direct Air Capture machine. With a budget and six months to complete the project, Kyi sought help on the opposite side of the country from ASU’s Center for Negative Carbon Emissions. Director Klaus Lackner and Executive Director Allen Wright, both senior sustainability scientists, were more than happy to assist. About 155 screws later, Kyi’s DAC machine was capturing quintillions of CO2 molecules. 11
Climate
Colbert, live from COP 23 The 23rd Conference of the Parties – a U.N. climate conference in Bonn, Germany – attracted dignitaries from around the world. Luckily, those at home had School of Sustainability student Julia Colbert to fill them in. Colbert, a student worker with the Walton Sustainability Solutions Initiatives, shared her video coverage of COP23 on YouTube. On top of that, she connected with fourth-to-twelfthgrade classrooms throughout the country via Facetime or Skype, teaching conference-related lessons like “how to negotiate.” “It was inspiring to see how much they really wanted to learn,” said Colbert. “It made me hopeful that this next generation will be the change-makers that truly make a difference in the fight against climate change .”
Watch: Colbert’s coverage from COP 23 in Bonn, Germany. bit.ly/COP23colbert 12
Climate Comments
“If CO2 is treated as just another form of waste, which has to be disposed of, then people can stop arguing about whether it’s a problem and finally start doing something,” Senior Sustainability Scientist Klaus Lackner told The New Yorker.
Lackner’s Center for Negative Carbon Emissions is developing air capture technology tools to manage and reduce the buildup of carbon dioxide, which is the most abundant and persistent heat-trapping greenhouse gas in our atmosphere. While natural forces will remove some of the CO2 that is emitted to the atmosphere, without intervention a large fraction of today’s emissions will linger for thousands of years.
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Commerce
Better products for a better planet It’s no surprise that The Sustainability Consortium won Supply & Demand Chain Executive magazine’s 2017 Green Supply Chain Award. Co-run by ASU and the University of Arkansas, the consortium is making consumer products more sustainable by giving companies like Walmart, Amazon, Kroger and Walgreens the right tools. Once they understand where their materials come from, companies can improve their products’ social and environmental impacts.
The Sustainability Consortium in 2017
85% of consumer goods covered
600+
suppliers trained
100+ members , including many of the world’s biggest brands
$200B in consumer products managed using TSC tools
Commerce
Big tech aims for impact If information and communication technology companies are helping to achieve the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals, how will they know? With funding from Dell, the Walton Initiatives’ Global Sustainability Solutions Services set out to answer this question. The resulting 2017 report lays the initial groundwork for ICT companies looking to quantify their SDG impact.
Next-generation manufacturing If the City of Phoenix implemented a circular economy, the numbers would reflect it. That’s according to a new report by the Resource Innovation and Solutions Network, which says the transition could add as much as $124 million to Arizona’s gross state product.
$124 million
PAPER
55 new jobs
at new or extended facilities
GLASS
34,000 tons
recycled materials diverted
PLASTIC
6-year additional contribution to Gross State Product
METAL 15
Food Systems
Future of food just got sweeter Why grow corn, beans and squash together? Beans put nitrogen back into the soil, corn grows stalks that beans use as trellises and squash shades the roots, minimizing water use. This “Three Sisters” farming method, practiced by Native Americans, is a great example of a sustainable food system – the focus of a future ASU center. The Swette Center for Sustainable Food Systems, established with a major gift from Sweet Earth Foods founders Kelly and Brian Swette, will explore better solutions to today’s food challenges. Taking a holistic approach, the center will consider water and energy use, carbon footprint, nutrition and efficiency across global supply chains. It will be housed in ASU’s School of Sustainability and offer the nation’s first degree in Sustainable Food Systems.
Listen: Kelly Swette talks with Nil Zacharias of the #EatForThePlanet podcast about the future of plant-based foods. bit.ly/Kelly-Nil 16
Food Systems
Committed to action With an exclusive invite, School of Sustainability undergraduate Yann Raymond and his thesis partner attended the 2017 Clinton Global Initiative University in Boston, Mass. The team’s “commitment to action” – a CGI U requirement – was to address the Valley’s lack of convenient, nutritious food. “We’re doing this by growing fresh food aeroponically, using 90% less water and space and zero chemical fertilizers or pesticides,” said Raymond. “The concept relies on harvesting the herbs and vegetables the very morning that they go to market.” The team later pitched their idea to Changemaker Central and Venture Devils, amassing $4,000 in start-up funds.
Strides toward phosphorus sustainability With a new source of funding following a five-year National Science Foundation grant, ASU’s Sustainable Phosphorus Alliance grows to nine member organizations committed to tackling the phosphorus problem in our global food system.
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Food Systems
A story of gender equality Amid cartel-related chaos, female shrimp traders in Sinaloa, Mexico shed literal blood, sweat and tears to carve their niche in the historically male-dominated industry. Ultimately, these women managed to achieve economic independence and secure hope for future generations. That’s why Maria Cruz Torres, an anthropologist and senior sustainability scientist at ASU, has worked tirelessly for twenty years to make their efforts visible – even despite the threat of personal violence. She tells the stories of 52 women in her most recent book, “Voices Throughout Time: Testimonies of Women Shrimp Traders in Sinaloa, Mexico.” Cruz Torres’ work illuminates the interrelations of gender, labor and resource management in aquaculture, as well as the industry’s effects on the political ecology and economy of the U.S.-Mexico transborder region. She was elected to the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2017. 18
Eco-Partnerships
Desert insights into island challenges Hawai’i faces unique sustainability challenges – like importing enough food, water and energy. Through a partnership with the Hawai’i Green Growth initiative, ASU lent its experience to address sustainability on the Ala Wai Watershed, an 11-square-mile boundary on the island of O’ahu. The resulting plan – produced by a team of students and faculty from the sustainability and design schools – won first place at the “Make the Ala Wai Awesome” competition. It also received the American Society of Landscape Architects’ award for Excellence in Landscape Architecture.
Public value of conservation When the Center for Biodiversity Outcomes hired three employees, it not only expanded its team – it expanded its list of projects. The projects managed by CBO’s two new postdoctoral research associates involve the center’s knowledge partnership with Conservation International. One addresses better management approaches for fisheries; the other explores the role of natural capital in achieving the sustainable development goals. CBO’s new associate director, in partnership with ASU’s Center for Organization Research and Design, will focus on the public value of conservation.
Biodiversity U After launching the “Environmental Communication and Leadership” graduate certificate in 2017, CBO announced a new spring 2018 offering – “Biodiversity Conservation in Practice” – in partnership with CI. 19
Culturing Sustainability
Have a problem? Nature has an answer. Visitors to “Biomimicry: Nature-Inspired Design,” an exhibit curated with ASU’s help, experienced an approach to problem solving that harnesses both the practicality and beauty of nature’s designs. That’s the focus of ASU’s Biomimicry Center – observing how animals and plants have already overcome the obstacles we face.
Expanding the environmental humanities ASU is home to the Humanities for the Environment network’s North American Observatory. Now, affiliates of the university’s Environmental Humanities Initiative are helping HfE establish a new observatory in Latin America. The LA Observatory will be headquartered at the Universidad de Amazonia in Colombia, helping to foster peace in a region that has only recently emerged from thirty years of civil war. 20
Events
Conversations for the curious ASU KEDtalks satiate viewers’ curiosity on a variety of topics while connecting them to ASU research. The series’ Fall 2017 season featured senior sustainability scientists from engineering, anthropology, atmospheric sciences and chemistry. Klaus Lackner Carbon is a terrible thing to waste
WATCH VIDEO:
bit.ly/KED17Lack Amber Wutich Building a true sharing economy
WATCH VIDEO:
bit.ly/KED17Wut Ariel Anbar Designing Earth’s future
WATCH VIDEO:
“Small acts of kindness not only bind us together, but are critical to our survival as a species.” — Amber Wutich, Building a true sharing economy
bit.ly/KED17Anb Rolf Halden What soap leaves behind
WATCH VIDEO:
bit.ly/KED17Hal
Watch: Discover more KEDtalks. bit.ly/ASU-KEDtalks
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Events
Google’s circular economy transition During her November 2017 Wrigley Lecture at ASU, Google’s Sustainability Lead Kate Brandt detailed how the tech giant is working to embed circular economy principles into its infrastructure, operations and culture.
Watch: bit.ly/wls17bran
2017 Sustainability Solutions Festival
1
month
16 events
Eco equipment 2,500 Sustainability Kits, which included reusable bags and shower timers, were distributed to Festival attendees. If used once, the bags equate to an oil reduction of 208 fewer driving miles and each shower timer equates to 125,000 gallons of water saved.
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37,761 attendees
Events
Thought Leader Series Essays from sustainability thinkers and problem solvers
Myanmar at turning point ASU biodiversity experts Leah Gerber and Penny Langhammer explore the potential for sustainable development in this Southeast Asian country.
Seizing sustainability at a time of reckoning Former British Diplomat Sir Crispin Tickell contrasts human enlightenment to issues of sustainability with our seeming unwillingness to take timely, meaningful action.
A funny thing happened on the way to the job market School of Sustainability Dean Christopher Boone illustrates the increased appeal of a sustainability degree to employers across industries.
Progress in International Year of Sustainable Tourism ASU tourism experts Kathleen Andereck and Christine Vogt provide an update on communityappropriate, environmentally-sensitive and economically-viable travel.
Seeing the mission through Author and Sustainability Hall-of-Famer Alan AtKisson describes what a sustainability movement in need of momentum can learn from the U.S. Army. Read More: sustainability.asu.edu/thought-leader 23
SOS Stats
Sustainability Enrollment 2200
Food System Sustainability Cert. Energy and Sustainability Cert.
2000
Interdisciplinary Studies and Sustainability Sustainable Tourism
1800
Public Policy and Sustainability Engineering and Sustainability
1600
Business and Sustainability
1400
1200
1000
Sustainability Minors 800
600
Sustainability Grad Students 400
Sustainability Undergrad Majors
200
0
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
(Note: Some students are enrolled in more than one academic plan.)
Executive Master of Sustainability Leadership
4
graduating classes
24
69
total graduates
SOS Stats
Alumni Employment SUSTAINABILITY
Bachelor’s
Employed or Graduate School
27%
National Average
95%
70%
Sustainability-Related
(of Employment Rate)
(degree-related)
SUSTAINABILITY
Master’s
Employed or Graduate School
99%
77%
Sustainability-Related (of Employment Rate)
SUSTAINABILITY
PhD
Employment Rate
100%
92%
Sustainability-Related
(of Employment Rate)
New degree! To overcome obstacles to national renewable energy systems, the School of Sustainability kicked off its sustainable energy PhD program in fall 2017.
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Class Notes Chris Chappell BS 2012 was hired as AZ Water Projects Administrative Coordinator for The Nature Conservancy.
Carolyn (Crouch) Phillips MA 2011 opened a retail shop for Alchemy Pops – her gourmet frozen popsicle business.
Benjamin Fogg MSL 2017 was promoted to Sustainability Specialist at FedEx Ground in Pittsburgh, PA.
Ryan Stephenson BA 2014 was hired as the GIS Community Planner for Pima County’s Department of Community Development & Neighborhood Conservation.
Joe Fullerton EMSL 2017
was named a 2017 California Community Colleges Sustainability Champion in the category of Energy & Sustainability by the Board of Governors. Brittni Furrow MS 2010 talked with GreenBiz about her job as Senior Director of Supply Chain Sustainability at Walmart. Zach Hughes & Carolyn Mattick MS 2009 were married in January 2016. Auriane Koster PhD 2013
is engaged to Ryan Bunty. The couple will marry on March 31, 2018 in Phoenix, AZ. John Martinson EMSL 2016 is embarking on an electric road trip across western North America, stopping in cities from Boulder, CO to British Columbia, CAN.
What’s new with you?
Vee Subramanian PhD 2015 and wife welcomed a baby in March 2017. Tim Trefzer EMSL 2015
was awarded the Metro Atlanta Chamber’s E3 (environment, equity, economy) Trident Award for individual achievement. Hannah Wells BA 2011 completed her MBA in Sustainable Management at Presidio Graduate School and moved to the San Francisco area. Nicole White BA 2009
and her husband Lance welcomed daughter Ayla Stella to their family on June 13, 2017.
Whether about a new job or a newborn, we love when alumni share their updates with us! Email yours to sosalumni@asu.edu .
Faculty Recognition
Ariel Anbar, School of Earth and Space Exploration and School of Molecular Sciences
Leland Hartwell, School of Sustainability and Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College
Teaching Innovator, Chronicle of Higher Education
Geoffrey Beene Builders of Science Award, Research!America
Shirley-Ann Augustin-Behravesh, School of Sustainability
Ryan Johnson, School of Sustainability
Winner, Decision Sciences Institute’s conference paper competition
Member, Global Reporting Initiative Stakeholder Council
Dan Bodansky, Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law
Subbarao Kambhampati, School of Computing, Informatics and Decision Systems
Regents’ Professor, Arizona Board of Regents
Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science
Alexandra Brewis Slade, School of Human Evolution and Social Change
Rosa Krajmalnik-Brown, School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment
Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science
Member, National Academies of Sciences – Engineering and Medicine
Katja Brundiers and Arnim Wiek, School of Sustainability
Sethuraman Panchanathan, School of Computing, Informatics and Decision Systems
Campus Sustainability Research award, Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education Maria Cruz-Torres, School of Transborder Studies Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science
Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science Martin Pasqualetti, School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning
Leah Gerber, School of Life Sciences
Place Research Award, Environmental Design Research Association & Project for Public Spaces
Fellow, Ecological Society of America
Hava Tirosh-Samuelson, Center for Jewish Studies
Nancy Grimm, School of Life Sciences Regents’ Professor, Arizona Board of Regents Fellow, American Geophysical Union 27
Practices
1,000s of lab gloves While interning at paper giant Kimberly Clark, undergraduate School of Sustainability student Junkee Justin Ahn noticed that the company had a nitrile glove-recycling program. He recognized the need for a similar program at ASU, where labs use countless gloves across its campuses each week, and began collecting information. By helping to bring the program – called RightCycle – to ASU, Ahn is getting gloves from ASU’s Tempe and Polytechnic campuses to recycling centers where they are turned into plastic materials. He presented his work at the nation’s biggest higher-education sustainability conference, held by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education in San Antonio, Texas.
Top 3 in the world A 2017 rating by AASHE named ASU third in the world and second in the U.S. for sustainability initiatives.
Facilities excellence ASU’s Facilities Development and Management won the APPA 2017 Sustainability award, which highlights its work to foster a sustainable campus environment.
Practices
Targeting Greenhouse Gas Emissions Since signing its Climate Commitment in 2007, ASU has reduced its GHG emissions by 31%. That’s is a reduction of over 48% per square foot of building space and over 46% per on-campus student.
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Wrigley Works Worldwide Norway Netherlands
Canada
Albania China
Germany
United Kingdom
Lebanon Italy
Ireland
United States
South Korea
Pakistan Haiti
Morocco
Japan Bangladesh
Puerto Rico
Mexico Guatemala
Senegal
Nepal
Colombia Ghana Bolivia
Samoa Indonesia
Brazil Nigeria
Jordan
Fiji
Saudi Arabia
Paraguay
Chile
Thailand
India
Australia Mozambique
Argentina
South Africa
New Zealand
Antarctica
*Map represents only a selection of sustainability research at ASU.
In September 2015, 193 countries agreed to adopt a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. Officially known as Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the plan is spearheaded by the United Nations and builds on the Millennium Development Goals established in 2000. The new Global Goals are unique in that they call for action by all countries – poor, rich and middle-income – to promote prosperity while protecting the planet. They recognize that ending poverty must go hand-in-hand with strategies that build economic growth and address a range of social needs – including education, health, social protection and job opportunities – while tackling climate change and environmental protection.
Arizona State University and the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability are working to advance all 17 goals all over the globe. sustainability.asu.edu/global-goals 30
Sustainability at ASU has a remarkable philanthropic legacy, led by the transformational investments of Julie Ann Wrigley and the Rob and Melani Walton Fund of the Walton Family Foundation. Campaign ASU 2020 will advance world-class initiatives that address the greatest sustainability challenges of our time. asu.edu/give
Sustainability Education
Food Systems
Biomimicry
Energy and Society
Sustainable Communities
ENVIRONMENTAL SAVINGS Printing 3,000 of these brochures used 915 pounds of paper made from 30% postconsumer waste. By using this recycled paper we saved the following resources:
trees
water
energy
solid waste
3
1,545
1,000,000
73
fully grown
gallons
BTUs
pounds
greenhouse gases
177
pounds
sustainability.asu.edu schoolofsustainability.asu.edu Š 2018 Arizona Board of Regents.
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GIOS-018-4-3000
Environmental impact estimates were made using the Environmental Paper Network Paper Calculator ver. 3.2.1.
Enduring solutions for a better world.
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