School of Sustainability Graduate Culminating Experiences
Student capstone and applied projects from ASU's School of Sustainability.
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Description
In northern Arizona, the removal of woody biomass from forested land has garnered a high level of interest as threats of catastrophic wildfires have increased in recent years. Although there has been a great deal of vocal support for forest restoration, efforts on the ground are often stalled by complex federal contracting systems, a weak logging and sawmill industry, low-quality timber, and inabilities to guarantee long-term biomass supplies to processers. These barriers are exceedingly apparent in in the Flagstaff area, where the vast majority of forested land falls under the jurisdiction of the federal government and little infrastructure exists for wood product industries. In order to address these obstacles, forest stakeholders in Coconino County are actively searching for enterprises to utilize material that urgently needs to be removed from the surrounding forests. This project aimed to assist stakeholders in this endeavor by identifying and researching a number of practical and innovative woody biomass utilization enterprises that are suited to the existing regional infrastructure. While there are a variety of ways to process biomass, this project focuses on the following four end products because of their ability to use residual materials from harvest and sawmill operations, their low-tech nature, and the end product’s proximity to potential markets: biochar, compost, wood-plastic composites, and mushroom cultivation. Each of these products, and the processes used to create them, were analyzed and evaluated using a sustainable enterprise framework, and the final results were summarized in a portfolio for stakeholders in the region to review. Although this project offered just a glimpse of what is possible, the ultimate aim was to foster collaborative conversations regarding how forest restoration residues can be used in sustainable and innovative ways.
ContributorsPaulus, Caitlin (Contributor)
Created2019-05-15
Description
Step-By-Step Strategic Consulting is the professional consulting organization being created by Tanya Rincon and Kindra Maples in Phoenix, Arizona. Taking the initial steps into entrepreneurship is difficult without a guide or professional network to lean on and Step-By-Step plans to be there to make it more attainable. This organization functions with sustainable business practices as the foundation of every decision that is made. Beyond the assumed assistance that comes with partnering with a consulting service, Step-By-Step is dedicated to developing and fostering a network of values aligned startups and entrepreneurs that are prepared to support one another. The classic approach to capitalism has created incredible innovation for our world as a whole but it has also created massive issues for our environment and the communities that each organization serves. Sustainability issues are pervasive in every community, ecosystem, and economy yielding complex worldwide problems. As the business world shifts to supporting a new generation, it’s important to build resilient organizations prepared for the dynamic landscape that is currently forming. While the profession of business consulting and startup accelerators is not new, a new type of strategic business thinker is coming to be in the form of sustainable business practices. Step-By-Step Strategic Consulting aims to provide an additional option in the strategic consulting world, with sustainability at the center. Additionally, a roadmap has been created to provide a clear plan for future investors, clients, and employees. This plan includes a specific timeline detailing necessary steps to become a legitimate business legally, development plans for each business partner, and steps necessary for securing funding and strategic investors.
Graduate Culminating Experience Sharing Permissions Agreement
Mission: Step-By-Step guides and supports startup clients through the various stages of strategic growth with sustainable business practices as the foundation of success to create a positive impact environmentally, socially, and financially.
Vision: A collaborative network of values aligned organizations working together to accomplish their individual goals, while also supporting the success of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Graduate Culminating Experience Sharing Permissions Agreement
Mission: Step-By-Step guides and supports startup clients through the various stages of strategic growth with sustainable business practices as the foundation of success to create a positive impact environmentally, socially, and financially.
Vision: A collaborative network of values aligned organizations working together to accomplish their individual goals, while also supporting the success of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
ContributorsRincon, Tanya (Writer of accompanying material)
Created2020-05-18
Description
COVID-19 brought so much uncertainty into the world and has molded this project into what it is today. The first project journey that was chosen was meant to show the impact of how much plastic waste was being produced at Starbucks. Then due to COVID-19 yet again, it changed into how much paper waste there was within the State of Washington Department of Licensing (DOL) Business and Professions Division (BPD). DOL BPD is a state agency division that licenses over forty plus professional and business licenses to the residents of Washington state. Due to the pandemic, the project transformed into how the three pillars of sustainability impacts remote work within BPD. BPD is in this new and unique paradigm where the deliverable that was brought forth as this project completed are, “The 9 Benefits of Sustainability through Remote Work” (Appendix D) where this specifically showed DOL why remote work is sustainable and how it should be implemented even further throughout the agency. This list was put together with the benefits that best fit DOL BPD.
ContributorsReynolds, Jordan (Writer of accompanying material)
Created2021-02-11