School of Sustainability Graduate Culminating Experiences
Student capstone and applied projects from ASU's School of Sustainability.
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Description
The Arizona State University (ASU) Masters of Sustainability Solutions (MSUS) program connects student teams with real-world clients to solve real-world sustainability problems as a part of the students’ Culminating Experience in the program. This report details the project assigned to our group, the Emissions Data Detectives (EDD), in partnership with our client, Gannett Fleming. This project focuses on calculating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the client’s leased office spaces across the United States and Canada.
In excess, GHGs trap heat in the atmosphere, negatively affecting global air quality and human health. In addition, top companies similar to our client are already disclosing their emissions, new legislation is aiming to require such reporting, and stakeholders are trending to gravitate towards firms measuring and reducing their environmental impact. During the first semester of this project, we noticed that Gannett Fleming lacked data on specific utility usage in their leased office spaces, as not all data is shared, standardized, or robust enough for accurate emissions calculations.
After conducting a landscape analysis where group members interviewed companies facing a similar problem, the team identified best practices for addressing this issue. Such practices included using mixed methods for calculations based on data availability, leveraging organizational connections for efficient communication with landlords, creating custom communication plans, and using concise language with landlords. The team also conducted an sTOWS analysis to understand better how our research could best be applied to Gannett Fleming’s problem. From there, we developed a project plan that included an Invitation to Participate and Data Request to collect the necessary data. Next, the team outlined strategies for emissions calculations, including applying calculations from the GHG Protocol and compiling all calculations in a navigable spreadsheet.
Greenhouse gas calculations were made using a mix of asset-specific data from the Data Request forms and average data from the EPA estimates using equations from Scope 3, Category 8, or Leased Upstream Assets per the Greenhouse Gas Protocol. Emissions were categorized under Scope 3 since the client has no control over the leased offices, and the control approach was used. Final results showed that the emissions calculated for the 8 offices where asset-specific data was used combined with the 31 offices where average data was used totaled 2,390 metric tonnes of CO2e for FY2022.
In order to ensure that this project can be helpful to Gannet Fleming long-term, we came up with three main deliverables including a GHG spreadsheet including all calculations and findings, a GHG roadmap with simplified step-by-step instructions of our methodology, and a Sustainable Leasing Policy information to ensure the client’s emissions reduction goals are communicated and considered in the decision-making process for future lease agreements.
This version contains results that have been edited to ensure client confidentiality. Offices have been anonymized, and numbers used are not representative of actual emissions findings.
ContributorsGutierrez, Lukas (Author) / Carlson, Chloe (Author) / Davitt, Akilah (Author) / Cobb, James (Author)
Created2023-04-24
ContributorsGutierrez, Lukas (Author) / Carlson, Chloe (Author) / Davitt, Akilah (Author) / Cobb, James (Author)
Created2023-04-24
ContributorsGutierrez, Lukas (Author) / Carlson, Chloe (Author) / Davitt, Akilah (Author) / Cobb, James (Author)
Created2023-04-24
ContributorsGutierrez, Lukas (Author) / Carlson, Chloe (Author) / Davitt, Akilah (Author) / Cobb, James (Author)
Created2023-04-24
Description
While the term sustainability is commonly used in 2019, in 1950, it was sparsely uttered. To understand how Contento Recycling LLC became Central New York’s leader in sustainable development, you must go back to Gerald Contento Sr, and the year 1950. This was the year my grandfather started our family’s vehicle dismantling and scrap metal recycling business. Over the course of the next 70 years, Contento’s and now, Contento Recycling, has evolved into a leader in recycling and environmental work in Central New York. To see how I created a sustainable business enterprise, you must analyze my family’s past. My family’s history provides a roadmap to a more sustainable future.
When I established Contento Recycling LLC in 2017, it was poised to be Central New York’s first ever construction and demolition debris recycling business. I was tasked with the challenge that many sustainability professionals are tasked with and that was to show the community why they should stop taking their construction debris to the landfill, and instead bring it to my recycling center for processing, recycling, and landfill diversion. Over the last several years I applied for state grant funding, spread awareness about my new business, designed and constructed a material recovery facility, outfitted equipment, and trained staff. I now have a facility that accepts about 40 tons of mixed C&D debris per day, and diverts about 20% of that from the landfill.
On a more personal level, I learned a tremendous amount about dealing with change management. I’ve learned a lot about business development, and some keys to success when building a business. I’ve figured out how to help my employees and customers grow. I’ve learned to be more patient and flexible with my business endeavors. I have a much clearer vision of what I want for my business and for myself. I have developed a rousing optimism on the impact that my business, and myself can have on the sustainable development of Central New York. I will be a leader in environmental stewardship and partner with other people and organizations who want to work towards a more sustainable future.
When I established Contento Recycling LLC in 2017, it was poised to be Central New York’s first ever construction and demolition debris recycling business. I was tasked with the challenge that many sustainability professionals are tasked with and that was to show the community why they should stop taking their construction debris to the landfill, and instead bring it to my recycling center for processing, recycling, and landfill diversion. Over the last several years I applied for state grant funding, spread awareness about my new business, designed and constructed a material recovery facility, outfitted equipment, and trained staff. I now have a facility that accepts about 40 tons of mixed C&D debris per day, and diverts about 20% of that from the landfill.
On a more personal level, I learned a tremendous amount about dealing with change management. I’ve learned a lot about business development, and some keys to success when building a business. I’ve figured out how to help my employees and customers grow. I’ve learned to be more patient and flexible with my business endeavors. I have a much clearer vision of what I want for my business and for myself. I have developed a rousing optimism on the impact that my business, and myself can have on the sustainable development of Central New York. I will be a leader in environmental stewardship and partner with other people and organizations who want to work towards a more sustainable future.
ContributorsContento, Anthony (Author, Project director)
Created2019-05-15
Description
Waste management within the office represents a major sustainability problem for many corporations. Salt River Project (SRP) faces unique challenges at Coronado Generating Station (CGS) and the employee recreation facility Project Employee Recreation Facility (PERA). Addressing major waste streams at CGS involved shifting perspectives, adapting current infrastructure, and incorporating recycling into employee resources. Composting represented an easy to communicate and effective solution to minimizing waste at the newly remodeled PERA club, where the emphasis of the site is employee training, events, and catering. Employee engagement at both sites was based on the evidence based 6-step approach to implementing sustainable practices, including sparking initial engagement, forming working sustainability teams (Green Teams) and communicating effectively (Russo & Hoffman, 2008). These efforts helped bring sustainable initiatives and efforts to sites that are otherwise overlooked by SRP sustainability and employee engagement efforts. Further, these two sites modeled how sustainable change can be made in existing facilities as well as how sustainability can help model new facility infrastructure and marketing. The project was evaluated based on the Corporate Sustainability Management System framework in order to identify strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement.
ContributorsDoyle, Madison (Author, Project director)
Created2019-05-15
Description
This project explored the potential effectiveness of sustainable initiative programs in a typical office setting. The project area was focused on the Arizona offices of Expeditors International, a global, Fortune 500, third-party logistics company. The goal of the project was to set up recycling and composting services as well as create a culture of sustainability through educational materials distributed through various means to the employees. Throughout the project, it was discovered that there can be many barriers to effective implementation of sustainable initiatives, such as resistance to change. However, this project also highlighted that with a reasonable amount of effort and a strong logic behind the why, it it possible to shift the behaviors of normal office employees. This project also showed that using small improvements and occasional reminders of the value of being sustainable, behavior can be altered for the better. Despite the obstacles and challenges that are present in every office setting, this project has provided evidence that similar initiatives are very possible and can have a large impact for any company and for the planet.
ContributorsSponsler, James (Author) / Prosser, Paul (Contributor)
Created2017-11-20
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
Description
These documents were developed as part of the culminating experience project for the Masters of Sustainability Solutions (MSUS) graduate program.
This report was developed for the ASU Foundation and the Fulton Center by Team Green Impact with the goal of establishing a facility based year for the foundation to meet their 2035 net-zero target. Contents of this report include: Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emission measurements for the Fulton Center, GHG emission reduction recommendations, an infographic for internal stakeholder engagement, and an example net-zero strategy the foundation can utilize in their current and future building. The purpose of the report and the infographic is to inform next steps for reducing GHG emissions and to help the ASU Foundation make progress towards their net-zero target.
ContributorsFowler, Carissa (Author) / Boss, Lauren (Author) / Austin, Lesley (Author)
Created2023-05-01
ContributorsFowler, Carissa (Author) / Boss, Lauren (Author) / Austin, Lesley (Author)
Created2023-05-01