School of Sustainability Graduate Culminating Experiences
Student capstone and applied projects from ASU's School of Sustainability.
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- All Subjects: green tourism
Live music events are growing in terms of popularity and attendance every year. Along with the traditionally produced festival comes social, environmental and economic impacts. Some event and festival management teams focus on “greening” their event, which involves operating sustainably. Many of them seek recognition in the form of certifications to highlight and market these efforts. There is a disconnect between event and festival management teams and certifications, however. Many management teams do not know which certifications exist, or which to choose based on their sustainability values. To solve this dilemma, I am creating a decision-making tool termed “FestEval” that compares Wiek’s sustainability criteria inspired by Gibson’s principles to six green certifications. Certifications are ranked using percentages and pie charts to display how well each certification aligns with the principles. My client Kilowatt Events is piloting FestEval and providing me with feedback. The tool provides event and festival management teams with a method for choosing a certification that promotes their sustainable event and fits their values. It is designed to advance the future of festivals and events in a sustainable direction. The project identifies gaps in green certifications and suggest strategies for their improvement. It draws connections to Matt Burmeister’s Sustainable Sound Guide, designed to help management teams shift from operating at the current standard to operating sustainably.
By avoiding vehicle idling for three minutes every day of the year can reduce 1.4 million metric tons annually, which is equivalent to taking 320,000 cars off the road for the entire year (Canada.ca, 2016). The Automobile Idle Reduction Program (AIRP) is an outreach initiative to prevent carbon emissions from being released into the air by automobiles idling in Maricopa County. The initiative establishes a campaign to promote behavioral changes that target high idling industries: freight and delivery, schools and drive- thru facilities.
Background
Globally, carbon emissions negatively alter the air we breathe and is a leading cause in climate change. These problems adversely affect the global environment and human health. Additionally, they have cancer causing agents in the particulate matter. Unfortunately, over the years, Maricopa County has failed to meet air quality standards for particulate matter pollution which effects the health of residents. By not meeting the air quality standards, Maricopa County can receive sanctions and the Environmental Protection Agency can reject Arizona’s State Implementation Plan. This looming threat can financially impinge the economy of Maricopa County, potentially costing taxpayers a substantial increase in taxes.
Strategy and Solution
To battle the creation of carbon emissions and particulate matter, AIRP has developed a strategy for each industry. In partnership with the Maricopa County Air Quality Department, AIRP will introduce the freight and delivery companies to the Diesel Emission Reduction Act (DERA) Grant promotion to facilitate and fiscally assist with changing older diesel engines into higher efficiency engines that burn cleaner. Provide educators a fifth to eighth grade state approved education program to teach students the importance of vehicle idling reduction at no cost. And work with community organizations to offer a discount at their stores for those patrons who choose to turn their engine off and order inside, rather than idling in the drive-thru facilities. The campaign will market the interest of AIRP to the general public through purposefully placed billboards, light rail wraps, social media pushes, handouts and vinyl stickers.