School of Sustainability Graduate Culminating Experiences

This study examines the creation of a sustainability toolkit that can be implemented in many communities, beginning with Johnson City, Tennessee. This project began in 2019 and will continue to grow indefinitely. For this project, a toolkit that will allow the public to have access to the tools and information they need in order to make their homes more energy-efficient will be created. It will be stocked in the local library in Johnson City Tennessee for free use to the public, as long as they have a library card, they can check out the toolkits. The toolkits will be used by the public, then returned to the library so that they can be restocked and checked out again. This study looks at the market, business and organizational research and the infrastructure of the project. Methods of research included looking at how the need for a change came about, who will benefit, existing similar programs and how they will be used in conjunction with this project, current organizational structures attached to the project, current team infrastructure and what resources are needed to fill the voids. Findings include what financial resources will be required and how they will be acquired, as well as resources that are currently available for this project and what is still needed in order for this project to be successful. As a result of this project, at least two libraries in the Johnson City area will be stocked with several energy toolkits for free and a partnership for future project expansion will have been established. This study looks at the process and what was learned during the implementation of the project.

This report is concerned primarily with explaining the deliverables that our team, the Sustainable Saguaros, developed for the Kim Center for Social Balance (The Kim Center), as a requirement for graduation from the Master of Sustainability Solutions program at Arizona State University. As a growing non-profit organization, the Kim Center for Social Balance has a vision for integrated gender equity in workplaces nationwide but lacks the bandwidth to advance its strategy forward. The requested deliverables are: (1) a set of sector analyses for municipal government, healthcare, construction, and finance, (2) a summary of the gender-related reporting requirements for three reporting standards, and (3) a strategic action plan to improve the Kim Center’s board governance and engagement. Our sector analyses revealed common themes associated with gender-specific challenges in the workplace and identified sector-specific challenges that should be addressed in ways that are tailored to the sector. We developed the sector analyses by conducting extensive research into the current state of each sector as it pertains to gender equity, and then identifying challenges to women in the workplace. While we attempted to assess the state of each sector beyond the gender binary, consistent or reliable data was not readily available in most cases. We see this as an area where the Kim Center could help organizations improve in recognizing and supporting employees across the gender spectrum. The summary of reporting standards revealed that the existing gender-related requirements for the most well-established reporting standards are highly inconsistent. The gender-related reporting requirements for GRI, SASB, and NASDAQ did not have any significant overlap. The information required by these standards is routinely collected by US companies as part of their EEOC compliance, but may not be legal to collect in other countries. The strategic action plan for the Kim Center’s Board of Directors was formulated by analyzing the board’s bylaws, a survey conducted with current board members, and an internal non-profit assessment that was answered by their Executive Director. Using these resources, our team identified gaps in board governance that must be addressed in order to build the internal capacity for the Kim Center to operate effectively. From there, our team developed a case for improving board governance and outlined specific recommendations to strengthen the Kim Center’s board alignment and responsibilities.