Barrett, The Honors College Thesis/Creative Project Collection
Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University proudly showcases the work of undergraduate honors students by sharing this collection exclusively with the ASU community.
Barrett accepts high performing, academically engaged undergraduate students and works with them in collaboration with all of the other academic units at Arizona State University. All Barrett students complete a thesis or creative project which is an opportunity to explore an intellectual interest and produce an original piece of scholarly research. The thesis or creative project is supervised and defended in front of a faculty committee. Students are able to engage with professors who are nationally recognized in their fields and committed to working with honors students. Completing a Barrett thesis or creative project is an opportunity for undergraduate honors students to contribute to the ASU academic community in a meaningful way.
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- Creators: School of Sustainability
As sustainability has become more prevalent it has become clear that companies have a pressing need to incorporate sustainability into their business. The purpose of this study is to analyze the ways that integrating sustainability can actually provide a financial benefit for a company. Through interviews and extensive research, we will target sustainability initiatives that work for both small and large businesses. This is another key part of our research; addressing the discrepancy in how businesses of different sizes are able to use sustainability, and then finding sustainability initiatives that recognize this discrepancy and are effective for businesses of all sizes.
Through the interviews of three large corporations (Amazon, Dell, and Lowes), and four small businesses (Exel Shirts, Goode Deals, Desert Dream Ice Cream, and FitzGerald and Sons Contracting) we were able to discover several very effective sustainability initiatives, such as ocean plastics recycling at Dell or packaging advertisements at Amazon. This thesis then discussed what characteristics of these plans are easiest to transfer and implement for businesses of all sizes, classifying the “ideal” sustainability initiative. Possible revenue earners like reusing scrap, and the intangible benefits like saved labor of telecommuting as some of the most significant financial value that sustainability can provide for companies of all sizes.
American Logistics Aid Network (ALAN) is a non-profit logistics aid firm that provides supply chain assistance to non-profit organizations in times of crisis. It acts somewhat as a non-profit 3PL, connecting nonprofits seeking humanitarian aid goods, materials handling equipment, warehousing, logistics transportation, and expertise to an outstanding network of partner companies and organizations who help to deliver on their requests. In June of 2020, our team began an internship to identify and implement key process improvements for ALAN’s internal and external processes. This thesis is a summary of our findings, our solutions proposal, and their applicability to other non-profit organizations.