Food waste is a significant problem in many developed nations, especially the United States. Each year millions of pounds of uneaten or partially eaten food scraps are thrown into landfill, where it degrades anaerobically, producing methane gas emissions, contributing to foul odors, and contributing to an unsustainable food system. This thesis project set out to conduct a small-scale composting system that diverted would-be food waste from a local food bank to a community garden, where food scraps would decompose into compost to then be turned into a valuable, nutrient-rich amendment in that local garden. Engaging with this food bank and community garden allowed us to leverage the existing relationship between the two, and experiment and develop a framework that would demonstrate the feasibility of a long-term composting system in this community. By conducting this project throughout 2021, we saw where strategies worked well, what challenges remained, and where future opportunities could be expanded on. In the end, we diverted over 2000 lbs of uneaten food away from the food bank and into our composting system. We concluded our project report by providing a set of actionable recommendations and future framework guidelines that could be used by the local community garden in the future or be referenced to by other interested parties.

Food waste is a significant problem in many developed nations, especially the United States. Each year millions of pounds of uneaten or partially eaten food scraps are thrown into landfill, where it degrades anaerobically, producing methane gas emissions, contributing to foul odors, and contributing to an unsustainable food system. This thesis project set out to conduct a small-scale composting system that diverted would-be food waste from a local food bank to a community garden, where food scraps would decompose into compost to then be turned into a valuable, nutrient-rich amendment in that local garden. Engaging with this food bank and community garden allowed us to leverage the existing relationship between the two, and experiment and develop a framework that would demonstrate the feasibility of a long-term composting system in this community. By conducting this project throughout 2021, we saw where strategies worked well, what challenges remained, and where future opportunities could be expanded on. In the end, we diverted over 2000 lbs of uneaten food away from the food bank and into our composting system. We concluded our project report by providing a set of actionable recommendations and future framework guidelines that could be used by the local community garden in the future or be referenced to by other interested parties.

Precise addition of agricultural inputs to maximize yields, especially in the face of environmental stresses, becomes important from the financial and sustainability perspectives. Given compounding factors such as climate change and disputed water claims in the American Southwest, the ability to build resistance against salinity stress becomes especially important. It was evaluated if an algal bio-fertilizer was able to remediate salinity stress in Solanum Lycopersicum. A hydroponic apparatus was employed, and data from Burge Environmental’s MiProbes™ both were able to demonstrate remediation. Future research could include determining the minimum dosage of algal fertilizer sufficient to induce this result, or the maximum concentration of salt that an algal treatment can provide a protective effect against.

This thesis analyzes the process through which sustainability communication occurs between organizations and stakeholders. The lack of frameworks connecting research in the sustainability and communication fields highlights the need for a cohesive modelization of the sustainability communication process. This process forms the basis of the Action, Perception, Risk (APR) model, a framework that I have created. The APR model builds on existing sustainability and communication research to provide a practical illustration of the sustainability communication process, connecting the theoretical realm with the practitioner realm through implementable recommendations. This is achieved through a literature review and a case study of the American footwear company, Allbirds. Managerial implications are discussed and recommendations for effective sustainability communication are put forward.

Today’s college students are faced with numerous roadblocks to completing their studies including financial issues, unsustainable housing, and mental health crises. Currently, students are graduating with the highest levels of student debt in recorded history, and studies show that this disproportionately affects minority groups [1]. In addition, many colleges require students to live on campus for their first couple of years, with research showing that student housing costs have increased 10.8% annually for the past 5 years [2]. To make matters worse, college costs have increased 169% over the past four decades while earnings for ages 22-27 have increased by 19% [3]. Consequently, typical living standards today majorly impact the environment in negative ways. For example, in the UK, housing accounts for approximately 27% of carbon emissions due to burning of fossil fuels for electricity and heating [4]. Furthermore, the average size of a home is increasing over time, and thus requiring more electricity. In 2021, the average home is estimated to be 28% bigger than in 1970 [5]. With depression being the number one cause of disability worldwide [6], it is worth analyzing how these factors influence public health. In a survey of almost 300 college institutions, 88% of counseling center directors reported an increase in “severe” psychological problems over the previous 5 years [7]. Estimates also show that more than 1 in 10 college students struggle with an anxiety disorder [7]. Since research shows that participating in travel and leisure positively influences mental health in those receiving psychiatric care [8], we are led to following research question: how can van homes be functionally designed for students as more affordable and sustainably living spaces that are conducive of well-being?

The possibility of creating inorganic/organic hybrid materials has yet to be fully explored within geopolymer research. Using PDMS as an organic precursor, the surface of sodium and potassium geopolymers of varying precursor composition were functionalized with degraded PDMS oligomers. Both types of geopolymer yielded hydrophobic materials with BET surface area of 0.6475 m2/g and 4.342 m2/g for sodium and potassium geopolymer, respectively. Each respective material also had an oil capacity of 74.75 ± 4.06 weight% and 134.19 ± 4.89 weight%. X-ray diffraction analysis demonstrated that the PDMS functionalized sodium geopolymers had similar crystal structures that matched references for zeolite A and sodalite. The potassium geopolymers were amorphous, but showed consistency in diffraction patterns across different compositions.

This report addresses the value that companies can create along their supply chains by producing sustainably and locally, and proposes a business plan for a sleepwear and loungewear brand based on these findings. The purpose is to investigate whether or not there are opportunities for firms to make or save money by acting sustainably or producing locally, outside of the public relations value that could come from such efforts. By using research derived from scholarly articles and insight from experts, a background on the industry’s general trends and beliefs regarding sustainable and local production are addressed. Based on this research, it can be concluded that producing sustainably and locally is feasible and can provide supply chain related benefits for brands in certain situations. With this conclusion, a business plan was generated which aligned with the research presented in the analysis. It is important to acknowledge that there are certain actions related to sustainability and local production which could generally be beneficial for all apparel brands, but many suggestions are only applicable to smaller companies that sell at a higher price point.

In this paper, I cover the background and economic history of green buildings, including four case studies. Based on this exploration, I find that green roofs and walls are best suited to dense, highly paved cities with little capacity to expand their sewer systems. Green infrastructure is best suited for stormwater management to avoid combined sewer overflow (CSO) pollution and managing urban heat island (UHI) effects, while at the same time providing many positive externalities for people and the environment. Green buildings take those benefits and fit them into a smaller area (on roofs and walls), which is most applicable where tearing up pavement to provide more ground-level green space and expanding the sewer systems would be too costly.

This thesis explores conservation of threatened and endangered species in the Phoenix metro area using social media. With increased urbanization, rising temperatures, and other issues occurring in the desert landscape, creatures big and small face devastating losses in their populations. Informing the public about the species currently on the brink of extinction allows people to identify the animals in the wild, and may encourage conservation practices that would allow wildlife to thrive far into the future. Utilizing social media as a tool for spreading awareness permits information about Arizona wildlife to be free and easily accessible. This project consists of interviews with conservationists and social media influencers, a survey to understand online behaviors and identify level of interest in the different species, and the creation of consumable social media infographics about the threatened and endangered species of Phoenix. Instagram was selected by survey respondents as the platform they would follow conservation accounts on, leading to the creation of @phxconservation to post the social media infographics. Best practices found by posting on social media in this project can be useful information for conservationists looking to build engagement and effectively inform people.

As record heatwaves are being seen across the globe, new tools are needed to support urban planners when considering infrastructure additions. This project focuses on developing an interactive web interface that evaluates the effectiveness of various shade structures based on certain parameters. The interface requests user input for location, date, and shade type, then returns information on sun position, weather data, and hourly mean radiant temperature (MRT). This tool will allow urban city planners to create more efficient and effective shade structures to meet the public’s needs.