University of Michigan
AC-8: Campus as a Living Laboratory

Increasing Voter Engagement at the University of Michigan (Sustainability and the Campus ENVIRON 391 project, Winter 2022) - Increasing voter participation is critical for the conservation of our environment and passing pro environment legislation in Michigan. The main problem the student team identified was that of the national voter rate, undergraduate students are the population with one of the lowest voter turnout rates. This affects what legislation is passed and furthermore the lives of these students. The scope of this research is focusing on why students don't vote which has impacts on pro-environmental legislation. The University of Michigan has the opportunity to increase voter turnout among this population and has done so successfully through actions like adding a UMMA satellite office for making voting more accessible to students. There is more to be done and through our research, we were able to identify recommendations needed to be put into action to increase turnout. Through academic research, focus groups, stakeholder interviews, and survey collection, the team collected information about undergraduate voter engagement at the University of Michigan.

Increasing Student Engagement in Campus Race to Zero Waste (Sustainability and the Campus ENVIRON 391 project, Winter 2022) - The University of Michigan participates in this competition and runs an internal competition between campus buildings. It has fostered significant staff and faculty participation in previous years, but there is a lack of meaningful student involvement. This led to the creation of this research initiative on how to best engage University of Michigan students. The student team's analysis focused on three methods of data collection: student survey, interviews, and a focus group. The results from the analyses provided insight into several key findings. They noticed that there is an interest in reducing personal waste but there was a lack of familiarity with the competition. The familiarity among students on campus was disproportionate between schools and colleges, suggesting key areas for targeted advertisement improvements. The team's interviews suggest that sustainability-themed education promotes a widespread culture of waste reduction and that targeted incentivization strategies can increase student awareness. The focus group reaffirmed the lack of promotion while iterating concerns for the guidance of sustainability practices on campus. With these key findings, the team determined eight recommendations that the University of Michigan can implement in order to further improve student engagement with CR2ZW in the years to come.

Building Political Power to Protect Michigans Land, Air and Water (Graham Scholars Project 2020-21) - The University of Michigan Graham Sustainability Scholars team worked in collaboration with The Michigan League of Conservation Voters to better understand student perception of and engagement in sustainability and environmental issues. To achieve this goal, three focus groups were organized to collect feedback on questions related to civic engagement in Michigan. All 14 participants in the focus groups were students currently enrolled at a University of Michigan campus who were Michigan residents between the ages of 17 and 26. To organize the focus groups, the scholars team developed a script and carefully crafted questions in collaboration with the client. To publicize participation in these groups, the team drafted a project announcement and emailed it to various organizations on all three University of Michigan campuses. They also made posts on several Facebook groups that were designated for University of Michigan students.

Campus Fram Carbon Neutrality Recommendation (Sustainability and the Campus ENVIRON 391 project, Winter 2021) - the student team was assigned to devise recommendations to aid in creating a carbon neutral Campus Farm at the University of Michigan. According to the PCCN Report, the University has the goal to reach carbon neutrality for Scope 1 emissions (direct emissions from sources owned or controlled by the University) by 2025 and to eliminate emissions entirely by 2040 (PCCN). This project was pivotal in helping the University achieve this goal and helped catalyze the farm making a carbon neutral commitment this past year.
During this process, the team was tasked with working with Jeremy Moghtader (the manager of the Campus Farm), the OCS (Office of Campus Sustainability) Electricity team and OCS Engineers to calculate the total pounds of CO2 produced by the Campus Farm. This step was vital to the project as it has been used as the basis for how much carbon needs to be offset, eliminated, or mitigated. Based on this information, the team created 4 short term and 1 long term recommendations in order to make the most immediate impacts on the Campus Farm’s goal of achieving carbon neutrality.

Carbon Sequestration Option for SEAS Carbon Neutrality Efforts (Sustainability and the Campus ENVIRON 391 project, Winter 2021) - The student project provides an analysis and evaluation of the current amount of carbon emitted by the University of Michigan SEAS Facilities and how these carbon emissions can be offset by planting particular species of trees that can maximize carbon sequestration at offsite properties managed by SEAS. Methods of analysis include literature-based research on finding tree species that have high sequestration rates, evaluating the carbon each of these trees are able to capture over a period of time, and defining which SEAS field research sites already in decline would be the best candidates for plantings. Additionally, a cost analysis was performed to determine the cost to purchase our chosen tree species for planting. A spreadsheet tool was developed that allows us to test different combinations and proportions of species at different sites in order to optimize carbon sequestration capacity.

LSA Building Operations (Sustainability and the Campus ENVIRON 391 project, Winter 2022) - Every year over six million kilowatt hours and $500,000 dollars are wasted on underutilized space in LSA buildings across campus. That correlates to roughly 39 hours per day of wasted and unnecessary consumption on heating and cooling systems (HVAC). It was the student team's goal to devise a plan to offer suggestions on how we can best align the building hours and access with their carbon neutrality efforts. The data collected from the team's survey responses revealed that there were ten LSA buildings that were rarely used after hours and five distinct buildings that students regularly used after hours. It also showed that students frequently need access to study spaces from 6pm until midnight, with only 10% of students needing space after midnight. Lastly, the team found that students desire all types of study spaces, ranging from conference rooms to atriums. Considering all findings, the team proposed several recommendations. If these recommendations were to be implemented, the University would save 39.5 hours of HVAC usage a day across the 10 buildings with shortened hours, decrease annual HVAC usage by ~6.2 million KWH, and save ~$530,000 in HVAC costs.

Lighting in the Dana Building (Sustainability and the Campus ENVIRON 391 project, Winter 2022) - This project sought to answer this question: how can we analyze the current usage within the Dana building to find actionable solutions to reduce energy consumption? The goal of our project is to outline the research the team conducted to answer our underlying question and layout recommendations based on our work. This project began in the Winter of 2020 but unfortunately was disrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the team was able to make recommendations, such as completing a map with a layout of all light fixtures, bulbs, and lighting systems in the Dana building. They also recommended switching all-tube lights from fluorescent to LED lights, as well as looking further into the technology that Sigma Luminous offers. Another recommendation was to focus efforts to increase education, targeting cleaning staff, new office occupants, and incoming students, and finally to create a pilot program for a key card switch system for offices and classrooms.

Implementation of Electric Ranges at Northwood Apartment (Sustainability and the Campus ENVIRON 391 project, Winter 2022) - The student team researched, prepared, and presented data on the soft costs of transitioning from gas to electric ranges at Northwood Apartments on the University of Michigan campus. The team found that more than half of the Northwood residents who completed our survey had an initial preference for gas ranges compared to electric ranges. However, once they introduced an informational chart comparing the triple bottom line implications of each range type they observed a shift in preferences from 40.68% of the respondents with an initial gas preference to indifferent or to electric ranges while all initial electric preferences remained consistent. This indicated that information may make residents with gas range preferences more receptive to the transition to electric ranges. Pairing these findings with findings from their focus groups led them to conclude that information on health and environmental implications of range types can shift preferences towards electric range types, but sharing information with the graduate student residents at Northwood may raise skepticism about bias and the validity of our sources so whatever information is provided to the residents during this transition must be complete, supported, and unbiased. The team also observed that residents’ preference in range type was impacted by the series of implications they presented in their survey, and during their focus group. With upwards of 50 percent of residents indicating their consideration of health and environmental implications, the team recommends leveraging both sets of implications during transition. The team hopes to ease the future shift from gas to electric ranges at Northwood Apartments, and around the University.

Globally Inspired, Michigan Made (Sustainability and the Campus ENVIRON 391 project, Winter 2021) - The “Globally Inspired, Michigan Made.” program was developed around the core values of sustainability and multi-cultural culinary exposure. The program was designed to increase U-M students’ awareness of international cuisines and their cultural and environmental significance. Four weeks of programing were created to feature four distinctive regions and their cuisines’ sustainability and culturally relevant characteristics and historical perspective. These programs rely on M-Dining’s team to leverage its expertise in order to create engaging food-based experiences for diners. This first step is paired with an educational aspect that enriches the diner’s knowledge and appreciation of the respective culture, as well as the traditionally sustainable aspects of its diet, through smaller-scale, in-person informative workshops.

Canopy Cover PBSIF project awarded and funded in 2022 - Collaborators on this project intend to plant 25+ new trees in fall 2022 to increase canopy cover and carbon sequestration on campus. Drawing inspiration and guidance from those performing similar work, including the Ford C3 project in Dearborn and the A2Zero 10,000 trees initiative, the project will not only result in cleaner air and better soil in Ann Arbor, but it will also help to bring awareness to sustainability and environmental efforts on campus. With the help of U-M Grounds Services, the BLUElab student organization, will host a few tree-planting events “where student orgs can make a tangible impact on the University’s carbon neutrality goals and stay involved in other environmental efforts,” as Preethi Kumaran, Project Manager at BLUElab said.

Mdining carbon neutrality benchmarking (Sustainability and the Campus ENVIRON 391 project, Winter 2022) - The project's ultimate goal was to create sustainability oriented contract language for MDining to use in future contracts. The student team created contract language for the following categories: social equity, ingredient transparency, biodiversity, animal welfare, waste reduction, bread/wheat, produce, meat, coffee, and dairy. Unfortunately, they weren't able to look at other schools' supplier contracts due to the legal concerns surrounding them. Because of this, their research on other schools was restricted to how they implement sustainability into their dining experience. This allowed them to gain a better understanding of what schools were already doing, and where they had room for growth. Two types of data were collected for this project. The first was through interviews with procurement staff for MDining. These interviews were conducted with the goal of improving our understanding of how the contract negotiation process works which would allow us to write effective and useful contract language. The second was a review of existing contracts and similar resources. The team had two types of findings for this project. One was more information about how MDining works in regards to contracting. The other result was what aspects were important to include in our contract language for different topics. The team's main results were essentially what we translated into contract language for MDining.

Sustainable Period Product Program (2021) - A student-led project that recently received grant funding from the Planet Blue Student Initiative Fund aims to decrease the financial and environmental burden of menstruation by making reusable menstrual products free at the Maize and Blue Cupboard and University Health Services. In order to both reduce the burden of period product purchasing and increase sustainable period access, the project proposes to distribute Thinx and June Cups to University of Michigan students, faculty, and staff in need. Distribution will be conducted through partnerships with Student Life and Maize Blue Cupboard. These products are non-toxic, reusable, and FDA approved. This program will increase awareness around menstruation sustainability, reduce the effects of sexism and racism on our campus, and decrease the environmental impact of plastic products used by menstruating affiliates of the University of Michigan.

Bike Repair Station (PBSIF project awarded and funded in Fall 2021) Students in Students for Clean Energy (SfCE) gave a second-life to an existing bike repair station at the Central Campus Transit Center. With the help of staff in the department of Logistics, Transportation and Parking, the new parts were installed in March 2022—reconditioning an appliance that may go unnoticed to some, but certainly not to bike users. SfCE bike team look into ways we could improve the cycling infrastructure on campus. The bike repair station team only started this project fall 2021, and the final repaired station was installed May 2022.

You’ve Got Junk Mail: An Analysis of the Dana Building’s Current Junk Mail Practices and Reduction Methods (Sustainability and the Campus ENVIRON 391 project, Winter 2022) - This team project addressed the issue of junk mail as a big yet often underlooked problem in large organizational settings. Especially in the case of the Dana Building at U of M, this mail goes unseen by its intended recipients and is recycled immediately. For this project, the student team was tasked with reducing junk mail by 50% in Dana by facilities manager Sucila Fernandes. the team made three key findings: there’s a lot of junk mail, people don’t like junk mail, and services exist to reduce junk mail but change is difficult. In addition to auditing the mail, the team explored options for reducing it and made several recommendations.

Recommendations for Improving the Composting System at the University of Michigan (Sustainability and the Campus ENVIRON 391 project, Winter 2021) - Over the course of the 2021 winter semester, the student team undertook the assignment of analyzing the current composting system on campus to determine innovative ideas the university can pilot to make the composting system more efficient. In order to get an understanding of what composting initiatives are currently in place, gaps in the current composting system, as well as new implementable compost ideas that could be piloted, the team hosted interviews with compost specialists on campus. They used the information gathered from these interviews to create a student survey where students ranked the composting ideas that our team generated. Survey findings show that students had trouble locating compost bins and found the compost bin labeling confusing as well. Additionally, an opt-in dorm compost bin and compost training were found to be the most popular composting pilot ideas amongst the students. From the data, the project team has created three recommendations that will help compost bin awareness, increase the total amount of compost generated on campus, as well as decrease the amount of compost contamination being put into compost bins.

Reducing the Water Footprint of Student Organizations (PBSL Team Project 2022)
On the weekends of the first two weeks of March, the water team collaborated on events with two student organizations, Ethical Investments and the Filipino American Student Association, to screenprint student org T-shirts by hand. They were interested in this topic because they found that student clubs and organizations often created and printed merchandise for their groups up to 3 or 4 times a year. They also learned how water-intensive creating new textiles is, with up to 700 gallons of water used per cotton t-shirt produced. They also learned that “swag” plays an important role in group cohesion and creative expression for many student organizations. They chose incentives, convenience, and social diffusion as their CBSM methods. As an incentive, they provided the merchandise that they created at no cost to participating organizations. To make participation convenient, they sourced second-hand cotton t-shirts, provided all screen printing materials, and prepped the screens with the student organizations’ logos. Social media was used by individual participants to share their experiences and spread interest in this project. They found that the screenprinting events at the Residence College Printing Studio were fun, social bonding events for the student organizations, and the incentives and convenience of the project were powerful recruitment tools. As a result of their experiences, they made a guide for student organizations to replicate their process. To allow for more student organizations to participate, they recommend that the Center for Campus Involvement could potentially provide or rent screenprinting materials, Cricut machines, or other t-shirt printing resources, as well as space for students to use this project. They also recommended a mini-grant or incentive program for student organizations that make merchandise from second-hand materials, potentially through Student Life Sustainability or the emerging central office for carbon neutrality. Lastly, they recommend broadening this project beyond student organizations, as procurement data shows that the University spends more than $624,000 on t-shirt purchasing annually.

Sustainability Co-Curricular LSA Graduation Requirement (Sustainability and the Campus ENVIRON 391 project, Winter 2022) - With the help of a sponsor(the LSA's Carbon Neutrality Leadership Team), the student team proposed to LSA the addition of a sustainability graduation requirement. The purpose is to increase student engagement toward a sustainable education through courses and co-curricular activities, which correlates with the UM's long-term goals. Based on the project surveys, the student team developed a set of recommendations for LSA to create a sustainability graduation requirement. Students will have the option to complete a course or co-curricular to satisfy the requirement, with a goal of not just adding another requirement to students' academic experience, but to educating the 16,000 LSA students about the importance of sustainability in every area of study and encourage students to be part of the university's long-term sustainability goals.

Sustainability within Michigan Athletics (Sustainability and the Campus ENVIRON 391 project, Winter 2022) - As the student project team explored the topic of Sustainability within Michigan Athletics, they found that U-M has not exploited the power of sports to convene various stakeholders on its sustainability initiatives. As U-M commits to university-wide carbon neutrality by 2040, U-M Athletics has a huge role to play with its high publicity among Wolverine fans. In order to further align U-M Athletics with U-M’s carbon neutrality goals, they explored the feasibility to host a net-zero football game at the Big House by Fall 2024. Through the team's findings, they believe U-M Athletics should publish a sustainability report by 2024 to increase accountability and transparency with university stakeholders. Furthermore, U-M Athletics should host an Annual Green Athletic Game at Michigan Stadium in 2023 and 2024, centered around fan engagement and awareness initiatives, to lay the foundation for future net-zero goals. Lastly, the student team believes that in 2025, U-M Athletics should re-evaluate the potential to implement a net-zero football game.

Integrating Business, Sustainability and Justice at the Erb Institute (Sustainability and the Campus ENVIRON 391 project, Winter 2022) - The Erb Institute has enormous potential for championing these values and incorporating justice into its programming. The student project analyzed the extent to which Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice (DEI & J) are embedded within the Erb Undergraduate Fellows Program. The goals throughout the semester were to uncover what current programming within Erb is centering justice, where there may be gaps between current programming and Erb’s goals, and opportunities to modify, design, and implement new programming that effectively centers DEI & J within sustainability and business education.

Series of Workshops were presented (2021) by a Planet Blue Student Leader who convened a working group of about 8 participants throughout the year and created resources and tested resilience practices. Together, they created and shared similar presentations and trainings with 18 Planet Blue Student Leaders and 100+ attendees at the Rooting for Change Student Food Summit. This team aimed to celebrate personal and community resilience as integral to sustainability work, to expand wellness resources for people who work every day to heal our planet and ecosystems, and create well-being tools that are accessible to everyone at U-M. One of the major projects was creating resources to help students cope with the emotional stress, grief, and anxiety that stem from the current climate crisis. The University of Michigan Planet Blue Campus website states that through sustainability efforts on campus, “We strive to protect our planet’s life-support systems so that future generations can thrive.” After all, through prioritizing “life support systems” we can simultaneously support human well-being.