Sustainability News

School of Sustainability Professor Nicole Darnall has been awarded the Social Science Research Council's 2017-2019 Abe Fellowship for her research on sustainable public procurement.

The fellowship is designed to encourage international multidisciplinary research on policy-related topics of pressing global concern and to support researchers who are willing to become key members of a bilateral and global research network built around such topics. It strives to promote a new level of intellectual cooperation between the Japanese and U.S. academic and professional communities committed to and trained for advancing global understanding and problem solving.

As part of her fellowship, Darnall will extend her sustainable procurement research (with scholars in ASU's Center for Organization Research and Design) to assess the barriers and facilitators of Japanese local governments' green procurement decisions.

Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts Dean Steven J. Tepper led a team of ASU faculty and students to  Design Miami, an international conference for sustainable design.

At the conference, the ASU group presented to students and experts alike on design strategies to achieve the United Nations' goals for prosperity and sustainability.

Students on the team received eye-opening exposure to sustainability, learning concrete ways that it can be applied to a variety of concepts and disciplines.

China Mist sat down with Kris Spector, restaurant sustainability expert and founder of Spector Sustainability Consulting. Kris helps restaurants evolve to meet market demands and to continue maximizing their profits while reducing environmental impact. Previously, he has sustainability experience with Waste Management, a luxury resort, 5-star restaurants, and commercial real estate.

"I learned about the Global Institute of Sustainability [ASU’s School of Sustainability] and I thought, 'Wow, that’s the future. That’s a no-brainer. I’m going to go do that.'"

My name is Devon Edwards and I just entered my second year as the Associate Director of the Corporate Eco Forum, a membership organization comprised of 70 large multinationals that demonstrate a commitment to sustainability as a business strategy issue.

I entered this role shortly after graduating from SOS in May 2014, and have been fortunate to work with several of the most influential sustainable business leaders in the world (including one of my favorite professors, Bruno Sarda!).

Over the last 6 months, I served as the lead author of our 2016 corporate renewable energy report, which was produced in collaboration with the World Wildlife Fund. The report, “Corporate Renewable Energy Procurement: A Snapshot of Key Trends, Practices, and Strategies in 2016,” draws on insights from 37 Corporate Eco Forum members and Renewable Energy Buyers’ Principles signatories, representing 9 sectors, with combined revenues exceeding $1 trillion.

Just want to communicate the work I'm doing in the sustainability space with SOS leadership -- something I haven't done before. I hope you find the report interesting and useful.

The COP 22 international climate change conference in Marrakech, Morocco, was a discussion on strategies to implement the Paris Agreement from last year's COP 21. In recognition of the international fight against climate change, the Honor Society for Sustainability hosted a week of events at Wrigley Hall.

Sustainability scientist Paul Westerhoff has been named a 2016-17 Regents' Professor.

On November 14, the ASU Center for Biodiversity Outcomes (CBO) hosted its Third Annual Biodiversity Research Engagement Symposium. The symposium offers ASU researchers an opportunity to learn about CBO work and explore potential collaborations.

The event was attended by 35 scholars. CBO-funded researchers were showcased, including Penny Langhammer, who discussed her work in measuring ecosystem services delivered by Key Biodiversity Areas in Myanmar. Hongkai Gao talked about the Earth Genome supported Green Infrastructure Support Tool (GIST) and its capability to help companies manage water usage. Kelly Gravuer, The Nature Conservancy NatureNet Fellow, discussed her joint CBO project titled “Climate change mitigation on working lands: negotiating trade-offs and synergies with biodiversity and ecosystem services.”

The remainder of the symposium was dedicated to breakout groups, who explored ways to encourage more biodiversity-focused research at ASU.

When research crawls, slithers and stings

AASHE has released the 2016 Sustainable Campus Index, a publication that recognizes top-performing colleges and universities in 17 distinct aspects of sustainability and overall, as measured by the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS). The report also highlights innovative and high-impact initiatives from institutions that submitted STARS reports in the 12 months prior to July 1, 2016. ASU is listed as #1 in Procurement.

Sally Kitch and Xin Wei Sha

Through the National Endowment for the Humanities Chairman’s Grant, Kitch and Sha were able to participate in the "Humanities Laboratory: Discussion of New Campus Models". The discussion focused on a variety of ways that humanities can be combined within multiple fields to create interdisciplinary work that embodies solutions to the complex challenges we face today.

In addition to his job with the engineering programs, Henderson has been connecting with students throughout ASU in his other positions as an associate dean of Barrett, the Honors College, a senior sustainability scientist for the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability, and as an affiliate faculty member with the School of Public Affairs. These are among the accomplishments that make Henderson more than worthy of his recent designation as an ASU President’s Professor.

A previously thought to be extinct harlequin frog (Atelopus varius), known as the clown frog, has been rediscovered.

Dr. Jan Schipper, a Postdoctoral Research Associate with the School of Life Sciences and the Center for Biodiversity Outcomes has been studying a small population of this species in Costa Rica and is now working with ASU Foundation to support a rescue plan.

The Atelopus varius, is now listed under the Conservation Status of Critically Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). This status is the highest risk category assigned by the IUCN Red List for wild species; it indicates that this species is facing a very high risk of extinction in the wild.

Recent variation in air temperature, precipitation, stream flow patterns, and the subsequent spread of a pathogenic chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis) linked to global climate change have been the leading cause of decline for A. varius (Lips et al. 2003 and Pounds et al. 2006).

Engaging people in the United States and Costa Rica, researchers are raising funds to implement a biosecurity protocol to prevent exposure of the frogs to other strains of chytrid.

We can all play a role in saving it! Watch this video to learn more.

Christopher Frettoloso, a senior sustainability major and co-founder of BetR-Blok, LLC, talks about his company’s sustainable building material in a recent State Press article. BetR-Bloks are created using recycled paper and other cellulose materials, according to the company’s website.

ASU's date grove is the No. 2 collection in the U.S., full of rare varieties sold to the ASU community and the public. ASU students, staff and community volunteers work to harvest hundreds of pounds of dates both in the Polytechnic grove and around the Tempe campus. The 2016 harvest began on Oct. 7.

The 2016 Climate Fiction Short Story Contest challenged writers around the world to create short stories that imagined possible futures for Earth and humanity transformed by climate change. More than 700 submissions were received from 67 countries, and winners were selected through a careful judging process involving sci-fi legend Kim Stanley Robinson and a panel of expert judges, including from ASU’s Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability and Rob and Melani Walton Sustainability Solutions Initiatives.

ASU partners with the Change the Course campaign to replenish water all around the world. By using the hashtag #MakeItRainASU on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, social media users can help ASU restore up to 5,000,000 gallons of water and give a new meaning to #MaroonMonsoon.

A paper authored by sustainability scientists Ariel Anbar and Braden Allenby, along with sustainability fellow Wally Broecker, looks at the Anthropocene as an evolutionary transition to an epoch in which human activity has become one of the most important Earth systems. To successfully navigate this transition, we must develop a fully integrated environmental science that anticipates the responses of the human system alongside other Earth systems, the authors say.

From producing citrus trees and carrots to pumpkins and watermelons, ASU’s Poly Gardens envelops both a passion for growing food and a connection to surrounding nature. Poly Gardens extends past ASU and into the community by supplying a local food bank with produce. Just last year, 300 pounds of produce were grown and delivered to Christian Community Food Bank in Chandler.

Nalini Chhetri, assistant Director, was one of the two panelists at the whole day Preparedness Symposium organized by AZ Department of Emergency and Military Affairs, DEMA,  on 21 September 2016 at the Sheraton Crescent hotel in Phoenix.  The other panelist was Dr. Nancy Selover, State Climatologist.

Over 500 participants representing state county level agencies ranging from the military to food banks to water resources attended this annual event.  One of the three themes of People, Cyber-security and Natural Resources.  Drs. Chhetri and Selover were chosen as subject matter experts on extreme climate events and its impact on the state of Arizona.  They have been conducting DEMA funded research on emergency and risk preparedness climate information for hazard mitigation planning process.

The panelists opened up with a short video, followed with further research related findings.  In the afternoon they conducted a breakout sessions headlining the natural resources theme.

Under the leadership of Nichol Luoma – ASU associate vice president for University Business Services, University Sustainability Operations Officer and Chief Procurement Officer – the Arizona State University procurement team who won the 2016 Global Procurement Awards Sustainability Superstar Award.