Sustainability Commons^™

Cleantech Open's $250,000 Business Competition - Learn More April 5, Nevada Institute For Renewable Energy Commercialization (Nirec)

Nevada Newsflash

Join us for an introduction to the Cleantech Open, the world's largest cleantech accelerator. You will learn about our annual Business Competition, an opportunity to accelerate your cleantech startup with expert training, national visibility and up to $250,000 of cash and services. Beyond great networking, the event will include a brief presentation about how you can get involved as a volunteer, mentor, judge or more.

Sense And Sustainability, Ken Hickson

Social Space

Like the proverbial chicken and egg, climate change and sustainability are inextricably linked; it is impossible to decide which comes first, but urgent solutions are needed. Ken Hickson delivers a timely lesson on the four E’s of sustainability—energy, environment, economics and ethics.

Global Csr And Photographic Credibility: Exploring How International Companies Portray Efforts Through Photographs In Csr Reports, Janel Lynn Norton

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

We are living in the age of the visual. Imagery is an important element in constructing and deriving meaning through symbols, colors, and context. Images may hold persuasive power, be used as evidence, or simply provide a moment of beauty. Organizations rely on photographs to help them convey an image to their stakeholders within annual reports. Telling an organizations' story through photographs has become an intrinsic part of their efforts to convey sustainability. We live in the age of transparency, and organizations that construct an image that is not truthful will face consequences in today's socially connected and conscious world. …

Developing An Employee Training Addendum For A Sustainable Hospitality Operation, Devonne A. Williams

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

As sustainability has become an important part of everyday life for American consumers, it is important that the hospitality industry do whatever it takes to meet their needs. Consumers expect businesses that they patronize to have policies in place for waste reduction, air and water conservation, and improved air quality and environment. Without the support of the front line employees, however, a hospitality operation has no chance to obtain sustainable success in these arenas. By creating addendums to previously existing employee handbooks, businesses are able to provide their employees with new policies and expectations of sustainable behaviors. This professional paper …

Interview With Christian Ettinger, Hopworks, 2011 (Audio), Christian Ettinger

All Sustainability History Project Oral Histories

Interview of Christian Ettinger by Scott Demming at Hopworks SE Portland, Oregon on August 10th, 2011.

The interview index is available for download.

Interview With Jessica Beckett, Free Geek, 2011 (Audio), Jessica Beckett

All Sustainability History Project Oral Histories

Interview of Jessica Beckett by Thomas Yarbrough at Free Geek Portland, Oregon on August 10th, 2011.

The interview index is available for download.

Development Of A Sustainable Water Resource Financing Mathematical Model For Donors And End-Users, Sahar Zavareh

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Rural villages and underdeveloped communities represent the largest group challenged by poor water supply and sanitation with inequalities in resources to adequately implement potential solutions and even more with their high risk level of financing, funding is particularly challenging for water projects. Innovative financing alone will not eliminate the burdens of rural villages and underdeveloped communities. The purpose of this thesis is to address the lack of sustainable water financing of water projects in rural areas using a novel framework of a mathematical model based on "system dynamics" using optimal feedback control theory to maximize the performance of a water …

University-Community Partnerships For Environmental Safety And Sustainability, John W. Vick, Carol Norton

Education for Sustainability Summer Institute

No abstract provided.

Developing A Sustainable Business Plan At The Shopping Center Of Southpointe Mall In Lincoln, Nebraska, Jessica Marie Hanson

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

This project consists of creating sustainable business plans for a group of diverse retail stores at the mall of SouthPointe Pavilions in Lincoln, Nebraska. A series of interviews took place with five managers at the businesses including: Scheels, Old Chicago, Bed Bath and Beyond, Von Maur, and Barnes and Noble. The questions were based around five different topics including: Technological, Environment, Socio-Cultural, Economic, and Public Policy. The Technological area includes processes with the product (or service) that occur before it arrives, during, and after it is sold. The Public Policy area includes if the business has an environmental policy, how …

The Green Movement In Hotels: Are College Students On Board?, Amy Walker

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Purpose:

The purpose of this study is to see if environmentally friendly practices are a factor for college students when selecting a hotel. Another purpose of this study is to see if students would be willing to spend more for hotels who offer these environmentally friendly practices.

Interview With Franklin Jones, B-Line, 2011 (Audio), Franklin Jones

All Sustainability History Project Oral Histories

Interview of Franklin Jones by Grant Russ at Portland, Oregon on May 31st, 2011.

The interview index is available for download.

How Much Do U.S. University Students Know, And Want To Know, About Sustainability And Green Building? The Findings Of A Survey, And Possible Implications For General Elective Curricula., Jeremy R. Farner

Purdue Polytechnic Masters Theses

Using the survey approach, this investigation examined the attitudes and interest of college students at two universities in different geographic locations within the United States.  Approximately 24,000 students from all disciplines and majors at Weber State University (WSU) in Utah, and 4,000 at Purdue University in Indiana, were invited to participate in a study to determine current knowledge, familiarity, and interest in topics within the sustainability and Green Building educational arena. The goal of this study was to determine what students already know, would like to know, and how much interest there would be in developing …

An Empirical Comparison Of Life Cycle Cost Of Green School Buildings And Non-Green School Buildings, Nitisha Pushpala

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

One of the major economic concerns today of the world is reduction of energy consumption because of depleting energy sources in the world. The construction sector in the United States is also contributing in reducing the energy consumption and construction cost of the buildings by constructing cost and energy efficient buildings with energy efficient materials and techniques. The U.S Department of Energy introduced the Building Technologies Program that develops techniques, tools and technologies for making buildings more energy efficient. Other private bodies like the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), which is developed by the U.S. Green Building Council …

How Much Do U.S. University Students Know, And Want To Know, About Sustainability And Green Building? The Findings Of A Survey, And Possible Implications For General Elective Curriculum., Jeremy R. Farner

Purdue Polytechnic Masters Theses

Using the survey approach, this investigation examined the attitudes and interest of college students at two universities in different geographic locations within the United States.  Approximately 24,000 students from all disciplines and majors at Weber State University (WSU) in Utah, and 4,000 at Purdue University in Indiana, were invited to participate in a study to determine current knowledge, familiarity, and interest in topics within the sustainability and Green Building educational arena. The goal of this study was to determine what students already know, would like to know, and how much interest there would be in developing …

Validating The Culture Of Agriculture: Farmers Groups And Organic Agriculture Mitigating Rural To Urban Migration In Bhutan, Emma Dosch

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Agricultural occupations make up the largest proportion of Bhutan’s workforce. Over the past two decades the occupation has shrunk from 90% to 65% of Bhutan’s employment. The younger generation of Bhutan’s rural population is seeking livelihood opportunities in urban areas, leaving farms with labor shortages. The movement may compromise the identity and sustainability of Bhutan’s rural population and undermine the nation’s goals of Gross National Happiness (GNH) directed policy. Initiatives to retain and legitimize agricultural livelihoods are emerging inside and outside of government policy. Existing efforts are models of ways to reconnect educated individuals with the needs and values of …

Identifying Green Meetings In The Hospitality Industry, Shin Yi (Felicity) Chiou

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Purpose:

The purpose of this paper is to identify what constitutes green meetings in the hospitality industries with special attentions on the applications of modern technologies and marketing strategies. This professional paper will search and collect the related literature reviews and existent practices with green ideology in hospitality to clarify the myth and difficulties of being green and help the readers or potential advocates better understand green meetings and adopt them.

Sustainability’S Correlation To Profit, Cheryl Annissa Drummond

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Sustainability and its correlation to profits in hospitality institutions is the subject of this paper. The lack of knowledge about sustainability and the benefits of sustainable practices are discussed. The evaluation of a GreenSeal (2010) Bronze certification G46-Restaurant audit is also examined. Research includes the review of industry experts’ findings on the subject and the social costs and benefits are evaluated based on the goal of economic, ecological, and social sustainability.

Activeion Ionator Exp, Linda Straker

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The case study was conducted to determine the effects of the cleanliness of the guest rooms and the effects to the hotels bottom line in implementing Activeion’s Ionator EXP as a new cleaning method to be used in the hotel guest rooms by the room attendants as opposed to the traditional cleaning method using 5 different cleaning chemicals to clean the guest rooms. The Ionator EXP is a chemical-free cleaning system. It is a hand held cleaning spray bottle unit that holds, cleans, and sanitizes with water. The Ionator EXP uses ionization, electricity and oxygen to clean.

The study included …

Wku Named Fair Trade University At Conference, Joanna Williams

Fair Trade Convergence Related Materials

No abstract provided.

Social Media For Social Good, Charlie Harris

Fair Trade Universities' National Convergence

No abstract provided.

Imo Social & Fair Trade Programme, Laura Johnson

Fair Trade Universities' National Convergence

No abstract provided.

The State Of The Fair Trade Movement, Jeff Goldman, Executive Director

Fair Trade Universities' National Convergence

No abstract provided.

Wku Fair Trade University Resolution, Matthew J. Vaughan, National Convergence Coordinator, Charlie Harris

Fair Trade Convergence Related Materials

No abstract provided.

Interview With Corinna Kimball-Brown, Portland Collective Housing, 2011 (Audio), Corinna Kimball-Brown

All Sustainability History Project Oral Histories

Interview of Corinna Kimball-Brown by Chris White at Portland State University, Oregon on March 3rd, 2011.

The interview index is available for download.

The Silver Spark For Nevada, Walt Borland, James A. Croce, Richard Seline

Publications (E)

The SILVER Spark for Nevada: Sustainable Innovation Leading a Vital Economic Renaissance

Nevada. A State of stark contrasts, with historic booms and devastating busts experienced throughout its modern history. A State frequently forced to reinvent itself as ever-evolving circumstances have demanded. A State that has been driven to the edge time after time and, yet again and again, has managed to discover another way to prosper. A State that now finds itself in a precarious position as the “Great Recession” hit it harder than any other and has left it struggling to recover.

As you will conclude by reading The …

Interview With Chris Cone, Portland Fashion Week, 2011 (Audio), Chris Cone

All Sustainability History Project Oral Histories

Interview of Chris Cone by Daniel Grey on February 22nd, 2011.

The interview index is available for download.

Interview With Steven Ribeiro, Aldeia Development, 2011 (Audio), Steven Ribeiro

All Sustainability History Project Oral Histories

Interview of Steven Ribeiro by John Stephenson in Salem, Oregon on February 18th, 2011.

The interview index is available for download.

Slides: Environmental Water In Australia, Chris Arnott

Conversation with Water Management Reps from Colorado and Australia: "Adapting to Climate Change: Lessons Learned from Australia" (February 14)

Presenter: Chris Arnott, Managing Director, Alluvium Consulting

30 slides

Slides: Adapting To Climate Change: Lessons Learnt From The Australian Water Experience, Will Fargher

Conversation with Water Management Reps from Colorado and Australia: "Adapting to Climate Change: Lessons Learned from Australia" (February 14)

Presenter: Will Fargher, National Water Commission, Australian Government

18 slides [4 have titles only and are missing images]

Managing Complexity In Modern Farming, Ross Kingwell

Natural Resources Research Articles

Modern farming in Australia is no longer simple. Farms are large, multi-enterprise businesses underpinned by expensive capital investments, changing production technologies, volatile markets and social challenges. The complexity of modern broadacre farming leads to the question: what is the nature of the relationship between farm business complexity and farm profitability? This study uses bioeconomic farm modelling and employs eight measures of complexity to examine the profitability and complexity of a wide range of broadacre farming systems in Australia. Rank order correlations between farm profitability and each measure of complexity show inconsistent relationships, although the most profitable farming systems are found …