Schulich students offer solutions to reduce York’s carbon emissions
Schulich Professor and York Provostial Fellow Burkard Eberlein invited students in his MGMT 4300 course, Corporate Social Responsibility in a Global Context, to participate in a case competition to advance climate action at the University.
Teams participating in the challenge were given seven minutes to pitch creative and practical recommendations for action in three categories: Sustainable Procurement; Transportation/Commuting; and Food. They presented to a panel of York administrators, sustainability leaders and business experts for the opportunity to win a $700 prize.
“It is exciting to see in all the student pitches the great passion for advancing climate action and making their York community more sustainable. At many leading universities, new, creative sustainability programs originate in student initiatives,” said Eberlein.
Students offered ideas around Sustainable Procurement by suggesting the certification of suppliers in partnership with sustainability assessment providers, training of staff and students towards life cycle thinking in purchase decisions, giving more weight to environmental sustainability in best-value procurement, and building leading procurement standards collaboratively with other universities.
On the topic of Transportation/Commuting, students recommended enhancing the use of public transit by way of universal transit passes for students, and suggested parking discounts for electric vehicle use and carpooling, the electrification of buses and engaging students in carbon-friendly commuting through gamification/apps.
Solutions around Food sustainability included sourcing food from local farms, promoting plant-based food options, encouraging bring-your-own container programs and growing food on campus through vertical farming – all initiatives that make food procurement and consumption on campus less carbon-intensive.
For the full story and list of winners, please click here.