Extending Students’ Understanding of Sustainability
Students taking Introduction to Sustainability, Environmental Economics, and Environmental and Social Change are exploring ways to re-invent the models currently associated with agriculture, energy, architecture, industry, transportation, and waste disposal. Their research got a boost recently from two industry experts who visited campus.
Dr. Charles Bennett, vice president of Aveda Corporation, spoke about the strategic and operational processes, including the cost benefits, involved in achieving “cradle to cradle” certification for the company’s product lines. Rejecting the assumption that human industry inevitably destroys the natural world, the cradle to cradle industrial model creates positive emissions, retains valuable materials for perpetual reuse, and purifies the air, water, and soil. What’s more, rather than simply producing less waste, this approach entirely eliminates the concept of waste.
Tom Davidson, professor of economics, noted the relevance of Bennett’s presentation. “He made the point,” Davidson explains, “that many of Aveda’s policies could be applied in a variety of different industries, not just in the personal care industry.”
Harry Cohen, president of St. Louis-based Blue Skies Recycling, also spent a day on campus recently. As Dr. Karen Eckert, director of Principia’s Center for Sustainability, explains, “Mr. Cohen is passionate about zero waste, which is a central tenant of cradle to cradle design, and the students have now set their sights on becoming a zero-waste campus. It’s not complicated, but it does require courage to re-envision our world. Students are learning that when our actions—whether personal or industrial—are designed from the start to be healthy, regenerative, and sustainable, we are well on our way to realizing a century that is very different from the one we just left behind.”
For junior Pete Telschow, the broad application of these principles holds the greatest appeal. “It was great learning that the ‘systems thinking’ models we had been learning about in class could be applied to the manufacturing of consumer products with virtually no impact on the environment,” he says. “When I first was interested in being a part of a global sustainable movement, I thought there were only specific fields I could be a part of, but I have since discovered that every job needs to have sustainable practices.”
Senior Heidi Garrett found the presentations informative and inspiring as well. “It’s clear that the linear system of resource extraction, product manufacturing, and waste disposal can be transformed to an economy where materials are indefinitely recycled and reused, or constructed in such a way that actually contributes positively to the Earth's nutrients once disposed,” she says. “‘Waste’ is a human-made concept. It does not have to exist if what we make is designed in the right way. I love that idea because it shows, once again, that harmony and abundance are natural. It just makes sense.”