Progress Report March 2016

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Lora Stewart
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1 Andrew Jacobs & Charlie Jiang, Co-Presidents

2 Foreword Dear SSS Advisers, Leaders, and Friends, In the last few months, we have seen extraordinary action on environmental issues around the world, and the first months of 2016 are gearing up to be even more exciting. At Stanford, we are honored to have been a part of similarly exciting action since September, thanks in large part to the hard work of all of you the SSS community. Last Autumn, you helped bring a tremendous quarter of climate action to Stanford. In October, we inspired more than 2,000 people at our Know Tomorrow Rally for Climate Action. Several weeks later, we helped organize a powerful sit-in for fossil fuel divestment led by Fossil Free Stanford. And we co-sponsored a class of 30 Stanford students to attend the 21st Conference of Parties in Paris. Meanwhile, we kicked off initiatives in a range of issues including waste, environmental justice, and climate that have already brought exciting results in the first months of We highlight these efforts in this report. We are incredibly proud of the passion and dedication the SSS community has shown to achieve these successes. We also strengthened partnerships with a diverse group of Stanford departments such as the Woods Institute for the Environment, Haas Center for Public Service, Residential & Dining Enterprises, Office of Sustainability, OpenXChange, BEAM Career Education, and Stanford Athletics. We built deeper ties to student groups including Fossil Free Stanford, CS+Social Good, and the Pilipino American Student Union. In the coming months, we hope to further strengthen these relationships and expand the opportunities for collaboration. Thank you for your dedication to Students for a Sustainable Stanford and our mission to create a more just and sustainable world. We could not have done all this without you. With gratitude, Andrew Jacobs & Charlie Jiang SSS Co-Presidents 2

3 Executive Summary Students for a Sustainable Stanford We have been working for nearly a year since our last leadership transition in the spring of 2015 to position Students for a Sustainable Stanford for a productive and successful academic year. This winter update (February) summarizes our efforts since our fall update (October 2015). We ve focused the past few months on planning, executing, and following up with multiple different projects, initiatives, and events. Specifically: 1. Projects: Much progress has been made on projects that were identified in the fall as well as new projects in the winter quarter. Each officer serves as a coordinator for one or more projects. Ongoing projects include: (1) landscaping surveys, (2) waste reduction, (3) environmental justice outreach, (4) sustainability education for new students, and (5) promoting sustainability in computer science. 2. Initiatives: We have established a few exciting long-term initiatives that have begun to take shape. These initiatives are spearheaded by one or more members of SSS and look to improve the organization and the university. Initiatives include: (1) instituting carbon offsets for the athletics department, (2) coalitionbuilding across communities on campus, (3) helping to create the first undergraduate environmental leadership forum, and (4) creating an SSS alumni network. 3. Events: SSS as a whole has hosted and supported a wide variety of events in the past few months, some of which involved hundreds of people. These events were a strategic way to stress the importance of sustainability and environmental justice within our community as well as to improve the publicity of our organization. We hosted a workshop at the Listen to the Silence conference discussing Asian American issues in modern society in addition to co-sponsoring almost a dozen other campus events. In the remainder of this update we expand on each area in turn. 3

4 1. Major Projects Students for a Sustainable Stanford In SSS this year, several major projects are running simultaneously. Some have been completed; others are still in progress. We outline them all here. Lawns Survey Project Coordinators: Erik Rosenberg and Erin Pang We are working with Kristin Parineh (Stanford Housing s Sustainability Manager) to survey lawns in areas of campus controlled by Residential & Dining Enterprises (R&DE) to identify the best ones to replace with drought-tolerant landscaping. We met with her in mid-january. After she explained the lawn surveying criteria, our six SSs members split into groups to survey certain regions of R&DE land. So far, these include Escondido Village, the Manzanita/Branner/Arrillaga area, and the Wilbur/Stern area. We will move on to other areas of campus after finishing these. To accompany the survey, we are designing flyers and infographics to educate students about the amount of water used by lawns in different areas of campus, as well as about the importance of water conservation in general. Sustainability Education for Incoming Students Project Coordinators: Sijo Smith and Bailey Schultz The NSO group is working to improve environmental education and create a strong culture of sustainability on campus. We are targeting three segments of the freshman experience: 1) Approaching Stanford (materials incoming students receive before arriving on campus), 2) New Student Orientation (week-long series of events before classes begin), and 3) the freshman year as shaped by student staff in the dorms. We have met with administrators including Approaching Stanford Staff, Residential Education, the Office of Sustainability, and the Woods Institute to share our ideas and figure out what programming we can implement for the academic year and beyond. 4

5 We are now developing a holistic proposal of changes we would like to implement in the long term. To help us do this, we are in the process of reaching out to Stanford professors and off-campus experts in environmental education, behavioral psychology, and other related disciplines to advise us on curriculum development. Waste Reduction Project Coordinators: Sierra Garcia and Chiamaka Ogwuebu We are simultaneously working on several smaller projects. In January we completed our Message in a Bottle art project. This exhibition drew attention to the negative effects of single use plastic water bottles by draping approximately 150 bottles over a prominent fountain on campus called The Claw. We created cardboard signs with more information and propped them up around the fountain. Meanwhile, our team is pressuring the Starbucks on campus to add compost bins and switch to compostable coffee cups. In Autumn, we initiated a petition that has now garnered more than 500 student signatures. As of now, are still communicating with the Starbucks management about this issue. We are also moving forward with a pilot food waste reduction program in a sorority house on campus. Finally, we are designing a five-minute interactive presentation about proper waste sorting aimed at new students. Beginning next year, SSS members and other students can make this presentation in dorms on campus to educate students about recycling and composting practice on campus. Environmental Justice Student-Led Course Project Coordinator: Maria Doerr We developed a curriculum for a student-led course on Environmental Justice in the Bay Area to be held in Spring We are currently working to revise the course and apply for Cardinal Course funding from the Haas Center for Public Service. This 5

6 process includes strengthening the service-learning component of the class and planning two hands-on field trips around the Bay. Missing from the Mainstream Media Project Coordinators: Dominick Francks, Maria Doerr SSS created a series of flyers calling attention to environmental issues ignored or underrepresented in mainstream media coverage. We distributed these flyers throughout our membership and across campus. Examples of issues highlighted: ExxonMobil s early knowledge of the science of climate change, the Porter Ranch gas leak, and oil spills in the Niger Delta. We plan to continue producing these flyers to bring attention to neglected issues. Check out the Missing from Mainstream Media webpage at sss.stanford.edu/missing CS+SSS Project Coordinators: Meghan Shea, Ashley Jowell, Emma Hutchinson SSS has been working with the new student group CS+Social Good for the past two quarters to hold a panel in Spring Quarter highlighting the intersection of computer science and sustainability. The panel will feature sustainability gurus from major CS powerhouses (Apple, Google, etc.) and employees from sustainability-focused tech startups to provide different perspectives on how to integrate sustainability principles into a computer science career. The panel will target CS majors at Stanford, especially students who may have erroneously considered careers in environment and computer science to be mutually exclusive. EJ Newsletter Project Co-Coordinators: Shane Johnson and John Zhao We are working to create a series of newsletters to increase awareness of environmental justice issues among the general undergraduate student body on campus. We are reaching out to other student groups and communities on campus to determine whether this initiative would be beneficial for other communities working on environmental justice issues. We hope to publish the first issue in early Spring Quarter. 6

7 2. Initiatives In addition to our major projects, SSS has also supported a series of initiatives that support our mission in other ways. Carbon Offsets Facilitator: Emma Fisher We are working to implement a program to purchase carbon offsets for flights taken by Stanford s sports teams. Since last quarter, the athletic travel carbon offset project has gained the official approval of the Stanford Athletics Department, secured generous funding, and solidified its organizational structure as a "joint initiative" between SSS and Cardinal Council, the student-athlete service group. Cardinal Council's involvement will be important for outreach purposes, as well as for its close relationship with the Athletics Department. We are continuing to work with Stanford Students Environmental Consulting group to solidify which offsets to purchase, and have been working with the Procurement Office and Office of Sustainability to get exact travel/emissions data. Furthermore, we have continued to gain support across campus, and are now beginning to think about our publicity/outreach strategy. We are planning to purchase the offsets and do a big promotional push Spring Quarter. Check out the Carbon Offsets Initiative webpage at sss.stanford.edu/offsets Coalition Building Facilitators: Calum You and all of SSS Ahead of the 21 st Conference of Parties in Paris, Fossil Free Stanford planned a sit-in of the University President s office to demand fossil fuel divestment. In support of this effort, members of Students for a Sustainable Stanford worked to build support among other social justice groups on campus and work on achieving true solidarity with these groups. This culminated in a series of meetings with leaders of the Stanford NAACP, Black Student Union, Stanford American Indian Organization, Asian American 7

8 Students Association, Students for Justice in Palestine and Stanford Students for Queer Liberation. These talks were highly productive in terms of building further connections between SSS and other groups on campus and we hope it will continue to lead to strong collaborations. SSS members also took on various support roles for the sit-in, such as organizing the kick-off rally and the closing rally. In the future we hope to continue to expand partnerships with diverse communities on campus. FUEL: Forum for Undergraduate Environmental Leadership Facilitators: Andrew Jacobs and Charlie Jiang While working with Prof. Buzz Thompson (Co-Director of the Woods Institute for the Environment) and Brian Sharbono (Program Director at the Woods Institute) to improve opportunities for undergraduates, we suggested creating a year-long environmental leadership program for juniors and seniors. We modeled our idea off the Rising Environmental Leaders Program (RELP), which has been a focal point of graduate student environmental leadership. We are happy to report that in Spring 2016, a group of undergraduates and co-terminal master s students will participate in a quarter-long pilot of the new Forum for Undergraduate Environmental Leadership (FUEL). During the program, participants attend weekly discussions and a series of seminars with well-known environmental leaders, then travel to Sacramento for a weekend in May to engage with California policymakers. Check out FUEL here: Alumni network Facilitators: Kimberly Chang-Haines and Andrew Jacobs The SSS Media Team is underway on the creation of an alumni network. SSS facilitates connections between environmentally-minded people. These connections should not disappear solely because a member steps off of the Stanford campus. With this extended network, current students will be able to reach out to others who have been affiliated with the Stanford sustainability community and vice versa. 8

9 Careers in Sustainability Facilitators: Andrew Jacobs and Charlie Jiang We are working with the Haas Center for Public Service and BEAM Career Education (Stanford s career development center) to improve opportunities for students interested in environmental issues to learn about careers in this field. In February SSS cosponsored two events to highlight careers in energy and environmental organizations (we describe these events further in the following section). We are now working with BEAM Career Education to improve Stanford s annual Earth, Energy, and Environment Career Fair to attract a more diverse and expansive group of NGOs, companies, and government agencies to campus. 9

10 3. Events Since October, SSS has planned and co-sponsored a myriad of events on campus to educate students about sustainability issues. The following is a full list of such events. Past SSS Events Listen to the Silence Workshop (Jan. 16, 2016) SSS Coordinators: Calum You, John Zhao, and Charlie Jiang Co-Sponsored by Stanford Asian-American Students Association SSS members created and led a workshop on environmental justice at the annual Listen to the Silence conference for Asian Pacific Islander (API) issues. We focused on bringing an understandable explanation of the concept of environmental justice to the 20+ workshop attendees, with particular focus given to electronic waste in China, shipyard wrecks in India, API organising against oil refineries in Richmond, CA, US use of Agent Orange in Vietnam and nuclear bombs in Japan, and nuclear testing in the Marshall Islands. As a result of this workshop, we made connections with API organizers in the area and identified opportunities for collaboration. Dance Marathon (Feb. 6, 2016) SSS Coordinators: Taylor Streaty, Calum You, Sierra Garcia, and Chiamaka Ogwuebu Co-sponsored by Stanford Dance Marathon SSS participated in making the annual Dance Marathon more sustainable this year. We went over the event s supply procurement with the DM team and identified areas to reduce waste, as well as created a presence at the event itself to highlight links between global health and sustainability. We also manned a table at the event itself to talk about our current projects, including the Carbon Offsets Initiatives. 10

11 Careers in Env.: Designing a Sustainable Energy Career (Feb. 17, 2016) SSS Coordinators: TJ Francisco, Andrew Jacobs, and Charlie Jiang Co-Sponsored by BEAM Career Education and the Haas Center for Public Service Together with the Haas Center for Public Service and BEAM Career Education, SSS co-sponsored a panel discussion with representatives from eight prominent NGOs to discuss ways they drive the clean energy agenda. Panelists included from Audubon, Environmental Defense Fund, Natural Resources Defense Council, World Resources Institute, United Nations Foundation, and more. Careers in Env. : Environmental Careers Roundtable Dinner (Feb. 18, 2016) SSS Coordinators: TJ Francisco, Andrew Jacobs, and Charlie Jiang Co-Sponsored by BEAM Career Education SSS and BEAM Career Education co-hosted a roundtable-style dinner with representatives from several Bay Area companies and non-profits working on environmental issues. Eight representatives from PG&E, Acterra, The Compton Foundation, Trout Unlimited, and more came to Stanford to share their career experiences and give advice to 50 undergraduates. Upcoming SSS Events CS+SSS: CS Careers in Environment SSS Coordinators: Meghan Shea, Ashley Jowell, and Emma Hutchinson Co-sponsored by CS+Social Good SSS is organizing a panel about the intersection of computer science and sustainability, focusing on career opportunities. The panel will feature sustainability gurus from major CS powerhouses (Apple, Google, etc.) and employees from sustainability-focused tech start-ups to provide different perspectives on how to integrate sustainability principles into a computer science career. 11

12 What Happened at COP 21? Panel Discussion SSS Coordinator: John Zhao In partnership with the Green Living Council and Stanford Association for International Development, SSS is organizing a student-run event to discuss the experiences of students who attended COP 21 in December The event is tentatively scheduled for the week of April 4, EarthFest SSS Coordinator: Calum You EarthFest is SSS s annual sustainability festival, held during Stanford s Admit Weekend for prospective freshmen to advertise Stanford s strong sustainability community. We are in the beginning stages of organizing EarthFest 2016, scheduled for April Stephen H. Schneider Memorial Lecture SSS Coordinators: Meghan Shea, Ashley Jowell SSS has been working since last summer to solidify the speaker for the Schneider Lecture to be held this spring (date TBD). We have been in contact with the schedulers for Governor Brown, Leonardo DiCaprio, Bill Nye, President Tommy Remengesau of Palau, Jane Goodall, Will Allen, Joel Sartore, and Alice Waters; we will have the speaker and date of the lecture nailed down by the end of this quarter. We have also been coordinating with the Woods Institute this quarter about their role in the lecture. Co-Sponsored Events and Contributions Haas Center Alumni Breakfast (Oct. 25, 2015) During this year s Homecoming Weekend, SSS participated in a public service alumni breakfast sponsored by the Haas Center for Public Service. SSS members attended the breakfast to speak with SSS alumni about our current work. 12

13 Pilipino American Student Union (PASU) Environmental Justice Dinner (Nov. 7, 2015) On Saturday, November 7, 2015, Stanford s Pilipino American Student Union (PASU) hosted Dugang Kadasig: A Solidarity Dinner for Environmental Justice in the Philippines. "Dugang Kadasig" is a Cebuano phrase that means "with ever more determination." The dinner raised awareness to various cases of environmental degradation occurring in Mindanao, from foreign mining corporations militarizing indigenous schools to the continued government neglect of the 2013 Typhoon Haiyan victims. There is a need to be "ever more determined" to fight for justice with those most vulnerable to environmental calamities. Time to Choose movie screening (Nov. 19, 2015) Time to Choose is the first comprehensive film that describes how we can successfully address climate change and the challenge of global sustainability. The film describes the climate crisis and the combination of renewable energy, electric vehicles, urban design, and sustainable agriculture that will enable us to live sustainably while also fostering economic development and improved health. Following the screening, a panel discussion between Steven Chu, Noah Diffenbaugh, and Charles Ferguson was moderated by Pamela Matson. (Co-sponsored by OpenXChange, SSS, the Haas Center for Public Service, Stanford in Government, the School of Earth, Energy, and Environmental Sciences, and the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment). Responding to Climate Change: OpenXChange Open Office Hours (Nov. 19, 2015) SSS co-sponsored the first Open Office Hours event presented by OpenXChange. This panel, entitled Responding to Climate Change, discussed possible climate change strategies, including approaches such as divestment from fossil fuels, investment in alternative energy, and policies such as carbon fees or markets. A panel consisting of Larry Goulder, Alicia Sieger, Katherine J. Mach, Michelle Anderson, and Arun Majumdar was moderated by Pam Matson. 13

14 COP21 Trip to Paris (Nov Dec. 6, 2015) In December of 2015, thirty students and their instructors attended the 21st Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. As a cosponsor of the trip SSS provided financial support for the 30 students who traveled to Paris. Cowspiracy screening (Jan. 28, 2016) Cowspiracy is an eye-opening film that digs into the devastating impacts of large scale factory farming on the planet. SSS co-sponsored a screening on campus of a special cut produced by Leonardo DiCaprio. (Co-sponsored by People for Animal Welfare, SSS, and Stanford Student Animal Legal Defense Fund.) Year Of No Flying: Exploring Climate Justice, Aviation, and Planet Earth (Feb. 17, 2016) A Chai Chat discussion with Barnali Ghosh, founder of the Berkeley South Asian Radical History Walking Tour, who works at the intersection of cities, climate, and activism. A former landscape architect, she works with Brown and Green: South Asian Americans for Climate Justice, the City of Berkeley s transportation commission, and TransForm, a public transit, walking and biking advocacy organization. (Co-sponsored by the Markaz Resource Center, Stanford Sanskriti, and SSS.) A Night with Dr. Breeze Harper (Feb. 19, 2016) The event consisted of a lecture and workshop to provide participants with practical tools for how to engage in ethical and effective food justice work. Through this event we brought students interested in food justice, sustainability, and ethical consumerism in conversation with a focus of race and socioeconomic class. This was the first of several events to involve students in an ongoing effort to support Collective Roots, a local organization working to build a stronger community in East Palo Alto through a robust local food system. (Co-sponsored by the NAACP Food Justice Subcommittee and SSS.) PASU Pilipino Youth Leadership Conference (PYLC) (Feb. 20, 2015) The conference caters to Bay Area high school aged youth and consists of workshops, educational discussions, and a benefit concert featuring cultural performances. PASU s 14

15 efforts are to educate and mobilize their communities, especially their youth, around self-identity and Filipino issues. One of the main conference themes was environmental justice. Debate: Is Eating Meat Ethical? (Feb. 24, 2016) A debate featuring the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Whole Foods, John Mackey, the Executive Director of the Good Food Institute, Bruce Friedrich, and two Stanford students, Jimmy Zhou and Jack Boffa. (Co-sponsored by the Stanford University Speakers Bureau, People for Animal Welfare, the Stanford Student Animal Legal Defense Fund, the McCoy Family Center for Ethics in Society, and SSS.) 15

16 Appendix: List of Officers Co-Presidents Andrew Jacobs Charlie Jiang Director of Campus Affairs Calum You Director of Operations & Financial Officer Bailey Schultz Directors of Media Taylor Streaty Kimberly Chang-Haines Director of Community Maria Doerr Project Coordinators Sierra Garcia Shane Johnson Chiamaka Ogwuegbu Erin Pang Erik Rosenberg Sijo Smith John Zhao Dominick Francks Meghan Shea Ashley Jowell n 16

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