The Daniels College of Business chapter of Net Impact, an international organization whose mission is to change the world through business, has won second place in Net Impact’s 2008 Green Challenge.
The Green Challenge recognizes and rewards Net Impact members who are working on tangible projects that make a positive environmental impact on their company, campus or community.
Charlie Coggeshall (MBA ’08) and Jeff Malcolm (IMBA ’08), MBA students at the time, spearheaded a pilot-recycling program at the college in 2007.
Coggeshall and Malcolm began by proposing to Bruce Hutton, then-interim dean of Daniels, that he create two paid positions responsible for implementing sustainable practices at the college. The idea was well received, and soon Coggeshall and Malcolm became the first co-chief sustainability officers at Daniels.
They engaged a recycling company and created a single-stream recycling program throughout the Daniels College of Business building and Margery Reed Hall.
As a result, Daniels has reduced the waste destined for landfills by half, and the school accounts for 30 percent of all the University’s recycling volume. The single-stream recycling program has since been launched University-wide.
“This is a stellar example of sustainable business practice combined with the students’ passionate respect for the environment,” says Jan Brocker, assistant dean of academic programs at the Daniels College of Business. “With a comprehensive marketing and logistical plan, the team created efficiencies and cost savings that will serve the University well into the future.”
Members of the Daniels Net Impact chapter will accept the award at Net Impact’s 2008 North America conference in mid-November at the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business. They will receive a cash prize of $250, $250 in 2008 Net Impact conference scholarships, and 2,000 lbs. of CO2 offset from TerraPass.