Innovation key to progress

Businessmen, attorneys, information technology specialists, engineers and a professional chef are just some of the students at one of Saint Louis University’s newest and most innovative master degree programs. In its second year with a variety of different students, the Sustainability Degree Program in the Center for Sustainability is the only program of its kind in the Midwest.

Sustainability is not just about “going green.”

The program is intended to train leaders to understand issues surrounding society’s increasing use of decreasing resources. The program integrates knowledge on sustainable business practices, as well as effective social and policy processes, and integrates an innovative design and engineering approach to sustainability.

The program focuses on multiple aspects of sustainability. It may address issues regarding real estate and environmental law, or creating more efficient business supply chains in order to have more direct sales and distribution of products. The program also addresses public policy on various environmental and management issues in local and state governments, including protecting water quality in lake and steams, increasing green building standards and lobbying in Jefferson City, Mo.

“At first I had a narrow focus on what this program could be, but now I recognize the more broad focus and far reaching possibilities of this program,” David Webb, a current student and program manager for the center, said.

The Center for Sustainability was launched in 2010 as a master’s degree program with a unique collaboration between the College of Arts and Sciences, the John Cook School of Business, Parks College of Engineering, Aviation and Technology and the College of Education and Public Service to create a cross-disciplinary degree.

Since its inception, the Center for Sustainability has received more than $7 million in direct grants. The center has also given more than $200,000 in grants to collaborating faculty, to pursue innovative research in earth and atmospheric sciences, dietetics and nutrition, and biology and chemistry.

“We are doing a lot of innovative things and trying to push the envelope what people think of when they think about sustainability,” Tim Keane, executive director of the program, said.

The program recently hired Tom Tangaro as the new director of partnerships and collaboration. Tangaro worked for Anheuser Busch InBev for 32 years, where he worked as the head of Global Hop and Enzyme Procurement, and developed and implemented strategies supporting company-wide best practices, supplier partnerships and vertical integration programs.

“I have connections with a number of companies,” Tangaro said. “I am excited about all of the possibilities we have in bringing the resources of the center to these companies and forming new partnerships to take sustainability to the next level.”

Tangaro’s first initiative is known as the Reality-Based, Efficient, Action Learning Partners program. The REAL Partners program accepts applications from companies who are looking for expertise from graduate students to solve “real world” sustainability challenges that the organizations are facing in the marketplace.

Some of the REAL Partner collaborations have included projects with Antea Group, BioMerieux, Great River Greenways and the City of St. Louis.

A recent collaboration with the City of St. Louis is the STAR Community Index software platform. St. Louis was chosen as one of 10 cities nationally to participate in this program, due to the support from the Center of Sustainability. This software platform is a tool that local governments across the globe will use to help create the sustainable cities of the future.

“Tools like the STAR Community Index help quantify the urgency, and support actions to replenish, not deplete, our ecosystem resources,” Keane said.

This data will be used to help the city plan and focus its resources on the sustainability issues it will be facing in the future. Students in the program are tagging sustainability resources in the city of St. Louis like MetroLink, the city’s power grid and the metropolitan sewer district, to establish a baseline for sustainability data in the city.

Currently, the program has 31 students from various professional fields. All of the students have an average of 12 years of professional experience in their respected fields.

Sustainability student David Webb received his bachelor’s degree in business administration and Spanish from SLU. He spent 12 years as an information technology consultant and one year pursuing a professional acting career in Los Angeles.

Webb returned to St. Louis, and said that his time in LA confirmed his interest on issues about sustainability in the environment. Webb said that by studying issues of sustainability, he is “living a personal passion,”

“I want to have an opportunity to formalize my education,” Webb said. “After some research, it was a no-brainer to join this program.”

Webb said he joined the program in 2010, hoping to combine his passion and learn through multiple opportunities in the St. Louis community.

During the past 15 months, Webb took his professional experience and his passion and combined it into one major project. Webb compiled research and data to create a report known as the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System report for the University.

The STARS report is a transparent, self-reporting framework for colleges and universities to measure their sustainability performance. The STARS report is a product of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education. This report has replaced the previously used Green Report Card, and has become the de facto sustainability rating agency for higher education.

Webb compiled data from different departments, creating a rating about different aspects of SLU’s sustainability. Webb developed a program to track all of the data he received from multiple departments and sorted it into the different elements in the STARS report.

Webb said that SLU receiving a bronze rating from AASHE was a “major accomplishment.”” There are 132 schools that have completed the STARS report. In October, Webb went to Pittsburgh to present his research and findings at AASHE’s annual conference.

Students in the Sustainability Program start with foundational core courses that cover general sustainability topics across the degree’s integrated disciplines: Business, engineering, technology, public policy, social work and environmental sciences.

During their second and final year of the program, students have the option to build a sustainability generalist, a custom curriculum that supports a broad sustainability practitioner career path, or a sustainability career track, a specific discipline-oriented focus.  The second year concludes with a field experience designed to immerse the candidate into a practitioner role inside an organization or group that connects to their respective discipline or area of interest.

“You get what you put into the program,” Webb said. “I have put a lot into the program and have had a great experience.”

Students said that educational benefits of the program include free books for select courses, exclusive invitations to regional sustainability events, including tickets and travel, and leadership opportunities with external partners and internships.

Beth-Ann Mason Yakubu, associate director of the Center for Sustainability said that the program is focused on meeting the needs of today’s society, while also enabling future generations to thrive.

“The common thread that holds our students together is sustainability,” Yakubu said. “Our program provides a way for students to connect with their passions, gain working experience in this field and create networks that will last a lifetime.”