Babson College
AC-8: Campus as a Living Laboratory

The Sustainable Energy Solutions NST1020 class looks at the connection between energy and air & climate based on Babson's impacts.

Every semester the Management Planning and Control ACC4510 class looks at several STARS credit areas for Babson, analyzes Babson's work, looks at peer schools, and proposes new solutions to increase the STARS scores. Buildings was covered in Spring 2014.

Every semester the Management Planning and Control ACC4510 class looks at several STARS credit areas for Babson, analyzes Babson's work, looks at peer schools, and proposes new solutions to increase the STARS scores. Dining was covered in Spring and Fall 2014.

The Sustainable Energy Solutions NST1020 class looks at the energy used by campus, studies alternatives, and presents their ideas for campus solutions. The Environmental Technology SCN2410 class measures energy use in residence halls across campus.

The sugar maples on campus are tapped for sap every spring by several faculty members that connect the program to their classes. Case Studies in Ecological Economics measures trees in permanent plots to determine carbon storage. The Economic Botany SCN3630 course studies trees on campus. Case Studies in Ecological Management NST2020 calculates carbon storage in trees on campus.

Every semester the Management Planning and Control ACC4510 class looks at several STARS credit areas for Babson, analyzes Babson's work, looks at peer schools, and proposes new solutions to increase the STARS scores. Purchasing was covered in Fall 2014.

Every semester the Management Planning and Control ACC4510 class looks at several STARS credit areas for Babson, analyzes Babson's work, looks at peer schools, and proposes new solutions to increase the STARS scores. Transportation was covered in Spring 2014.

Spring 2014 the FME business "Bio-Grounds" collected coffee grounds to turn into fertilizer as part of their Foundations of Management and Entrepreneurship class project. The Quantitative Methods for Business Analytics QTM1000 class studied food waste in the campus dining hall.

Every semester the Management Planning and Control ACC4510 class looks at several STARS credit areas for Babson, analyzes Babson's work, looks at peer schools, and proposes new solutions to increase the STARS scores. Water was covered in Spring 2014.

The Babson College Fund (BCF) is an academic program in which specially selected students from both the Undergraduate and Graduate schools manage a portion of the Babson College endowment. The program builds students’ investment research and portfolio management skills, and offers practical experience. The student-run fund is an accredited course offered to a select group of undergraduate and MBA students and is guided by faculty and Executives in Residence. It has beaten the S&P 500 for the seven-year period ending May 8, 2014, surpassing some professional managers hired to manage the equity portion of the Babson endowment.

In the MDS3615 Media, Culture and the Environment course, students worked on a project called "Green Power Community". They collaborated with the Ellen Korpi, chair of Sustainable Energy Committee at the Town of Wellesley to promote renewable energy among Wellesley residents and small businesses. Students utilized various media platforms (from school lesson plans and lawn signs to social media and flash mobs) to reach various demographic groups in Wellesley. Their campaigns demonstrated great creativity and received great accolades from Ellen Korpi and her colleagues. The program was a great success: Wellesley managed to reach the designated number of renewable energy subscribers and was officially named the “Green Power Community” by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in September 2012. The MDS3615 Media, Culture and the Environment class worked on a project called "Environmental Tax Reform" that allowed students to design media advocacy campaigns to educate Massachusetts residents about a carbon tax policy. Student groups selected their target audiences (by town), conducted market research about their audience's existing attitudes toward climate change, and designed strategic media campaigns to educate the audience about the benefits of "putting a price on carbon." This campaign was unique for two reasons: 1) it didn't follow the usual green consumerism route but instead invited audience to exercise their political rights to support a state legislation. Prior to the launch of the campaign, the instructor invited the legal assistant of Massachusetts Senator Michael Barrett (who co-wrote the existing carbon tax bill) to lecture about the state legislative system and the way communication works in the democratic system. Students said that they "felt empowered" by learning about what citizens can achieve by communicating to their political representatives and fellow citizens about policy issues.2) This campaign also received wide support from local climate change activists. Six environmentalists and communication professionals (from Citizens Climate Lobby, League of Women Voters, The Climate Reality Project) worked as judges for the final group presentations and provided invaluable feedback to student projects. In the panel discussions during the last two days, many students expressed that this project not only opened their eyes to what citizens can achieve through the political system, but also gave them useful communication skills that they can apply in future business and marketing careers.