Babson College
EN-3: Student Life

The Babson Energy and Environmental Club (BEEC) is comprised of Babson College's graduate students with some undergraduate representation. They are a group of students committed to entrepreneurship, sustainable initiatives, and educating themselves with all things sustainable. Their largest event is a conference organized each year, where they invite inspiring leaders in the industry as guest speakers. A carbon neutral organization, BEEC purchases carbon offsets to counterbalance the carbon dioxide emissions resulting from their events and activities. BEEC’s Green-e certified offsets have been purchased through Carbonfund.org, a non-profit organization that supports renewable energy, reforestation and energy efficiency projects worldwide to reduce carbon emissions and the threat of climate change. The organization is primarily run by the student leaders with the support of several advisers from the professional and academic sphere.

Faculty, staff, and students run twelve 4'x8' raised organic garden beds where herbs, vegetables, and fruits are grown. It is located in between the Reynolds and Hollister buildings. Additionally, the Sustainability Office organizes a CSA program and hosts a drop-off location on campus and serves about 25 participants every summer.

Every first year student is part of a business as part of the Foundations of Management and Entrepreneurship (FME). Students present business ideas at the start of the year during the annual Rocket Pitch and the top ideas get turned into businesses. Throughout this process students are taught about corporate responsibility, life cycle analysis of a product, and the management team attends a presentation by the Sustainability Office. In addition, individual students begin their own entrepreneurial ventures.

Babson's fifth annual Sustainability Fair (From Day One Fest) was held at the start of fall semester 2014 and attracted more than 500 students as well as over 100 faculty, staff, administrators, and community members. The zero-waste fair showcased sustainability efforts at Babson and beyond, and featured student groups, sustainable alumni businesses, and sustainable food. The annual Babson Energy and Environment Conference provides a forum for leading professionals and companies to discuss how clean energy innovation will drive a new era of energy, economics and policy. In 2014, the conference - Fifteen Shades of Green - was about how energy efficiency and sustainability has evolved into an integral part of every industry helping grow the top line and breaking the long held myth that sustainability is a cost center. Babson Alumni Green Forum is a career affinity group that serves as a networking and professional development forum for alumni, current students, faculty, staff, parents, and friends of Babson. The Forum provides educational events and resources for members of the Babson community who share an interest in energy, environment, and sustainable business practices. http://babson.imodules.com/s/651/group.aspx?sid=651&gid=115

Babson's visual arts center opened an exhibit in the Spring of 2014 titled SURGE, which is interactive art based on streaming energy data created by Deb Todd Wheeler and Bec Conrad in collaboration with Babson/Olin/Wellesley students. In the Fall of 2014, Babson's T.E.S.T. (The Empty Space Theater) Company will put on a performance of Urinetown, a show with a premise centered around the issues of resource scarcity, political regulation, and market systems that demonstrates the complication of meeting the people's needs without exceeding the resources available. Many professors across academic departments are encouraging their students to attend the show so that the following week can be used to discuss the themes.

The Babson Outdoors Association advocates participation in outdoor activities. The association organizes several great outings to go white water rafting, rock climbing, etc. for the entire Babson community.

The Sustainability Office hires several student interns every year. This group of interns evaluates the priorities of the campus and designs projects that use SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Timely) goals to drive towards a more sustainable campus.

Yes, Babson has had a pledge since May 2012. This pledge is offered to all graduating students who will wear ribbons on their graduation gowns letting people know of their pledge. Graduation Pledge - “Through the application of entrepreneurial thought and action, I pledge to integrate social, environmental and economic sustainability concepts into the business practices in which I partake, in order to create resilient, sustainable prosperity.”