Baldwin Wallace University
EN-10: Community Partnerships

https://www.bw.edu/centers/institute-for-sustainable-business-practice/ Serving the Business Community- The Institute for Sustainable Business Practice (ISBP) serves as a resource center for the integration of sustainable practices. Focusing on concepts such as the "triple bottom line," ISPB's consulting services, peer learning for business managers and larger educational programs promote sustainability principles that generate tangible change and measurable outcomes within organizations. We believe that sustainability offers tremendous opportunities for businesses and regions that successfully embrace the process more effectively than their competitors. Educating the Community- BW continues to make strides in advancing campus sustainability efforts and works to educate the community about these practices. Initiatives have included energy conservation; conversion to clean energy sources including wind and solar; waste reduction, recycling and composting; consideration of the integrity of the ecosystem in which our campus resides; and community relations. BW's Ernsthausen Hall was the first residence hall in Ohio to utilize environmentally friendly GeoExchange technology for heating and cooling and BW now boasts two LEED certified buildings, including the Gold level of the R. Amelia Harding House, which demonstrates sustainable living and includes community meeting space. Preparing Today's Students for Tomorrow- A leader in sustainability programming, Baldwin Wallace launched Ohio's first undergraduate major in sustainability. ISBP works in partnership with this and other BW academic programs to foster understanding of sustainability concepts. Members include- Aramark Blue Technologies Brewer-Garrett Company Turtle Plastics Sustainable Cleveland 2019 Cleveland Clinic Cliffs COSE Dix & Eaton Doty & Miller Architects Energizer Fairmount Minerals Vexor Technology Forest City Garick Great Lakes Brewing Company PROGRAMS AND SERVICES The BW Sustainability Symposium On an annual basis, ISBP offers a major two-day public event that focuses on sustainability themes critical to 21st-century businesses. Our inaugural event in October 2008 featured Stuart Hart, renowned management sustainability theorist at Cornell University. These major events are open to the general public. Consulting/Collaboration with Organizations ISBP offers sustainability-consulting services tailored to the needs of local businesses. Teams of faculty and student consultants can help local companies produce tangible outcomes to their bottom lines, their interactions within their communities and their impacts on the natural environment. Consulting and peer learning opportunities are available for managers of local companies to advance organizational effectiveness in sustainable performance. Campus Speakers The program shares a growing wealth of managerial and corporate expertise among Northeast Ohio corporations and beyond with students and faculty on our campus to help them keep abreast of changing business practices in sustainability.

BW's Sustainability Clinic™ identifies and recommend strategies and sustainable practices that enable your business or organization to reduce costs, improve operations, enhance profits and/or foster growth. The clinic, a business outreach program led by experienced professional faculty and student consultants, shows you how to make beneficial impacts on social, environmental and economic aspects of your organization. WHAT WE DO Each fee-based project includes two deliverables at completion: 1. Final written report in electronic form 2. Formal presentation of the analysis, typically including projected return on investment (ROI) The average project takes 1-4 months to complete. In most cases, projects focus on ways to reduce immediate and short-term operating costs through more sustainable methods and devices, which also provide environmental benefits.

Dr. Ven Ochaya, Professor of Business at Baldwin Wallace University, has cultivated a multi-year partnership as a formal collaborator with Great Lakes Biomimicry (GLBIO). For more information including Dr. Ochaya bio, please visit: https://glbiomimicry.org/About/. For the past three years, GL Bio has involved a team of representatives to review student biomimetic team projects in a shark tank format including both undergraduate students in SUS363/BUS340: Biomimicry as well as for our MBA students in BUS637: Finance/Biomimicry.