Duke University
IN-3: Innovation 3

ENV 245: Theory and Practice of Sustainability The ENV 245 course at Duke was started in spring 2012, and it is returning as a permanent course this fall semester. The course has two interwoven objectives. First, through readings and activities, students study the breadth of sustainability issues including economic, social and environmental factors, and the local to global reach of sustainability challenges. Second, this class engages students in environmental issues and possible solutions in a tangible way at Duke. This course will become an introductory course for students pursuing a recently developed undergraduate experiential certificate in sustainability that includes 450 hours of experiential learning outside the classroom. The Duke University campus will be used as a primary case study to illustrate institutional practices such as waste production and recycling, transportation, building design and operations, utility supply and consumption, carbon offsets design and calculation, sustainability education and communication, and procurement. The course has a research (R) designation, and students will design and implement a research project about sustainability, learning qualitative (and perhaps some mixed) research methods. This project work also allows the course to earn a service-learning (SL) designation, because students work with Duke clients to improve the sustainable practices of the campus experience (specific projects are listed below). - How Do We Assess Environmental Literacy at Duke? Client: Matt Serra, Director of Academic Assessment, Trinity College; Casey Roe, Outreach Coordinator, Sustainable Duke - Waste Reduction in Dorms 2.0: How can Duke best implement single-stream recycling and post-consumer composting in dorms? Client: Arwen Buchholz, Recycling and Waste Reduction Coordinator, Duke Facilities Management Department - More than Utility: educational, recreational, and research uses of the new Duke Water Reclamation Pond Clients: Mark Hough, Campus Landscape Architect; Bryan Hooks, Director of Grounds; Ryan Lavinder, Engineer, Duke Utilities and Engineering Services - Developing an Electric Vehicle Policy for Duke Client: Alison Carpenter, Transit Planner, Duke Parking & Transportation Services