University of Colorado Boulder
Tier2-5: Sustainable Enterprise

The Trep Cafe (short for entrepreneur) was founded by students and is owned and operated by Leeds School of Business undergraduate students. Students run all day-to-day operations including the finances, marketing, hiring, firing, etc. The café makes a profit, and all net proceeds go toward Leeds student scholarships. To date Trep has awarded ten $1,000 undergrad scholarships, with matching funds from the dean’s office. Sara Klymkowsky, the first recipient, used her scholarship to help support Capricious Ventures, a more sustainable goat meat business she started while still in school. Trep’s tagline is “Student Run, Student Benefitted” – All business decisions are made by the managers, with advice from their faculty and staff advisor and their board. Trep uses biodegradable hot and cold cups and serves organic fair trade coffee. Receptacles for recycling and composting are readily available with instructions for proper disposal. Pastries and other foods are locally sourced. TREP is located in a LEED certified building designed to use over 30% less water and have an overall energy performance that is 30% better than conventionally built buildings. A facility manager ensures efficient use of energy. The Trep team has begun investigating working with a local company to utilize 100% recycled plastic water bottles.