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On Friday December 9 th , 2011 some members of Ross Net Impact took a private tour of the Executive Residence. Many members of the Ross community are used to meeting and studying in the lobby of the Executive Residence, but very few have gotten a sneak peak around the rest of the building; this is because the hotel portion of the Executive Residence is only open to Executive MBA students and alumni. Saprina Dresser, Conference Planning Manager at the Executive Residence, gave the group of 8 MBA students a tour of the hotel, followed by a delicious lunch in the Executive Residence Dining Room.

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Green Fair is Friday, June 10.

For those in AA during the summer time, check out Ann Arbor's 11th annual Green Fair from 6 to 9pm on Main Street! Main Street will be closed to vehicles, but open for pedestrians, during the 11th annual Mayor’s Green Fair 6 to 9 p.m. on Ann Arbor’s Main Street. The event includes free entertainment and over 100 exhibits with environmental information, hands-on youth activities, Clean Energy Expo, green commuting options, Bike Fest, WasteKnot business partners, walking tours and more. Go to the Green Fair website for more information.

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We got a question recently from a peer school asking about the make & model of our water bottle filling stations. After spending the majority of my MAP project studying water scarcity issues in India, water holds an even dearer place in my heart. 

I thought I'd post the information for others as well, hopefully it will help others adopt this feature in their respective organization. But also want to take the chance to ask, what's your favorite feature of the new Ross School? Respond to the post or email <RNISustainability@umich.edu>

Question: We're trying to install water bottle filling stations and I noticed at the Net Impact conference that you had them installed on what looked to be identical water fountains to the ones we have. I was wondering if you could give me the model number for the filler attachments you used.

Answer: The water bottle fillers were purchased from T & S Brass, model #B-1210-12. They were custom fitted into our existing water fountains. The manufacture is ”Haws” 

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To celebrate Earth Week, Ross Hospitality Services organized a visit to Ross for local pre-schoolers teaching them about composting, recycling, and much more!

Ever wonder where your waste from all your meals at Seigle Cafe goes? The composted topsoil the kids used to plant their basil and rosemary came from Tuthill Farms (http://www.tuthillfarms.com/). Not familiar with Tuthill? They are a family-owned business based in South Lyon, Michigan. They do all the composting for the Ross School of Business.

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+ 350 admits

 + 75 partners

and 22 awesome GBR Composting Volunteers for one amazing weekend.

Many Thanks for making the 2011 Go Blue Rendezvous a success. Want another chance to wear your favorite tee? Mark your calendars for RLI 2011!

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Ever wonder about the dual-flush toilets? Dual-flush simply means the flush handle will either be pushed up or down depending on the waste. When used properly, the dual-flush system will use less water and Ross will save money as the school does get billed for water and sewer usage.

In a campus-wide effort to go "green," many buildings on campus are in the process of converting their current flush systems to this "dual-flush" system that Ross has already adopted.

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What: Design Thinking for the Triple Bottom Line: An Interactive Experience

When: October 14, 2011 during Ross Net Impact's Purpose Driven Profit's Conference

Subject: Composting at Ross

Problem: (1) Overflowing trash bins with compostable wares and (2) contaminated waste bins with incorrectly sorted trash

Who: +30 attendess moderated by Sandhya S Pillalamarri, a Design Innovation & User Experience speaker and strategist

Results:

With plenty of sharpies, post-its, playdo, and white boards - attendees broke up into groups of 4 to brainstorm and ideate on solutions to improve the composting, recycling, and landfill rates at Ross.

While each group came up with varying ideas, there were some consistent and broad themes that came out of the sessions: Signage color-code scheme: whether it was stickers, or having the entire packaging a certain color, help reduce user confusion by color coding the packaging and the waste bins clear bins: allow the user to see what's inside, nobody reads signs, but users also look inside the bins to see what else is inside re-lable "trash" to "landfill" Location target high-traffic areas temporary bins placed during peak times users will not walk the extra few steps to find the correct waste bin - make it convenient for them Information / Education feedback loop - provide information by the bins letting users know the impact of their actions, ex: "XX was diverted from landfills this month." sample products on signs should include worse offenders for confusion

Next Steps: Thank you for all the great ideas! We have identified composting education as a top priroity for us this year. Our plan is to work with the school administration as well as different student groups to implement on the ideas generated. If you are interested in getting involved, please contact us at: RNISustainability@umich.edu