Date of Defense

4-24-2013

Date of Graduation

4-2013

Department

Management

First Advisor

Harold Glasser

Second Advisor

Jennifer Palthe

Third Advisor

Kelley O'Reilly

Abstract

As we look around our community and the world, it becomes very apparent that we are facing many environmental, social and economic issues. In hope to make strides toward a positive future, the International Living Future Institute has developed many stringent programs, one of them being the Living Building Challenge (The Challenge). The Challenge is working to fix the problems of the built environment and to restore the negative impacts our building, landscapes, structures, etc. are having on the Triple Bottom Line (People, Planet, Profit).

The Challenge’s mission states:

To encourage the creation of Living Buildings, Landscapes and Neighborhoods in countries around the world while inspiring, educating and motivating a global audience about the need for fundamental and transformative change.

Over the last two years (January 2011-­‐April 2013) I have been immersed in this very dynamic Lee Honors Thesis project, and have had many different roles in order to complete this project in a timely manner, and to ensure it serves a true purpose towards our goal. The project has transformed from an analysis of the environmental and cultural impacts a ‘Living Building’ would have on our campus and the community; to developing a sales schematic that would aim to raise funds for the development of a ‘Living Building’ on campus; and to develop a marketing campaign that targets the students of Western Michigan University.

The ultimate goal of this project is to create a movement on the Western Michigan University campus until we reach our first goal of getting a ‘Living Building’ on our campus. Once that happens, we will continue to push until we become the first ‘Living Campus’ in the world. When we have accomplished this, we will have set ourselves apart from all other universities and we will have become the standard for what a campus should be, and I will be proud to say that it started here, with a group of students and an idea.

Comments

Video and Powerpoint accompanying.

Access Setting

Honors Thesis-Open Access

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