Environmental Consulting at Olin

The Course

In spring 2020, Caitrin co-created and co-taught a new course called “Environmental Consulting at Olin” (ECO) with Carrie Nugent (Assistant Professor of Computational Physics and Planetary Science) Claire Rodgers (Associate Energy Engineer for Aramark Facilities Services at Olin). The course is an integration of anthropology, design, engineering, environmental science, and entrepreneurship. Students enroll either for upper-level “Design Depth” credit or for intermediate Entrepreneurship credit. 

In this course, students worked in teams to reduce the carbon emissions at Olin. Students worked as consultants to different Olin departments, learning about their challenges and implementing solutions to reduce emissions. Students learned about strategies to enact positive change, and they considered how to take the lessons into their lives post-Olin.

Additional Links

Read the information we sent to potential consulting partners at Olin

Here is a video where students presented pitches to the registrar staff about alternatives to Olin’s current system of purchasing polyester graduation caps, gowns, tassels and hoods for graduation. Students analyzed current greenhouse gas emissions and possible alternatives, taking into account culture, stakeholders, finances, and logistics. They interviewed trustees, faculty, staff, parents, students, alumni and parents of alumni.