What’s the best way to teach students to lead in sustainable ways?
For Mariane Uehara, the answer is simple: By doing.
Uehara is the sustainability innovation coordinator at Chaminade and teaches ENV 490: Sustainability Innovation.
Over the Fall term, she challenged her students to partner with local organizations and help them find environmentally-friendly practices that also made business sense. They didn’t stop there. Working in teams, the students launched new initiatives, created materials, even drew up business plans, walking away with invaluable experience.
“The goal is for students to discover both the challenges and opportunities of applying entrepreneurship and sustainability in collaboration with established local businesses,” Uehara said.
“This experience is designed to boost their self-esteem and confidence, empowering them to step into the ‘real world’ as professionals who share their unique ideas and take on the responsibility of turning those ideas into impactful, sustainable actions.”
Lyle Takenaka ‘24 and his group partnered with Talk Kaimuki, a popular coffee shop, to weave sustainable practices into day-to-day operations. They brainstormed “lots of great ideas,” he said, but ultimately decided to create QR codes that customers can scan to get facts about waste, sustainability tips, and information on locally-sourced items, plus some trivia and deals.
Takenaka said Talk Kaimuki’s main concern was cutting down on takeout cups for dine-in patrons.
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“This project showed me businesses want to and are willing to find ways to become more sustainable,” Takenaka said, noting that working with Talk Kaimuki’s owner was eye-opening.
“Plus, we got hands-on experience into how a successful business is run.”
Takenaka added that he was particularly grateful for the feedback his team received. “By being able to work with a successful business, we had a unique opportunity to put a plan into action. We got real-world experience that will be of benefit in our future careers.”
The best part? “We were able to make the world a better place,” Takenaka said.
Uehara said students also worked with Bess Press and Keep It Simple, a zero-waste business.
For Bess Press, students helped design an innovative “Bess Bucks” system aimed at giving gently-used books a second, third or even fourth life.
Uehara’s course is supported with a federal grant, which also goes to other sustainable entrepreneurship work at Chaminade. She said she’s grateful to give students the opportunity to “expand on their ‘why’” and search for ways to make a positive difference.
The course ended with a series of presentations from students on their projects, giving them the chance to showcase their work.
ENV 490 was developed as part of the ‘Inana Innovators Program at Chaminade, which Uehara said was designed to “develop a robust pathway to entrepreneurship and bridge the gap between academic and professional life.” Uehara added, “This gives students the opportunity to become creators or interns, receiving a stipend to further develop their ideas and gain skills.”
The ‘Inana Innovators program is funded by MBDA grant #MB22OBD8020275-T1. You can reach Principal Investigator Dr. Helen Turner at [email protected].
