Two NYU students and one alumnus are trying to make NYU's study abroad sites a bit greener through the Global Greening Initiative. Their first stop? Shanghai.
CAS junior Steven Rasovsky and CAS senior Ashwini Srinivasamohan are spearheading the first ever two-pronged greening pilot program at the NYU Shanghai site with help from NYU alumna Kaity Tsui. The initiative breaks down greening into behavioraland technical components with an overall goal of reducing emissions abroad.
"I think we can use this to our advantage and kind of make people see we do have this responsibility to this planet," Rasovsky said.
The trio's end goal is to create a model that can be used at every study abroad site even after they graduate from NYU.
"Once the fall is done, we will have a better conceptualization of how to actually implement this project, not only in Shanghai but in other sites," Srinivasamohan said.
Student ambassadors in Shanghai will also be conducting the first ever eco-audit of the campus to evaluate the buildings' infrastructure and appliances to determine energy efficiency and how they can be upgraded.
Currently, there are no plans or funds to make the buildings more energy efficient after the eco-audit has been concluded. However, students flying to the Shanghai campus can purchase carbon offsets for their air travel that will help fund greening initiatives and renewable energy research.
Dale Jamieson, CAS director of environmental studies, hopes NYU will fully support the students' efforts.
"Much of what NYU has done in the area of sustainability is student-run, so it is all encouraging to see students getting on the issues," he said.
Rasovsky, Srinivasamohan and Tsui want to inspire students at other universities to think
globally.
"The conversation of sustainability hasn't really made the shift yet from local to global in the higher education agenda and we hope to spark a dialogue that will help transition or make that paradigm shift," Rasovsky said.
