Rogat+-+Memo+-+Pilot+Research+and+Findings

Michelle Rogat Pilot Research and Findings



and the transcript || * || and the notes || #3 - check into what laws are banning food waste in landfills in the near future, add this to the legislative side of the thesis - this is an example of the regulations the businesses have to follow, if they went ahead with sustainability projects then it usually turns out that they already end up following regulations for now and for what is coming in the future.
 * Date Carried Out || Interview Questions || Interview/ Seminar Descriptions and Links to Transcript || Findings ||
 * 10/29/2013 || Audubon Interview Questions || Interview with Joellen at Audubon International
 * 11/12/2013 ||  || Attended USGBC Seminar on "Stone Soup" lecture by Jodi Smits-Anderson || Jodi works at DASNY and is a member of USGBC among other things
 * mentioned the process of having to relearn after getting stupid and almost arrogant with practices, and while discussing this mentioned the struggle for us to be independent of nature and to be in control
 * there's a resistance to sustainability in society that includes the human desire to be in control of its environment and independent of nature
 * idea for section of thesis is to have a reoccurring advice and themes chapter
 * Jodi continuously brought up the importance of collaboration across all departments and sectors in the building process, you want the construction workers and contractors involved in the design process because they can provide useful information, don't assume anything is set in stone because changes might be welcomed
 * communication issues with customers and their view on what they want to achieve, need to get better at suggesting better alternatives instead of just going with what customer says
 * the first question to consider is what is the goal and is that goal defined ||
 * 11/13/2013 || Empire Zero Interview Questions || Interview with Empire Zero - Tyler Holloway
 * 1) 4 - the fact that they don't do much advertising now and that this ban will be implemented in the next couple of years points out that economically there is going to be this demand for food waste collection businesses and right now they aren't meeting that demand, which is only going to get a lot bigger. Yes, municipalities or other such government agencies are most likely going to have to help to meet these new regulations, but this also a huge opportunity for new businesses in the market.
 * 2) 7 - get in touch with Bountiful Bread, and John Olcott (?) the Dining Services Manager, for interviewing as an example of a restaurant going green - what's their motive and where is that energy for becoming sustainable coming from? What issues have they been coming across, etc.
 * 3) 8 - possibly look into 333 Cafe in Delmar and see what they are doing as well
 * 4) 9 - motivations for institutions to begin using the food waste collection service is the right to brag about it in advertising, and a way to save money.
 * 10 - an issue for this food waste collection service is that it's a small business, so they can't always offer the competitive pricing in comparison with bigger trash companies. This has an effect on the use of these services altogether, on the demand for it, because it is affecting it's price and competition in the market. To tie this into the hospitality industry, the way that those businesses are going to be able to choose the companies practicing sustainability is if its worth it to them, either in terms of improving their reputation, or it's cheaper for them.**
 * 's 13, 16 - their approach to making their business succeed is to really make it easier for their clients by providing training to the places' staff and to allow every food waste into the bins, including bones and proteins. This makes their business viable, otherwise it probably wouldn't succeed.**
 * 1) 18 - when asked if a company they were hired by ever failed to be able to use the service properly and had to stop using their service he said no. GOOD QUOTE - **"Usually if you commit, failure is not an option."**
 * 2) 21 - when discussing the issues related to their business and separating out food waste Tyler said, **"It isn't easy because you're changing how people think and their nature, in less than a second they have to become aware."** GOOD QUOTE

__**POSSIBILITY FOR THE COUNTRY CLUB**__
 * 1) 13 - if the club does decide to separate out food waste, they could explain to me and to some other staff - possibly the GM and one of the chef's, and could train us over the phone about how to transition or staff and situate our kitchen to make this possible. We would definitely need to emphasize to the dishwashers and to the waitstaff on the importance of throwing away the food in the correct bin, and discuss with them how to make this work for them, like have a separate bin next to every garbage bin maybe.
 * 2) 24 - I would be the one to do a food waste audit probably. I talked it over with Tyler briefly, and instead of having them come out to lay out the garbage and take pictures of it I would probably do that and send them the pictures. That would be a free waste audit. Or, I think there are some extra bins around, I could talk it out with the chefs and staff first and see if they are will to separate food waste out for a day, then count/weigh the bags of food waste versus garbage at the end of it. I would have to do one of these instead of the 3rd option where Empire Zero would come out and do a food waste audit for $85/hour.
 * 3) 25 - Once I do an audit and see how much of our garbage is food waste, I would have to find out how we pay for garbage pick up now, if it's by weight or by container, and that if we did separate food waste, would we be able to downsize and save money on the cost of garbage pick up. ||
 * 11/22/2013 ||  || Joellen Lampman came to my Sustainability Careers class to share her experiences and her career path, and what she does

Joellen Lampan Talk with SC Class || What I found most intriguing was her reasoning for choosing to work with Cornell over her other job prospect. I update the Memo - Describing People with this information because **she proves my theory that the people who work in environmental sustainability must share certain characteristics or personality traits. I have thought about this before when I made the decision to study sustainability, it was because I knew I was smart and could be successful at many things, but what would I enjoy and what would help to improve the world the most? My main deciding factor in going into this field was that I wanted to make an impact on the world for the better and that many solutions to societies' problems could be found in sustainability.** Years ago when discussing with my friend's mother about my choice of study and her reply was that you will need a passion for it because it will be very discouraging. So I have this theory that people in my field feel they have a higher calling to help better society, that they feel they must make a difference, they must be resilient and persevering in some ways, or something alike. **They must share a personality or character trait, and I believe Joellen is the first to help me discover that.** || Transcript Here ||  || Transcript Here ||  ||
 * 01/30/2014 || Superintendent - 1st Interview - Questions || 1st Interview with Country Club Superintendent
 * 2/12/2014 || Interview Questions for Jodi || Interview with Jodi Smits-Anderson