Incubating Behavior Change on Campus: The Case For Student Reuse

• In Event: 046 - Section on Environment and Technology Roundtable Session (one-hour).
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 11. Consumption, Consumer Behavior, and Access to Technology

Abstract

Abstract: Building sustainable communities is an important challenge faced by millennials. Transitioning from hyper-consumption to smart consumption is imperative to a more sustainable future. Campuses offer a unique opportunity to incubate consumer behavior change. To cross to the mainstream, new behaviors must be adopted during college years. A course project was established at a private university in the Southwest within a course of 150 undergraduate students to meet the university specific learning outcome of demonstrating critical awareness that problem-solving in the global community requires the integration of a variety of perspectives. To accomplish this outcome, the instructor partnered with Tradepal, an online company that encourages reuse through the trading and bartering of unused items. Tradepal gamifies the environmental impact of each trade by quantifying the carbon savings associated with each reuse transaction. With each trade, this score increases and provides a performance metric that can be leveraged for building engagement during reuse competitions. Tradepal’s online peer-to-peer marketplace makes reuse convenient for students on campus. The course project is designed to encourage cognitive and behavioral changes among students and to develop the Tradepal network on the campus. Students critical analyze the concepts of overconsumption and hypermaterialism through a variety of sociological theories and perspectives. Via Skype, the CEO of Tradepal discusses how Tradepal provides a solution through innovation that directly reduces the university’s ecological footprint, by integrating reuse and enhancing social cohesion within the campus community and ultimately has a global impact.

Author

• Keith H. Whitworth, Texas Christian University