The current lifecycle of products is linear: extraction, production, transportation, consumption, and disposal. As a result, the relationship between maker, product, and user is weakening, industry wage gaps are widening, and resources are being wasted. In this section, we will learn about a less wasteful system that incentivizes high-quality products and skilled labor.
Vessel is a free and accessible alternative to the disposable cup problem and is available on campus and in the city of Berkeley. Find their locations here.
A campus not-for-profit thrift store that runs on volunteers and community donations. ReUSE sells all clothing for $3 or less, offers clothing trades and accepts donations. ReUSE hosts a weekly repair clinic during the semester. Located in the basement of MLK, adjacent to the OCF.
192P allows students to work on sustainability projects for real clients while learning about the field of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and consulting.
192T houses several special topics courses in corporate social responsibility. David Rochlin's section is called Better Business, Better World - if you sign up for a different section, you'll be in an entirely different course!
ASRB is a student organization at Cal dedicated to providing a bridge between students and the social impact and sustainability field. Learn how to get involved here.
BEACN is a non-profit, student-run business consulting organization. Since 2006, they have completed over 100 innovative business projects with regard to sustainability and social responsibility. Learn more here.
ESW brings together multidisciplinary students with the goal of "building a more sustainable world through designing and implementing hands-on sustainability projects, educating students and practicing engineers on sustainability best practices, and uniting people who are passionate about sustainability to create a global network.
Waste is Food follows German chemist, Michael Braungart, and American designer-architect William McDonough on their journey to create the concept of "Cradle-to-Cradle" design. Cradle-to-Cradle is a design process that anticipates the end of a product's lifecycle to be reused for new resources. Braungart and McDonough work alongside big brands like Ford and Nike to rethink their production process.
Businesses that mass-produce items without care for downstream or upstream waste
Marginalized communities, often low-income communities of color, in whose communities' factories producing toxins are built
Laborers exploited during the production of cheap goods, from extraction of resources to factories to transportation and distribution
The Earth, being unable to replenish resource demand as fast as we deplete them
Small, local, artisan businesses
Cradle-to-Cradle is the manifesto detailing the cradle-to-cradle design model. The book is written by concept creators Michael Braungart and William McDonough.
The Crash Course presents our predicament and illuminates the path ahead, so you can face the coming disruptions and thrive--without fearing the future or retreating into denial. The book is written by Chris Martenson, an economic researcher, scientist, and futurist specializing in energy and resource depletion.
The Crash Course: The Unsustainable Future of Our Economy, Energy, and Environment