Enviance Blog

We Have Our Environmental Eight!

As the teams in the NCAA’s Sweet Sixteen hit the hardwood this weekend to determine the Elite Eight, we announced our own “Environmental Eight” yesterday, the eight schools remaining in our Second Annual Environmental March Madness tournament.

To advance, the previously announced “Sustainable 16” were asked to submit photos, videos and essays, both from students and faculty, to further demonstrate the strength of their environmental academics and their commitment to on-campus sustainability practices.

We were positively overwhelmed by the quantity and quality of submissions. In total, we received more than 800 photos, 150 essays and 30 videos from the “Sustainable 16.”

We were happy with the output of the entire “Sustainable 16,” but the eight schools that have advanced truly went above and beyond. The “Environmental Eight” are (alphabetically):

• Colorado State University
• George Mason University
• Michigan State University
• Middlebury College
• Ohio State University
• University of California Santa Barbara
• University of Virginia
• University of Washington

Who will cut down the nets and take the title of “National Champion”? Stay tuned to find out. It could be one of the NCAA powerhouses, like Michigan or Ohio State, or it could be a smaller college like last year’s winner, Colby College.

For more information on the Environmental March Madness Tournament, please email Enviance@schwartzmsl.com, or visit http://www.enviance.com/march-madness. You can also receive real-time updates on Twitter by following @enviance and #EnviroU.

Three of Enviance’s “Sustainable 16” also competing in NCAA Sweet Sixteen!

Enviance would like to congratulate those schools that made it to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen this week. While University of Florida, Michigan State University and Ohio State University compete for college basketball’s biggest prize, they are also competing for a “National Championship” title in our Second Annual Environmental March Madness tournament!

The Environmental March Madness tournament gives colleges and universities across the country an opportunity to prove that they are unparalleled at preparing students to live environmentally sustainable lives and, if they so choose, to make a profession out of  coaching others on how to do the same.  This year’s “Sustainable 16” schools have been recognized by the tournament judges for excellence in environmental academics and strength of on-campus sustainability practices. The schools that will advance to the next round of the tournament, the “Environmental Eight,” are set to be announced on Thursday, March 28. The “National Champion” will be announced on April 9.

For more information on the Environmental March Madness Tournament, please email Enviance@schwartzmsl.com, or visit http://www.enviance.com/march-madness. You can also receive real-time updates on Twitter by following @enviance and #EnviroU.

 

 

How will you celebrate Earth Hour 2013?

Tomorrow night for Earth Hour, the Enviance team, along with millions of individuals, businesses, governments and other organizations around the world will go dark for one hour, uniting in the common goal to show support and commitment for a brighter environmental future. Earth hour is more than the symbolic action of switching off lights for an hour: it’s an ongoing movement, raising awareness and driving real action to bring about persistent change. It’s a real opportunity to demonstrate solidarity as part of an interconnected global community.

According to their website, Earth Hour has become the “single, largest, symbolic mass participation event in the world.”  Originally started nine years ago by a small team hoping to mobilize people to take action on climate change, Earth Hour now inspires a global community of millions of people in 7,001 cities and towns across 152 countries and territories to switch lights off for an hour as a massive show of concern for the environment.

This year’s Earth Hour will be held on March 23 from 8:30-9:30pm (your local time). Will you participate?

For more information or to join the movement, please visit www.earthhour.org. You can also follow Earth Hour live on Twitter: @EarthHour

Submissions Now Closed – Which Schools Will Progress to the “Environmental Eight”?

Two weeks ago Enviance, in partnership with GreenBiz Group and Qualtrics,  invited students and staff of the recently announced “Sustainable Sixteen” schools to submit supplementary materials demonstrating why their school deserves to advance to the next round of Enviance’s Second Annual Environmental March Madness (#EnviroU) Tournament. 

Since then we have received an unprecedented number of outstanding submissions – all told, students and staff sent in more than 800 photos, 150 essays and 30 videos! Now that the submissions period is closed, our expert panel of judges are busy going through all of the materials in order to determine which of the remaining sixteen schools will advance to the next stage in the competition.

We will be announcing the “Environmental Eight” on March 28, so stay tuned! You can also receive real-time updates on Twitter by following @enviance and #EnviroU.

 

March Monthly Poll

It's time again for our monthly poll, where we ask your opinion on a wide range of pressing environmental regulation issues. Our goal is to identify what matters most to you and present your unfiltered opinions on a host of hot button topics.

Springtime is here! And as you're out and about enjoying the first months of sunshine, give this food for thought a try! Get involved and tell us what you think!

Competition Heating Up: Which Schools Have What it Takes to Make it to the “Environmental Eight”?

Two weks ago, Enviance, in partnership with GreenBiz Group and Qualtrics, introduced the “Sustainable 16,” the country’s top environmental universities as determined by an expert panel of judges in the Second Annual Environmental March Madness (#EnviroU) tournament.

Now, these 16 schools are competing to move on to the next round. We have already received many outstanding submissions from students in the form of essays, photos and videos highlighting why their school deserves to be part of the “Environmental Eight.”

Although many schools have already submitted, a few have gone that extra mile that will definitely be recognized the judges. We've received over 100 pictures with one school leading the pack at 28, and another two not far behind. We’ve also received multiple detailed essays from students and faculty at several institutions, and one school already submitted three unique videos.

Submissions are being accepted until next Friday - March 8, so if you’re a member of the student body or faculty at one of the “Sustainable 16” schools, be sure to get involved and encourage your peers to do so as well.

For everyone following the competition, be sure to check back on March 22 to find out who made it to the next round! You can also receive real-time updates on Twitter by following @enviance and #EnviroU.

For details on how to send supporting materials to the judges, please read our FAQs page.