Winter Term Project Helps Small Businesses Go Green     by Sue Angell March 1, 2004 RELATED LINKS Foresight Design Initiative, Inc. Winter Term Office Chun Ouyang '07, John Stevens-Garmon '04, Sarah Benjamin '04, Lyrica Hammann '04, Peter Nicholson '91, Rick Sanford '02 Photo Courtesy Chun Ouyang '07 For Sarah Benjamin '04, business and the environment go hand in hand–in theory, at least. The senior environmental studies major had worried that she wouldn't be able to combine her two interests into a single career. But a winter-term internship with the Chicago-based Foresight Design Initiative, Inc. has changed Benjamin's perspective, giving her a new outlook on life after Oberlin. "The only real contact I've had with environmental issues has been in theory," Benjamin says. "You know, in the classroom or in my research. Working with Foresight Design has given me the opportunity to get out into the field and talk with people about their work." Founded two years ago by alumni Peter Nicholson '91 and Rick Sanford '02, Foresight Design is a nonprofit think tank dedicated to creating a more environmentally, economically, and socially sustainable Chicago through the use of education and design. The organization brings together students, designers, and professionals from a variety of disciplines to foster business environments that incorporate eco-friendly materials, interior design, and worker habits. The group also sponsors monthly networking parties, conferences, awards programs, and overseas tours to raise public awareness of environmentally friendly consumer habits and business practices. " Our objective is simple," says Nicholson, "evolve better. Society, business, the infrastructure of cities–everything in the designed environment–needs to strive to realize a more positive potential. Design is essential to this process, whether we are building a better container for recyclables or creating larger markets for recycled goods. Sustainable design requires a holistic approach, one that cuts across traditional boundaries and considers both large and small factors." Benjamin spent January in Chicago with three other students from Oberlin: Lyrica Hammann '04, Chun (Jason) Ouyang '07, and John Stevens-Garmon '04. As part of the internship, the group researched funding and developed promotional materials for Foresight's Coriolis Network, an intern-run program that will provide eco-assessments for and help improve the interoffice practices of small and medium-sized businesses in the Chicago area. "We've been building on the work that Oberlin interns did last January, so there's a neat feeling of continuity," Hammann says. "Part of our job has involved writing grant proposals and figuring out what needs to happen next in order for us to get the consulting service off the ground." To help them figure out if the system they've developed will work, the interns teamed up with Rebekah Levin '79 at Chicago's Center for Impact Research (CIR), and took the consulting service for a trial run. After conducting an initial eco-assessment of the CIR office, the interns drew up a report that summarized the organization's current practices. They also recommended alternative products, equipment, services, and interoffice practices that would decrease the office's impact on the environment and save money. " Before we start an office assessment, we have to determine if a company already has environmentally friendly practices in place," says Benjamin. "In Bekah's case, she was already recycling and using some recycled office materials, as well as drinking fair-trade coffee. We did suggest, however, that she put in compact fluorescent light bulbs, buy a smaller copier, and insulate a drafty window. We also promised to research alternative cleaning supplies and get back to her with product suggestions." After two years of research and development, the Coriolis Network is set to launch. Nicholson, for his part, has nothing but praise for the Oberlin students who have helped make the project a reality. "The interns have been the impetus behind this project," he says. "Their creativity and intelligence, as well as their ability to band together to solve problems, have really driven us forward."