Bonny Bentzin
Deputy Chief Sustainability Officer, University of California, Los Angeles
As Deputy Chief Sustainability Officer, Bonny is a key member of the leadership team for sustainability at UCLA, helping manage sustainability across the university and working to foster partnerships among academic, research, and operational departments to create a world class living laboratory. Bonny began her career in higher education sustainability as the Assistant Director of the Office of Sustainability Initiatives and the Director of University Sustainability Practices at Arizona State University. She then served as the Director of Sustainability for GreenerU, a greater Boston area consulting firm focusing on the higher-ed sector in New England.
Shifting the Paradigm: Transforming Waste Disposal Systems
Right-sizing and streamlining recycling program infrastructure, while rolling out operational programs is essential in reducing contamination and increasing community engagement.
The University of California set a goal to go Zero Waste. However, very few buildings at UCLA had proper accessibility to compost and recycling receptacles, and it was clear that there was very little source separation.Ê In order to achieve the goal, the campus needed to find a way to capture the organic material generated from the buildings and improve the current infrastructure.
Bonny will speak about culture and communication on the campus as well as major overlaps across the UC sustainability goals. She will provide a larger context of operational challenges in implementing zero waste initiatives and navigating the waters across a large, decentralized institution. In addition, she will touch on the various policies and stakeholders that have influenced the success of zero waste initiative. This session will highlight the complexities and challenges of making institutional changes where many stakeholders are involved.
The session will also focus on outreach efforts and case studies, which are driving factors in the success of campus recycling and zero waste programs. The presentation will include best practices for engagement and operations to create a paradigm shift and to affect culture change to ensure increased community engagement and achieve zero waste goals.
Shifting the Paradigm: Transforming Waste Disposal Systems
Right-sizing and streamlining recycling program infrastructure, while rolling out operational programs is essential in reducing contamination and increasing community engagement.
The University of California set a goal to go Zero Waste. However, very few buildings at UCLA had proper accessibility to compost and recycling receptacles, and it was clear that there was very little source separation.Ê In order to achieve the goal, the campus needed to find a way to capture the organic material generated from the buildings and improve the current infrastructure.
Bonny will speak about culture and communication on the campus as well as major overlaps across the UC sustainability goals. She will provide a larger context of operational challenges in implementing zero waste initiatives and navigating the waters across a large, decentralized institution. In addition, she will touch on the various policies and stakeholders that have influenced the success of zero waste initiative. This session will highlight the complexities and challenges of making institutional changes where many stakeholders are involved.
The session will also focus on outreach efforts and case studies, which are driving factors in the success of campus recycling and zero waste programs. The presentation will include best practices for engagement and operations to create a paradigm shift and to affect culture change to ensure increased community engagement and achieve zero waste goals.