No Impact Experiment / Program
Background
On 22 August 2013 the Asian Development Bank (ADB) held a one-day seminar entitled “Redraw The Line.” Through this communications campaign, ADB, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), and The Media Alliance harnessed the power of broadcasters, the entertainment industry, and social media to raise awareness about climate change—and ultimately get people to change their behaviors to be more sustainable. Part of the initiative included a call to schools and universities present during the event, to join in a project that will help reduce environmental impacts of groups and communities.
The No Impact Project is a project that originated in the United States several years ago, which sought to reduce or eliminate environmental impacts through reduced consumption and the adoption of sustainable alternatives in energy, transportation and manufactured/processed goods—goals shared by the Redraw The Line initiative. The ADB is promoting the No Impact Project since it offers a ready-made successful model for adoption in Asia and the Pacific. They have identified university partners in the three countries and hopes that No Impact Weeks will be organized in their respective communities. They envision to scale this up in the three countries as well as in other countries.
On the road to the Centennial year, the DLSU community has experienced extensive growth. Side by side with the continuously growing student population, the university pursued the renovations of old buildings, construction of new buildings as well as the addition of a new campus as part of its mission of building a “learner-centered research university” that bridges “faith and scholarship in the service of society, especially the poor.” Together with these developments came new initiatives, programs and centers in the area of environment and sustainable development.
The Campus Sustainability Office (CSO) and the Bienvenido N. Santos Creative Writing Center (BNSCWC), in partnership with the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation (OVCRI), conceived of engaging the whole Lasallian Community in having its own No Impact Program.
The idea that DLSU implement a No Impact Program builds on the efforts initiated by the Lasallian Network in the realization of carbon-neutrality as part of the Project Carbon Neutral (PCN) of De La Salle Philippines. For the AY 2010-2011, the university, in its report to DLSP – LIFE, estimated its annual carbon footprint at more than 20M kg*. Since then, it has yet to update its CO2estimates with the addition of new buildings and the STC campus as well as data on CO2footprint mitigation.
On October 21, 2013, the President’s Council approved the DLSU Environmental Sustainability Policy, identifying three key result areas: Education for Sustainable Development, Sustainable “Green” Campuses & Facilities, and Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience. In AY 2015-2016, under the leadership of Br. Raymundo Suplido, FSC, the DLSU vision-mission has been revised to include the “attunement to a sustainable Earth.”
The No Impact Program will provide the opportunity to engage the whole community in taking on the challenge of realizing a carbon neutral footprint.
Purpose
To raise awareness of the DLSU community on changing “brown” habits towards“green” by reducing environmental impactsand providing the opportunity to take actions on professional and personal levels.
Target audience
Students, Faculty, CAP, ASPS, ASF, Administrators, Brothers, Parents and Alumni
Program Phases
| Phase 1: | Awareness-Raising Campaign on the No Impact Project Enlistment and Registration of Volunteers from University Sectors January – March 2014 |
| Phase 2: | Launching of the No Impact Experiment/No Impact Week 24-30 March 2014 |
| Phase 3: | Re-launching of the No Impact Experiment 23-29 March 2015 |
| Phase 4: | Re-launching of the No Impact Experiment 13-19 and 20-26 June 2016 |
*DLSU PCN Report (2010)