“ We want people to actively notice their environment,” Meghna says.“ Every photo and entry adds to global knowledge.”
The seven pillars of sustainability Each host city was required to produce a formal sustainability plan.“ We started by asking – what can we do well with the resources we have?” Meghna explains.“ The challenge was to make each pillar tangible.” That thinking has translated into a wide array of initiatives. A Green Ambassador certification trains North Texas citizens on the principles of sustainability, equipping volunteers to educate others on recycling, biodiversity and climate impacts.
For biodiversity, Dallas has partnered with the Trinity River Audubon Center, a local non-profit, on a nature challenge using the iNaturalist and eBird mobile apps to crowd-source species data.
Benchmarking with data and technology Meghna is a self-described data enthusiast. Her mantra echoes management consultant Peter Drucker’ s famous dictum: what you can’ t measure, you can’ t manage. At UTA, she’ s applied that philosophy through partnerships with Oracle, developing a public sustainability dashboard using Oracle Analytics. The system tracks metrics including energy usage, water consumption, food composting and ride-sharing.“ Technology gives visibility,” she says.“ We’ ve even piloted AI-driven operational intelligence tools at UTA to identify efficiency opportunities – early results show potential 50 % reductions in energy use.”
sustainabilitymag. com
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