Cafeteria Food for Thought

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT’s) Center for Collective Intelligence created Climate CoLab as a place “where people work with experts and each other to create, analyze, and select detailed proposals for what to do about climate change.” Recent Climate CoLab contests asked participants to submit proposals on how to address climate change in several key areas.

The first two winners were reviewed in previous posts, “Creating the Right Climate for Green Learning at MIT” and “Bicycle Parking for a Healthier Planet“. Today, we announce the winner of “Fostering Climate Collaboration in Boulder, CO,” which answers the question, “How can we build community engagement and connectivity around climate change?”

A Greener Cafeteria Lunch

The winning proposal from Kira Davis and Zoë Sigle won in both the Judges’ Choice and Popular Choice categories. The idea behind the proposal is to “drastically reduce GHGs” by promoting monthly Green Commons Luncheons, hosted by one climate conscious institution for other like-minded institutions. The luncheons would promote a plant-based diet while “fostering collaboration on climate research, mitigation, and advocacy,” claim Davis and Sigle.

Sustainability in Practice

The proposal suggests that the food industry could be the next frontier for reducing our carbon footprint. By promoting local plant-based foods, and even creating partnerships with local farmers, these collaborative green lunches would reduce demand for less efficient food sources, such as methane-producing cattle. In essence, this is an opportunity for institutions promoting global sustainability to put into practice what they have preached all along.

Winning the Bigger Contest

This latest Climate CoLab contest winner adds one more piece to the collective puzzle in what MIT hopes will someday be a broader, all-encompassing climate solution. With 130,000 community members who can ultimately submit proposals addressing each climate challenge, Climate CoLab plans to bring the various contest winners together in one, cohesive, global climate solution.

For more about Climate CoLab, including how to join the community, visit the Climate CoLab website.