USD Magazine Fall 2010

touch

by Mi ke Sauer

i l l u s t r a t i on s by Cou rt ne y Ma y e r

“Whoa! … you’re not going to throw that whole coffee cup in the recycling bin, are you?” USD Director of Sustainability Michael Catanzaro is doing a pretty serviceable impersonation of an exasperated third-grade teacher; his folded arms and furrowed brow make for an intimidating mix of incredulity and indignation. But he can’t keep the ruse up for long. The rebuke is promptly mitigated by a Cheshire cat-grin, followed by a detailed explanation of which parts of the cup are actually recyclable, and why. It’s not the first time Catanzaro has had to provide an on-site introduction into the do’s and don’ts of enviro-friendly waste disposal, and it won’t be the last. Still, he’s buoyed by the notice- able change he’s seeing in the university’s attitude and culture. “People really are starting to get it,” he says. “I think we’re in the process of making some really positive and measurable contri- butions to the idea of sustainability.” One of this decade’s defining buzzwords, “sustainability” has morphed into an umbrella term that means different things to different people. Catanzaro breaks down USD’s approach to becoming leaner and greener in easily understood language: “It’s a term that has a lot of potentially different connotations, but our approach to sustainability is simple,” he explains. “It has three pillars: social, environmental and economic. We’re looking to incorporate all three pillars into a comprehensive plan that will make USD a model for other universities to follow. “We’ve made measurable strides in a short period of time from an environmental and economic standpoint, but, really, I think the social component of sustainability is where we’ll find our niche as a university.” So what, exactly, is social sustainability? A Google search yields more than 10.9 million results, many of which offer multiple interpretations that confuse more than they clarify. Wikipedia

FALL 2010 17