Pitt Green Spotlight: Big Idea Center (February 2024)

The Pitt Green Spotlight is a monthly series highlighting Pitt’s Green Offices & Labs! Each post highlights Pitt Green Offices and/or Labs, sharing their experiences implementing sustainable practices, tips and tricks, lessons learned, and opportunities for more sustainable work at Pitt.

We hope these Pitt Green Offices & Labs will inspire you to try out new sustainable practices in your own workspace! Want to be included in our next highlight? Contact us.

Pitt Green Office Spotlight:

Big Idea Center, Loeffler Building, 3601 Forbes Avenue

Pitt Green Office Lead: Ryan Skelton

Pitt Green Office since June 2023

Ryan Skelton joined the team at the Big Idea Center in September 2023, and was tasked by Big Idea Center Jess Malandro (BIC Manager for Student Programs & Operations) with figuring out ways for the Center to operate more sustainably. In just 5 months, the Big Idea Center has grown from a Seed to Sustainable Oak Pitt Green Office! 

For Ryan, the task matched his own interests in operating a space with “Mottainai”, a Japanese phrase and principle not to waste what is valuable. While teaching and living in Japan for 5 years, Ryan saw this principle play out in many ways, including in his own neighborhood, where each week one neighbor was tasked with ensuring the collective trash was not contaminated by removing and placing tags on contaminated bags to notify neighbors of the error. Caring for the environment and making the most of available resources is a big part of Japanese culture, and this individual responsibility for the collective good stuck with Ryan as he set out to make the Big Idea Center more sustainable. 

 Just like in Japan, the sustainable initiatives in the Big Idea Center, such as K-cup recycling and reviving their single-stream recycling program, require everyone to pitch in (literally!). It was very important for Ryan to get to know the staff of the Big Idea Center and Saxby’s, the student-run coffee shop that operates out of the same building, and learn about their passions and interests. This helped him to identify team members to take the lead on different aspects of their sustainability efforts, such as student staff member Chaviva, who is helping Ryan with care of their office plant “Keanu Leaves”, named through a social media campaign.

Ryan recommends that anyone starting their own Green Office initiatives begin by getting to know their teammates better. In so doing, you’ll find fellow champions and build the trust, mutual accountability, and collaborative spirit needed for these collective efforts to succeed- and gain friends along the way!

Learning more about your colleagues can illuminate unique opportunities to lean on your colleague’s skills and strengths to solve problems and overcome challenges. For instance, Ryan has identified reducing contamination in single-stream recycling as a challenge in their space- the existing signage doesn’t seem to capture the attention of everyone passing through the Big Idea Center. To address this challenge, Ryan is considering working with the Big Idea Center’s artistic student staff to create eye-catching visuals to draw attention to proper recycling.

What’s next for the Big Idea Center? As the Center hosts many competitions, events, and pitch sessions year-round, greening up these events with sustainable catering and waste reduction is a great opportunity to increase not only the Center’s operational sustainability, as well as visibility and engagement with these practices among their attendees. Becoming a certified Green Host is a great first step to learn about the sustainable event planning options available at Pitt, and to connect you with campus resources such as Pitt Catering Co. and the Pitt Green Team. 

Learn more about the Big Idea Center’s ongoing and upcoming programs, including the Start Smart Legal Series and Big Idea Competition, where many a sustainability-focused student startups have begun (apply by February 11).

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Thanks to Ryan and the Big Idea Center for sharing their sustainability story, and for all their efforts!