Sustainable Pratt

Who We Are

Sustainable Pratt is a group of faculty, administrators, students and staff of Pratt Institute from a variety of disciplines including art, design, architecture, planning, and science, who have been meeting monthly since October 2005. Sustainable Pratt is dedicated to identifying, interpreting, inspiring, incorporating and instituting ecologically responsible practices into curricula, operations and programs at Pratt Institute. The group meets monthly in various locations on campus.  Location and time are emailed through listserv.  The 2010 - 2011 chairperson is Tetsu Ohara, a faculty member of the Interior Design department. Sustainable Pratt has been supported through the Faculty Development Fund and the Academic Senate, and is an affiliate of the Center of Sustainable Design Studies and Environmental Systems Management.

Mission and Vision

Students from Pratt Institute will work in professions that shape the built environment, influence material culture, and affect everyday life for millions of people far into the future. In response to our growing awareness of issues related to air quality and pollution, health risks from chemicals, fossil fuel depletion and climate change, there is a burgeoning revolution in design innovations. These innovations include carbon-neutral buildings, landscapes that promote water conservation and stormwater management, design for recycling, products with recycled content, fabrication and construction processes that minimize waste and energy consumption and new technologies that are creating ecologically safe materials and products that will transform our collective future. Graduates of art, design and architecture programs should be exposed to the practices associated with this transformation.

Objectives

• To nurture and maintain an informal social network for the sharing of ideas and the development of collaborative projects related to sustainability, both on and off campus
• Through a website, listserv and accessible databases, to provide the Pratt community with information about sustainable initiatives and events on the Pratt campus and in the world at large.
• To produce and coordinate the annual Green Week on campus.