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Tippie MBA Net Impact Chapter wins award for green roof design

Net Impact members talk about their business case for a green roof on the University of Iowa campus.

May 03, 2010

The Tippie College of Business MBA Net Impact Chapter recently won a Special Recognition Award for Marketing from the xpedx Greening Campus Challenge 2012 for a  plan and oversee the design, construction, opening, and promotion of a green roof at the State Hygienic Laboratory on campus.

Consulting experts in and outside the university, the team collected information about the necessary investment, ideas for financing, and information on potential energy savings. The team then developed a creative social media campaign to promote the roof during its construction and opening phases to involve the university community.

The team leader, MBA candidate Luca Di Palo says this was an opportunity to use the teams's  business skills and build a case that a green roof would be a smart investment. Over the next three months, members of the team spent many hours crunching numbers, visiting local green roofs, speaking with experts in the field, and building a marketing campaign. The team was selected as a finalist out of 27 other MBA programs and won $500 for their business case. They are still actively working with leaders of the University of Iowa to build what would be the first green roof on the campus.

Sponsoted by the national Net Imapct organization, the xpedx Greening Campus Challenge encouraged students to developing and implementing a Campus Greening initiative at your school. It had three goals:

1) Promote adoption of initiatives that lower the environmental impact of campuses across the United States.

2) Challenge students to campaign for change to their campuses’ by educating and engaging both facilities managers and fellow students.

3) Give students the opportunity to build professional skills and experiences.

Read more about the plan on this blog from team member and Tippie Net Impact presdent Kyle Bogler.