Final Paper

Final Paper: A Comprehensive Sustainability Argument For this final paper, you are pulling together the aspects of sustainability, LCA, LCCA, triple bottom line and circular economy that we have learned and practiced this quarter. Write a proposal that introduces sustainability concepts and provides a clear path forward to implement sustainability. Your audience is a decision maker or a person who can be influenced using persuasive writing techniques. Your audience is defined by your goal statement. For example, your audience may be the US public or a decision maker at a for-profit company. Perhaps your audience is a US regulatory body. No matter who you define as your audience, you should assume that the audience is intelligent, but uniformed.  Your goal is to 1) inform and 2) persuade. You must also demonstrate research, critical thinking and integrate a minimum of six (6) quality/academic/scholarly/professional resources that directly relate to your proposal and how sustainability concepts can be applied applied effectively in the workplace or in your community. Final paper requirements: Your final proposal paper should be a minimum of 6-8 pages long in APA format (title page, abstract page, and reference pages do not count towards the page count). A minimum of six (6) quality/academic/scholarly/professional resources are also required for this paper. In addition to the Introduction and Conclusion, your report should cover the following main topics: Overview of Sustainability Concepts In this section you should define the key sustainability concepts (i.e. life cycle thinking, life cycle assessment, life cycle cost analysis, triple bottom line, circular economy) that apply to your proposal, using relevant examples and sources. The idea is to inform the reader of the basics and indirectly convince them about the benefits of sustainability before you attempt to propose your more complex solution. Since you will likely be calling your reader to action, you must make your argument strong enough to convince your audience to re-allocate time or resources to implement your proposal. Hint #1: Your previous papers covered many of the sustainability concepts you may choose to use for this section of your paper. You may self- plagiarize some parts of your own work. However, "cut and paste" will likely not allow your proposal to flow well. Some revision will be needed. Hint #2: You MUST describe TBL later in your proposal, so you should define it here in this section.

Sustainability Proposal Your proposal must cover your short term plans in detail and be backed up with credible evidence that the proposal would work. Your audience will not divert time, effort, or resources on a proposal that is not convincing. Be sure to include the following in your proposal:  Goal Statement(s) Make sure the goal statement includes unambiguous statements about the following: 1. The intended application (why do the study?) 2. The reasons for carrying out the study (what will be done with the study in the short term and long term?) 3. The audience (who will care about it? - who are you trying to convince?) 4. What will you do with the results?  Scope Make sure the scope includes: 1. The product or system to be studied 2. The system boundaries - You may wish to limit scope by  focusing on a particular life cycle stage (i.e. material extraction, manufacturing, use or disposition)  limiting the region (i.e. Ellensburg, WA state, USA, North America)  analyzing only one type of input (i.e. energy, $) or output (i.e. CO 2 emissions, $) 3. The functional units  Proposed Data Collection Methods You have conducted quite a bit of research so far in this course. In this section describe the research you have conducted as well as any research you would recommend within your proposal to implement the sustainability initiative you are suggesting. For example, if you are proposing to Amazon to reduce the carbon footprint of one of their data centers, you might use a survey, focus group, or town hall as a method of collecting user or regional perceptions. If you wish, your proposal may build upon previous methods.  Benefit(s) and Trade-Offs When you write about benefits, you should consider your audience very carefully. Nearly everyone thinks about costs in some capacity. Thus, costs as well as the planet (environment) and people (social) should be considered

Final Sustainability Proposal rubric - 100 points Criteria Ratings This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeIntroduction and definition/explanation of key sustainability concepts, including TBL and LCA. 10 to >7.0 pts Excellent: Clearly and accurately introduces a new reader to the purpose of the paper. Clearly and accurately defines and explains TBL and at least two other sustainability concepts referred to in the proposal. 7 to >2.0 pts Satisfactory: Demonstrates a satisfactory/moderate ability to introduce a new reader to the purpose of the paper. Demonstrates a satisfactory/moderate explanation of TBL, LCA and at least one other key concept. Minor problems may exist. 2 to >0 pts Poor: Demonstrates a confused or incomplete understanding of how to introduce a paper and orient a new reader. Demonstrates a confused or incomplete understanding. This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeGoal (Thesis) Statement 10 to >7.0 pts Excellent: The goal is clearly and concisely defined in 1-2 sentences, with more detail in 2nd paragraph. 7 to >2.0 pts Satisfactory: Demonstrates a satisfactory understanding of purpose and audience. Minor problems may exist. 2 to >0 pts Poor: Demonstrates a confused or incomplete understanding of purpose and audience. Unclear and inadequate goal statements. This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeScope 10 to >7.0 pts Excellent: Scope clearly states the product/system that is addressed in the proposal, appropriate system boundaries and functional units 7 to >2.0 pts Satisfactory. Demonstrates a satisfactory understanding of proposal scope. Minor problems may exist. 2 to >0 pts Poor: Demonstrates a confused or incomplete understanding of purpose and scope. Unclear and inadequate scope statements.

Final Sustainability Proposal rubric - 100 points Criteria Ratings This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeProposed data collection methods/Inventory analysis 12 to >9.0 pts Excellent: The proposed data collection methods/inventory analysis adequately discusses the requirements for the proposal, includes the type of data needed, how to validate the data and how it meets goal/scope. 9 to >2.0 pts Satifactory: Satisfactory discussion of data collection methods/ type of inventory analysis required for the proposal, includes type of data, how to validate, how it meets goal/scope. Missing some key aspects. 2 to >0 pts Poor: Demonstrates a confused or incomplete understanding of data collection methods/inventory analysis. This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeBenefits/Trade -offs/Applying results of assessment - TBL for longer term 12 to >9.0 pts Excellent: A clear explanation of benefits, trade-offs and how the assessment results might be effectively used in longer term decision-making. 9 to >2.4 pts Satisfactory: A moderately clear explanation benefits, trade-offs and how the assessment results might be effectively used in longer term decision-making. Some minor problems in explanation. 2.4 to >0 pts Poor: Unclear and incomplete discussion of how the results might be applied This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeConclusion 8 to >6.0 pts Excellent: The conclusion clearly summarized what was presented. 6 to >2.0 pts Satisfactory: The conclusion mostly summarized what was presented. Some minor problems exist. 2 to >0 pts Poor: The conclusion did not clearly summarize what was presented. Reader has difficultly following the logic or other problems exist. This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeAPA Format 10 pts Excellent: Uses APA guidelines accurately and consistently to cite sources and format the paper. No spacing, header or heading errors exist. 6 pts Satisfactory: Uses APA guidelines accurately and consistently to cite sources and format the paper. Some minor problems exist. 0 pts Poor: Does not follow APA guidelines accurately and consistently to cite sources.