2024 - Eagles Sustainability Competition
The Eagles Sustainability Competition challenges teams of undergraduate students to propose solutions to a sustainability-related issue on Boston College’s campus. In 2024, BC Dining served as the campus partner, tasking students with addressing food waste on campus. Teams were required to be interdisciplinary, with at least two different academic majors represented, and to present data-driven solutions. University librarians provided a Sustainability Research Guide and led a research session to support students. Final presentations were 15-minute pitches judged by faculty, staff, and alumni. Learn more about the winning teams below.
Winning Teams
First Place: JIC ($1,500)
Team members: Junsoo Chung (Economics & Computer Science), Isyarya Sylbert (Environmental Science & Biology), Carter Frato-Sweeney (Applied Psychology)
Proposal: Eagle Eats Royale, an app that rewards students with points for sustainable food-related behaviors, which can be redeemed for prizes like BC sporting event tickets.
Second Place: Shawstainability ($1,000)
Team members: Michael Tran (Undecided, CSOM), Xander Widener (Political Science), Ashna Potluri (Finance)
Proposal: An AI-powered data collection system using cameras to track food waste trends and inform BC Dining’s decisions on menu items and portion sizes.
Third Place: Braemore Consulting Group ($500)
Team members: Dylan Kim (Computer Science), Oliver Hazard (Finance & Entrepreneurship), Sanghyeok Park (Computer Science & Accounting)
Proposal: A composting-to-fertilizer-to-greenhouse system that promotes a circular food economy by partnering with Ecotone Renewables, a company co-founded by BC alum Elliott Bennett ('21).
Competition Sponsors & Planning Committee
The competition was sponsored by the Schiller Institute for Integrated Science and Society, Carroll School of Management, and Undergraduate Government Boston College (UGBC), and the Winston Center for Leadership and Ethics. The planning committee included:
- Greg Adelsberger, Director, Finance & Operations, Schiller Institute
- Kaley McCarty, Assistant Director, Programs, Schiller Institute
- Josephine Xiong, Associate Director, Undergraduate Program, Carroll School of Management
- Liz Healy, Elleen Kim, and Brooke Adams (UGBC Division of Environmental Sustainability)
University librarians also assisted the competition by leading a research information session and providing a Sustainability Research Guide.