Students Showcase Campus Sustainability Initiatives at Annual Symposium

When Hailey Demars walks past Stanford’s sweeping lawns and gardens, she sees more than just greenery—she sees a pilot project she helped bring to life. A junior studying data science and a Living Lab Fellow, Demars has been implementing organic landscape management practices on campus. “One of my ultimate goals is to work in change management,” she said. “Having a pilot that I helped design and implement has given me a lot of experience in communication, design, and data management.”

On Thursday, June 5, Demars was one of 38 students who presented their work at Vidalakis Dining to over 70 attendees as part of the Sustainable Stanford Living Lab Program. The program offers undergraduate and graduate students the chance to lead complex, cross-disciplinary projects aligned with Stanford’s sustainability and operational goals, gaining hands-on experience in implementing campus-wide initiatives.

The showcased projects reflected the wide range of sustainability challenges being addressed at Stanford—from food systems to building practices. One project focused on “Advancing Climate-Smart Dining through University-Wide Best Practices for Stanford Cafes,” while another tackled “Reducing Embodied Carbon in Stanford Construction Projects.”

For PhD student Giulia Scagliotti, the Fellowship offered a chance to connect her research to real-world impact. Studying Sustainable Design and Construction, Scagliotti has been investigating embodied carbon in building materials. “Stanford is actually very progressive in trying to assess embodied carbon. This is rare in our industry,” she explained. Her campus-based case study is now serving as a validation for a paper she is writing for an academic conference.

The Symposium highlighted not just the breadth of sustainability work on campus, but the ways in which students are leading innovation with purpose and impact.