Sustainability and Waste Management at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management

UCLA’s Anderson School of Management hosts a large number of events each year,

many of which feature food and beverages. According to the Executive Director of Building

Services, Alexa Danes, Anderson held 6,127 events last year, which ranged from conferences,

academic seminars, alumni gatherings, and workshops. While Anderson is required to comply

with UCLA and UC-wide sustainability policies, the sustainability outcomes vary depending on

how catering is sourced. This project examines the sustainability implications of internal and

external catering practices at Anderson Events, in collaboration with stakeholder Alexa Danes.

Internal UCLA catering services operate within campus sustainability requirements, while

external vendors are not strongly enforced to do so. As a result, these events represent a key gap

between existing sustainability policies and how they are implemented at Anderson. In order to

explore this gap, our team will conduct a series of informational interviews, distribute surveys to

attendees and event planners, and conduct a variety of observation and waste audits during the

events. Based on our findings, we have provided a deliverable in the form of a Green Events

Guide, specifically suited for external businesses catering at Anderson. Therefore, our project

lays the foundation for future sustainable compliance improvements across all events at the

Anderson School of Management.

Stakeholder: Alexa Danes, Executive Director of Building Services at UCLA Anderson School of Management

Team Leads: Isabella De La Rosa and Lucia Metcalfe

Team Members: Emma Sachse, Lian Wang, Lucie Plantevin, Monica McCallin, Preston Lin

Sustainability and Waste Management at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management Final Draft