By Katie Koenig
Nowadays, we toss the word ‘sustainability’ around a lot without defining exactly what we’re talking about. It’s an incredibly broad term, which I suppose is one of the reasons we use it so often. Still, it can be hard to figure out what sustainability is and how to practice it on a day-to-day level. This interview series will bring forward several voices on campus from among the faculty and staff to see how they’ve integrated it into their work and personal lives.
Introducing Michael Tucker
Michael currently works as the Senior Executive-in-Residence in Marketing Communication at Emerson. His work has especially focused on advertising, with him working in ad agencies and even creating his own agency in the early ‘90s. He transitioned to teaching full time about six years ago, but throughout it all he’s had a long professional relationship with sustainability. At Emerson, he got involved with our sustainability efforts on campus in the past number of years in a more casual capacity, but is excited to work more closely with us in the future.
Back in the ‘80s, he was assigned to his agency team to help promote eco-friendly living strategies to the general public, on behalf of a public utility company who, at the time, was mandated by the government to get their customers to be more energy efficient. At the time, there was very little thought put towards energy efficiency among the general populace, so utility companies outsourced to ad agencies like the one Michael worked for. Utility companies provided various strategies and tools to reduce energy usage for Michael’s agency to advertise.
Work with Emerson
Michael has continued with this focus on sustainable topics in his teaching at Emerson. He currently teaches courses within Marketing Communication on how to come up with creative marketing strategies. He tasks his students to pick a specific company as their hypothetical client for each class assignment. Students choose their own clients since, to Michael, one of the most important parts about writing is to be enthusiastic about the topic. Over the years, he has encouraged them to choose more non-profit clients, since he sees it as important to expose students to that side of the world—as he puts it, “the world of people helping people.”
He expressed to me that he was slightly surprised and rather pleased at how many of his students generally pick clients that fall under the extremely broad ‘sustainability’ umbrella, whether it relates to sustainable clothing and manufacturing, local gifts and crafts stores that only sell sustainable products, and even works of art that use recycled fashion as their art material. By bringing these topics into the classroom, he offers students opportunities to pursue their own personal passions .
For Michael, students’ own willingness to look into sustainable and eco-focused topics is also necessary to naturally build enthusiasm for projects and sustainability in class.
Personal Strategies
Since his work partnering with utility companies in the ‘80s, he has also brought energy efficient and eco-friendly practices into his own life. Getting started with the strategies the utility companies provided him back then, he uses a lot of energy efficient technology in his home. In the ‘80s, it was fluorescent bulbs that could screw into incandescent (meaning more energy intensive) sockets. Now, he and his wife have implemented task lights all over their home. Essentially, they have smaller, more efficient lamps near their work areas so they don’t have to turn on the energy intensive overhead lights. They also reduce their energy consumption by turning off room lighting when they aren’t in the room, and by reducing their hot water consumption.
They also are very involved in free swaps in their community. They recycle as much as possible, and try to buy only things that are recyclable. They’re committed to making sure that they return the world to the younger generation better than they got it. To Michael, “we just do our share wherever we can.”
They spend a lot of time outdoors, too, backpacking and biking. For Michael, rather than seeing sustainability as a series of tasks, his love for the outdoors allows it to be a lifestyle instead.
Suggestions for Students
When I asked him what students could take away from what he does, Michael emphasized his task lighting. Even in the dorms, the overhead lighting takes a lot more energy than smaller lamps at desks during work. Another important activity is to take anything electronic that you want to get rid of and bring them to the IT department for recycling. IT has recycling vendors that take care of all types of electronic recycling. Another strategy is to avoid using batteries, since the process of drawing lithium out of the Earth has a big impact. You can also recycle batteries in the lobbies of every residence hall in the tube containers.
Battery management is also a useful strategy—you don’t have to plug in your devices until they’re low on battery, or you can plug them in overnight when electricity is actually cheaper and greener. That may not be useful to know while living in dorms, but it’s certainly a helpful tip when you move out and start paying for your own utilities. Michael and his wife certainly have reduced their utility costs by a great deal simply by implementing these kinds of behavioral changes.
Michael explained that it’s important to be considerate and kind, and to live more aware that sustainably is a behavioral change more than anything. The way he put it, “the more you care, the more you can find out about these things.” Having empathy and a sense of altruism helps motivate him, since it helps him consider how his behavior will impact the world that future generations will impact.
To him, even just one person changing their habits will have a big impact. Recalling his own college experience, a lot of people took a ton of food in the cafeteria, half of which was often just tossed without being eaten. Every person has an impact. He always keeps in mind, not just for food, that he only wants to take exactly as much as he needs. Living in your own apartment or home, we are now in charge of our own lives that before were once handled by adults. Michael emphasizes that “it’s important that you understand the ramifications” of the actions you now take responsibility for.