Personal projects, big impacts: 2025 SIRF highlights

SIRF funds sustainability projects across ASU.

The Sustainability Initiatives Revolving Fund helps Sun Devils finance individual projects that highlight sustainability culture and promote on-campus engagement. Here are three standout SIRF projects from this year.

Michael Britton, assistant teaching professor, School of Life Sciences, had a simple idea: Replace disposable dry-erase markers with reusable ones. With support from a SIRF mini grant, Britton purchased AusPens for 23 teaching faculty in the School of Life Sciences. This included six refillable whiteboard markers for each instructor, with ink refills, replacement nibs and reservoirs. Professor Britton and his colleagues will help keep countless disposable markers out of landfills. 

Approximately 150 million dry-erase markers are sold yearly in the U.S., most of which are non-reusable. Professor Britton’s project shows how small changes can have a significant impact. 

Sun Devils joined to celebrate Earth Day Every Day with a Fair Trade event at the ASU California Center in downtown Los Angeles through a SIRF grant and the leadership of Amber Page, senior office coordinator. Students, faculty and staff learned about Fair Trade principles, enjoyed snacks, received Fair Trade product samples and discussed how everyday choices can make a global impact. 

The event sparked meaningful reflections on how small shifts, like choosing Fair Trade goods, can create lasting change. The largest Fair Trade university in the U.S., ASU used the gathering to showcase sustainability in action and help Sun Devils at ASU California Center feel deeply connected to the university’s broader commitment to ethical and sustainable living.

Peter Byck, professor of practice, School of Sustainability, used a SIRF grant to fund two original sustainability-focused documentaries as part of the Sustainable Storytelling course at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Grant funding — which paid for gas, camera equipment, filming permits and hotel reimbursements — supported students in telling impactful sustainability stories by learning from Professor Byck, who has over 20 years of experience in documentary, writing, directing and producing.

The first film, “Seeds of Hope,” by Sydney Lovan, Richard Parker III and Samantha Sanborn, tackles food insecurity in Arizona’s indigenous and low-income communities. The second film, “Power of Sound,” by Orlene Maria Carlos, Carlos Castro and Nicole Kaiser, asks how the world’s soundscape can be used for healing. The Cronkite School screened the films in May 2025. 

Do you have a SIRF idea? Visit the SIRF webpage for more information.