Members of Syracuse University’s chapter of Students in Free Enterprise installed eco-friendly materials at Funk N’ Waffles Saturday as part of an effort to improve the café’s environmentalism.

SIFE won a grant from the Sam’s Club Initiative to fund the installation. The students controlled each step of helping Funk N’ Waffles implement sustainable practices, said Olga Litvinenko, the project leader and an undeclared sophomore in the Martin J. Whitman School of Management. They did everything from researching where to buy materials to learning about different types of products and the best ways to become sustainable.

‘Funk N’ Waffles was a great business to work with because they are in a very popular location and because the food business has a lot of opportunities to become more eco-friendly,’ Litvinenko said.

This initiative is sponsored by Sam’s Club to help small local businesses become more environmentally friendly. It is open to every SIFE club in the United States.

After doing the research and preliminary work, Litvinenko and her team of 10 other SIFE members went to Funk N’ Waffles Saturday morning to install fiberglass in the café windows. The group worked with Energy Savers, Inc. to install the fiberglass in order to significantly decrease cooling and heating costs, Litvinenko said.

In addition to installing the fiberglass, the students have also helped Funk ‘n Waffles implement other sustainable practices. So far, they have switched the lighting to fluorescent light bulbs and placed new trash bins in the restaurant that separate garbage and recyclables.

The club is also in the process of helping Funk ‘n Waffles inexpensively recycle their used water bottles, Litvinenko said.

‘This project has definitely taught us all the different considerations one needs to make before making a decision within a business and about the exciting possibilities of entrepreneurship,’ she said. ‘It can get very difficult figuring out the best prices for certain items and how to work within a limit of space, but it’s still possible.’

The team also has to submit a video of their work to Sam’s Club Initiative, said Dan Kinney, current president of SU’s SIFE club.

The SU SIFE team heard about this initiative last year and thought it was a great cause, which led to their participation in the Sam’s Club Initiative this year, Kinney said.

‘We not only think our team’s efforts will contribute to making businesses more environmentally friendly, but also as a respected SIFE team we might encourage other SIFE teams to participate in the challenge in the future,’ he said.

The SIFE members are now able to use the green practices they learned for this project in their own lives, Kinney said.

‘I hope that the members of the initiative think about ways that they can become more environmentally friendly themselves,’ he said. ‘Even if it is just using more efficient light bulbs or making recycling a habit.’

ertocci@syr.edu

Published on March 2, 2010 at 12:00 pm