People often gravitate towards California because of its landscape and beautiful scenic views supported by amazing beaches. Still, the downside is watching environmental decay in certain parts of the state, once full of lush green spaces. For a myriad of reasons, California green spaces have decreased over the years, and the recent wildfires only aided the rapid decay, burning 40,000 acres of land. Humans play a pivotal role in the decay or restoration of the environment, and with the Olympics coming to Los Angeles in 2028, invested parties are using that moment to showcase how humans can help in the fight against environmental decay.
Due to waste, environmental devastation, carbon emissions, and corporations taking more space, California over the years has taken a major shift as researchers show that 30 percent of California youth lack access to parks, sidewalks, and community centers, and one out of three youth fall short of physical activity guidelines. According to the American Lung Association, more than four in 10 Americans—equivalent to over 137 million people—live in places with unhealthy levels of particle pollution or ozone. This number has grown by almost 12 million in just six years, an indicator that the situation is rapidly worsening.
A 2021 study conducted by the Environmental Defense Fund and George Washington University estimates that exposure to particle pollution led to more than 3,000 deaths and nearly 5,500 new childhood asthma cases across the California Bay Area, while exposure to nitrogen dioxide generated from vehicles killed more than 2,500 people. Overall, however, air pollution is responsible for a much higher number of deaths, which in the state averages 10,000 every year.
One of the parties helping aid the Olympics with spreading the message about environmental restoration is Reyes Coca-Cola, a west coach distributor and bottler of Coca-Cola. As they partner with the Olympics, Reyes Coca-Cola launched its Case Competition, a recycling initiative to reduce waste across Olympic venues, hotels, airports, and fan zones.
The competition winner was a team of business students from Pepperdine Graziadio Business School. Olivia Tran, Christina Lvov, Maria Hernandez, Kaila Crouch, and Michael Hernandez are all MBA candidates pursuing the SEER (Socially, Environmentally, and Ethically Responsible) Business Strategy Certificate.
“It’s clear that there is a growing increase of consumers who care about environmental justice and where products are sourced from. We think it’s important for businesses and team leaders to incorporate sustainability in environmental business initiatives.” The students said in unison when asked about the intersection between their interest in business and environmental restoration.
Besides Crouch, who comes from New York, and Lvov, who’s from Russia, the other students come from various parts of California and have seen the degradation of green spaces and the impact not recycling can cause first-hand. “Sustainability recycling initiatives weren’t prioritized when I was working in the transportation sector for the city of Sacramento, and the city was doing the bare minimum when it came to the restoration of green spaces,” Maria said, explaining her experience working with city officials. “The bare minimum was the company’s mantra. There wasn’t much of an initiative to try and implement something new. So I saw a lot of repeating cycles.”
Once the team learned about the competition, the brainstorming began. “It took a few sessions, and we cross-referenced other sustainability projects that resulted in long-term solutions and eventually came up with two ideas,” Lvov said. “We emphasized projects that can be easily implemented and are feasible. I think we had the general idea of creating something that has never been done in the States.” Maria added.
The two proposals the team brought to the competition were.
Sustainability Booth Recycling Zones: interactive stations where attendees can drop off recyclables, earn rewards, and engage in sustainability education.
Reverse Vending Machines (RVMs): Placed at key locations, these machines allow fans to trade recyclables for Coca-Cola’s +One app rewards, redeemable for exclusive perks.
“We essentially imagine these recycling zones to be like an Olympic experience in itself too,” Tran said, describing the projects. “People would be able to return bottles and cans that they collected in exchange for these points that could be redeemed for merchandise, but also give them the space and time to sit down and learn about what Coca-Cola is doing in the world of sustainability.”
The team plan is to implement these recycle zones throughout the immediate area of Los Angeles during the Olympics, not only to promote Coca-Cola but also to gauge the impact of these zones for further usage in the future. “We also have immersive marketing, like photo zones and social media stations, helping them connect with attendees on a personal level while including other Cola products for brand recognition. Once Coca-Cola sees the impact these zones can have, we hope they continue to use these strategies daily.” Crouch said.
Michael does point out that the difference between both proposals is the manpower required for each. “We consider the recycling zones as an in-venue solution for the Olympics, as they require volunteers to operate the zones efficiently, while RVM is more of a set-it-and-forget-it. We know the Olympics won’t be short on manpower, and we made both plans with that in mind.”
While these plans are still being ironed out and won’t take effect until 2028, the students want people to understand that starting today to restore green spaces nationwide benefits everybody.
“A lot of people do not understand how their actions have a significant impact on our planet, and with these proposals, we can begin educating and implementing long-term solutions that will only benefit us and the planet in the long run,” Crouch said about her hopes for the impact both zones can have. “The health risk caused by environmental decay only enforces why the time to act is now for environmental restoration,” Maria added. “The past 50 years got us here another 50 years, who knows how bad things will be? Reacting instead of preventing is a recipe for disaster and a mistake future generations shouldn’t pay for if we start today.”