With its third annual video contest, Herman Miller Inc., of Zeeland Michigan, asks students “What Makes Your Campus Green?” The company, which manufactures modernist furniture, wants to hear from full-time students at universities across the U. S. and Canada, with the winning entry receiving $2,500 in cash, according to a press release on hermanmiller.com.
The second and third prize winners will receive $1500 and $1000 respectively, according to the release.
Jeff Vredevoogd, director of Herman Miller Education, hopes the video contest encourages students to “have fun, be creative and celebrate their school’s achievements in sustainability,” according to the release.
Contest submissions will be judged based on creativity as well as how the student video deals with the contest’s theme of presenting the campus’s efforts of sustainability and preserving the earth, according to the release.
After Herman Miller, Inc. representatives hand-pick their three favorites, the company intends to hold a public vote to determine the winners, according to the release. Herman Miller, Inc. received full marks from the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Corporate Equality Index for the fifth year in a row in 2011. According to their website, the company has received many prestigious awards for environmental stewardship, trustworthiness and social innovation, according to the release.
As well as being known for progressive business practices, the company invented the office cubicle in 1968 among other modernist furniture standbys, according to the press release.
“Most campuses are involved in efforts to increase their sustainability,” Vredevoogd said in the press release. “We frequently have conversations with leadership on campuses about this topic, and now we want to hear from students.”
The company hopes to research sustainability efforts in higher education as well as encourage students to think about their campus’ green potential in creative and original ways, according to the press release.
To Herman Miller, Inc., the idea of a green campus is broad. “A green campus could include specific programs and initiatives in which students are involved, or it could have a structure that encourages and simplifies individual efforts to be more sustainable, anything demonstrates how their campus is looking out for the Earth,” according to the press release.
The contest’s deadline is April 6 at 5p.m. Videos cannot contain brand logos and must be shorter than three minutes. The company considers school names and mascots brand logos.
Thomas Barnes can be reached at [email protected].
