Student Climate Convergence
Explore the 2026 presentations and panels
Click, Save, Sustain: Analyzing the Effects of AI
Explore the environmental impacts of artificial intelligence and electronic waste! In this workshop we will highlight how rapid technological advancement contributes to rising energy consumption, resource extraction, and digital waste. As well as examine the lifecycle of electronic devices, the hidden environmental costs of AI systems, and the growing challenges of e-waste disposal. The session encourages critical thinking about sustainable tech practices and inspired actionable steps to reduce environmental harm in an increasingly digital world.
Trash, Recycle, Compost: Getting Campus Waste Right
This presentation provides a student-led initiative aimed at advancing food waste composting on campus. Topics include increasing compost accessibility, optimizing waste management infrastructure, and addressing common challenges such as contamination and low student participation. Participants will gain valuable knowledge on program design, outreach techniques, and data-driven approaches to waste reduction, as well as practical skills to implement and scale similar sustainability initiatives in their own settings.
Trending Now, Trash Tomorrow: Fast Fashion in the Age of Social Media
This workshop will cover how the fast fashion world works, detailing the widespread impacts, including the significant environmental toll. It examines the industry's negative impacts, including environmental harm and the human cost for garment workers facing unsafe conditions and low wages. Additionally, it addresses the psychological impact of social media-driven micro-trends that normalize constant consumption. The workshop concludes with solutions ranging from individual actions such as thrifting and repairing to more analytical approaches like investigating brand ethics and calculating the cost per wear for items.
Climate Action Career Panel
The climate crisis demands that people from all academic disciplines and perspectives come together to forge durable solutions, and every student has the agency to use their career as a vehicle for sustainable change. In this climate action career panel, professionals from a wide range of fields will share their career journeys, industry insights, and advice on entering sustainability-focused roles. Students will have the opportunity to ask questions, discover new career pathways, and network with climate action practitioners.
Growth at a Cost: Environmental Justice in the Inland Empire
The presentation examines environmental justice through air quality and warehouse expansion in the Inland Empire, highlighting how economic growth can disproportionately harm working-class communities and communities of color. It connects these impacts to broader questions about how sustainability is defined, especially when industries labeled “essential” create unequal environmental burdens.
It also considers how education can prepare students to engage critically with these issues, beyond simply entering green or blue industries. An interactive activity encourages participants to reflect on environmental challenges in their own communities and explore meaningful forms of student action, promoting a more holistic view of sustainability that centers equity and public health.
Student Perspective Panel
This panel centers student voices and perspectives on climate change and sustainability, offering a space where young people share their experiences, concerns, and ideas about the environmental challenges shaping their futures. Featuring a diverse group of students from different backgrounds and fields of study, the discussion highlights topics such as climate justice, sustainability efforts on campuses, youth activism, and pathways toward greener careers
