Summary Southwestern University hired a Sustainability Coordinator and embraced a commitment to zero waste on campus. They reached out to DCI to provide them with sustainable zero waste furniture to furnish two of their residence halls. The Oldest University in Texas Southwestern University (SU) is a private liberal arts school in Georgetown, Texas, just north of Austin. Situated on a 780-acre suburban campus with 1,430 undergrads, the school was founded …
DCI Wins $250K USDA Renewable Energy Systems Grant
I live in the lee of Colorado’s storied front range. The Rocky Mountains are an inspiring and imposing companion and a constant reminder that wilderness is never far away. So it’s disconcerting these days, when so much smoke from nearby wildfires fills the air. I can’t even see the foothills that are normally visible from my home. Floods drenching the Gulf Coast, wildfires burning the West Coast. Catastrophic songbird die-offs …
Case Study: UC Berkeley
Summary: UC Berkeley built an award winning state of the art LEED gold residence hall called Martinez Commons. DCI furnished it with sustainable solid hardwood and custom designed bedroom and common room furniture. Case Study: UC Berkeley Project Name: Martinez Commons Project Location: Berkeley, CA Dates: 2013 Project Size: 416 Beds, Single & Double Story Units Building Type: Undergrad Housing Project Team: UC Berkeley, Behnisch Architekten, EHDD Architecture, DCI Product List: Bed, Desk, Rolling Pedestal, Underbed Drawer, Bookcase, …
How Student Wellness & Green Furniture Go Together
How do you manage student wellness in your residence halls? There are a lot of dimensions to wellness. Students these days are under a lot of pressure to perform and compete even before they reach college. Whereas straight A’s and top test scores once guaranteed a spot at the best schools, that’s no longer the case. And once students do start college, they’re expected to rise to higher academic standards …
NYC Sues Oil Industry for Climate Change Damage and Divests Pension Funds
Something amazing happened for the climate last week. The headlines read “NYC Sues Oil Industry!” We’re a climate-friendly company with strong sustainability commitments aimed at reducing our carbon output, so we sat up and took note. The Earth is Heating Up Maybe it even made our heart flutter for a moment. So we’ll jump into that good news in just a moment. But first, let’s just set the scene for …
Case Study: Duke University
Summary: Meeting a detailed design specification, providing local manufacturing, service, and warehousing, and demonstrating a commitment to sustainability leadership were all important factors that went into selecting a company to furnish Duke University dorms. Project Name: Trinity House Location: Durham, North Carolina Size: 270 sets Building Type: Duke University Dorms, Multi-use Residence Hall Team: Duke & DCI Product List: Full Size Bed, Study Desk, Wardrobe, 520 Two-drawer Underbed Storage Units Duke University Duke was founded in 1838 and is consistently …
Why We Power Our Operation with Renewable Biomass Fuel
Sustainability is one of our key priorities here at DCI. Part of our mission as a company is to make sure that our operation has net neutral impact on the biosphere. One key way that we reduce our ecological footprint is by using biomass fuel to power our manufacturing facility. This is what allows us to have a Zero Waste manufacturing plant. But first, what is biomass and why is it sustainable? What …
Looking for Climate Leadership? Look No Further.
In the last year, we’ve seen a lot of extreme weather events. Hurricanes, heat waves, hellish Western wildfires, withering droughts and more. If you’re like me, you might be tempted to attribute these weather events to climate change. But are the number and severity of extreme weather events truly increasing? And is climate change responsible? According to a recent article from Scientific American, the answer is yes. Droughts, wildfires, heat waves, intense …
7 Benefits of Vertical Integration When Buying Sustainable Furniture
I am a big fan of vertical integration. It saves time, money, and it’s great for the environment. But first, you might be wondering, what is vertical integration? You see, DCI is a vertically integrated company. That means that we own every single step in our supply chain. From forest to floor, we manage, own, and control every step in the sourcing, production, and delivery of our sustainable hardwood furniture. …
Want to Empower Your Students? Include Them In Your Purchasing Process
Students are a passionate lot. They’re idealistic too. So it can be a valuable and edifying exercise to include them in your decision-making process as you choose your residence hall furniture. That’s exciting to me. Why? Because at DCI, we’re also passionate and idealistic. We believe it’s possible to craft world-class furniture that’s completely sustainable at the same time. And these days, more schools are using their purchasing power to set an …