About Us

Our Mission

Here at ESW Cornell, we aim to forge innovative, lasting solutions to local and global sustainability challenges.

ESW Global's mission and vision state:

"We strive to empower students and professionals to tackle sustainability challenges. We work towards a sustainable world supported by a network of passionate engineers. Our goals are as follows:

1. Design and implement hands-on sustainability projects across the globe.

2. Educate students and practicing engineers on sustainability best practices.

3. Unite those passionate about sustainability in a productive international network.

Projects

Members of ESW participate in projects belonging to one of three major teams: Resource, Renewal, & Outreach (RRO); Renewable Energy Solutions (RES); and Carbon Neutrality (CN). Each team is comprised of multiple sub-teams, which allows every member to get real design, building, and communication experience. In doing so, we not only hope to create positive community impacts, but provide our team members with the skills necessary for future careers in sustainability and engineering. We are always open to new ideas for projects, so if you have an idea, let us know and we will try to make it happen!

Education

Every semester we hold a speaker series that brings in professors and industry experts from the Ithaca community to educate us about sustainable initiatives in the area. These talks are open to the public so that we can educate the greater population about the work that needs to be done to create a lasting community. We also do tours of the Ithaca area to highlight the local sustainable practices as well as learn about different types of sustainability.

Outreach

Each year, members take their projects overseas. Solar Cookers and HPEG teams travel to Nicaragua to work with Grupo Fenix, an organization at the Universidad Nacional de Ingeneria in Managua, Nicaragua, and Las Mujeres Solares de Totogalpa, a women's collective in Sabana Grande, Nicaragua. Grupo Fenix works in rural areas to develop, implement, and publicize renewable, sustainable solutions to energy needs in rural Nicaragua. Las Mujeres Solares de Totogalpa has worked with Grupo Fenix to build and use solar cookers and dryers to open a Solar Restaurant.