CupID
makes reusable not optional, but fundamental
The Greater Context:
Habitat Destruction & Climate Change
Climate change refers to increases in global temperatures since the pre-industrial era, due to the presence of heat-trapping gasses in the environment. The effects of climate change include increased storm frequency and intensity, melting icecaps, rising sea-levels, and the polarization of precipitation levels.
These changes both engender and are exacerbated by habitat destruction. Habitat destruction is characterized by the loss of ecosystem services, which themselves are natural processes that provide clean water and air, sources of food and fuel, and a habitable climate in which all types of life can flourish.
Ultimately, as climate change and habitat destruction cyclically interact, previously self-regulatory ecosystems are destabilized. This will only worsen as global temperatures rise.
The IPCC Special Report, Global Warming of 1.5˚C, gives a more in depth analysis of the current state and trajectory of climate change. The report indicates that even if the historic Paris Agreement of 2015 is fully adopted, it will be insufficient in keeping global temperatures from rising 1.5˚C.
The 2015 Millennial Ecosystem Assessment indicates that a majority of ecosystem services are in danger.
If climate change, habitat destruction, and the direct impact of human activity on this processes are taken as facts, the question becomes: How can human impact be decreased?
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Zooming In: The Specific Problem We Are Addressing
On Sciences Po's Campus, affordable beverage options are limited to Crous cafes and vending machines. In other words, on campus, there are no beverage options that do not imply using paper cups or plastic bottles that will be used once and thrown away.
We believe students and faculty members at Sciences Po deserve the option to choose sustainability. What is more, we believe that sustainability should not be an option, but an inescapable, integral part of the infrastructure of our premiere university.
Thus, the question driving our innovation is: How can we reduce usage of single-use plastic water bottles & paper cups sold at vending machines and cafes throughout Sciences Po's campuses?
Holger Preibisch; Managing Director, The German Coffee Association
“Users are aware of environmental problems, and only a minority denies that there is a problem, but single use cups are so convenient that only a quarter of users favor a complete ban. 40% of consumers surveyed even said that they don’t worry about whether a cup is environmentally friendly or not..."
cupID: The Proposed Innovation
To reduce use and disposal of single-use plastic water bottles and single-use paper coffee cups (which are themselves lined with non-biodegradable plastic), and in turn to reduce the impact of Sciences Po on the environment, the obvious solution is the reusable bottle. Presently, many concepts of reusable beverage containers already exist. They are made of glass, plastic, rubber, or even of hollowed-gourd (the latter is usually used to drink mate, an herbal tea popular in Argentina). All of these containers allow hot beverages to be taken on the go.
Ultimately, however, we have observed that reusable bottles are not particularly popular at Sciences Po. Often, they are not used because consumers do not have them, they are inconvenient to carry around, or they are forgotten at home. We aim to change this. We aim to make the reusable bottle an indispensable part of everyday life.
To this end, we propose the cupID a reusable bottle that doubles as a student ID card. This innovation will ensure two outcomes. First, all students will have reusable bottles. Second, given that students will need these bottles to enter the university, they will not forget the bottles at home.
Alongside cupID, we propose institutional changes--explained in detail below--that will further incentivize cupID use among students.
In the long term, we aspire to change students’ habits around single-use plastic bottle and paper cup usage and, in effect, raise awareness so that over time, Sciences Po students do not use single-use cups or bottles to drink anymore.
Why is this problem (& our solution) important?
What is at stake?
In the greater context of habitat destruction and the devastative effects of rising global temperatures, we analyze the French context. Here are some important statistics that give us a sense of what is at stake:
According to the French Association of Health and Environment, approximately 4.73 billion plastic cups are disposed of in France each year. (https://greennews.ie/solutions-to-our-palstic-problem-lessons-from-france/)
According to a the 2019 WWF Report: Stop the Flood of Plastic: How Mediterranean Countries Can Save Their Sea
570,000 tonnes of plastic end up in the Mediterranean yearly, which is "the equivalent of dumping 33,800 plastic bottles into the sea every minute" (http://www.rfi.fr/en/environment/20190607-most-plastic-pollution-mediterranean-comes-france-wwf-report)
Mediterranean countries produce 24M tonnes of plastic waste yearly, and only recycle 22%.
The report can be found here: https://www.wwf.fr/sites/default/files/doc-2019-06/20190607_Rapport_Stoppons_le_torrent_de_plastique_WWF-min.pdf
The French government recently banned all "plastic cups, plates, and cutlery." The ban is to be in effect in 2020. (https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/france-bans-plastic-plates-cutlery)
Why Sciences Po?
Sciences Po is perceived as, and arguably is, one of the best institutions of higher education not only in France, but in Europe and in the world. Sciences Po is seeking to educate the leaders of tomorrow—to enable creative, talented individuals to change the world for the better. Thus, we believe that our university has a responsibility to model this expectation and, today, to be at the forefront of the kinds of changes the university is teaching its students to one day champion.
Presently, this means that Sciences Po should be a leader in the struggle to ameliorate both habitat destruction and climate change.
In all of Sciences Po’s campuses, there are approximately 13,000 students at any given time. Let us assume that each student consumes one bottle of water or one coffee (or other hot beverage) from a campus café or vending machine. This, we at cupID believe, is a very conservative estimate of consumption. It also does not take into account faculty members. Even with such a conservative estimate, we can conclude that 13,000 single use plastic bottles or papers cups are being disposed of on a daily basis. A 2016 WWF Report indicates that 98% of plastic waste in France is collected. Of this 98%, 76% is incinerated or sent to landfills, and only 22% is recycled—“less than in Italy, Spain, Israel and Slovenia.” If these statistics apply to Sciences Po, only 2,860 of the single-use plastic (or paper lined with plastic) beverage containers consumed daily are effectively recycled.
Ultimately, consumption needs to be reduced, and we believe that by implementing the cupID, we can drastically, if not entirely, reduce the impact of the potential 13,000 single-use beverage containers Sciences Po students dispose of each day.
We have chosen to implement our innovation at Sciences Po because, as students, we understand our university community, and we have agency to work with various stakeholders to overcome potential challenges and ensure the effective implementation of cupID.
(waste management statistics & quotation taken from: https://www.euractiv.com/section/energy-environment/news/france-dumps-11200-tonnes-of-plastic-in-the-mediterranean-every-year/)
(estimate of Sciences Po student body taken from: https://www.topuniversities.com/universities/sciences-po/undergrad)
Stakeholder Mapping: A Materiality Analysis
Who are the actors or entities that our innovation will affect? Do these entities pose a challenge, or an opportunity to collaborate and change Sciences Po for the better?
When implementing institutional or organizational change, it is important to recognize the stakeholders involved, and the degree to which each stakeholder will resist or advocate for a given change.
Along the Y-axis is the importance of the cupID innovation to stakeholders.
Along the X-axis is the significance of the impact that each stakeholder could affect.
Needs & Constraints
Needs
To ensure both effective implementation and sustainable maintenance of the cupID innovation, we will need to take into account the following:
1. We need to finance the R&D behind the production of the cupID.
We know that similar reusables exist. However, they are often made of silicone.
cupID could be made of silicone. This would be affordable (options on Amazon range from 10-20 USD), but not ideal, given that silicone is non-biodegradable, and "a hybrid (...) synthetic rubber (...) plastic polymer"--the precise material of which we wish to reduce the use and consumption. (quotation from: https://lifewithoutplastic.com/silicone/)
2. To ensure cupID's widespread use, we need to collaborate with both Sciences Po and CROUS cafes. We propose two institutional changes:
That coffee vending machines be placed strategically throughout campus, so that students can scan their cupID's and obtain a hot beverage without having to wait in lines.
That water bottles are no longer sold in CROUS vending machines. To drink water, students could simply fill up their cupID with water from the tap.
Constraints
The largest challenges that the implementation of cupID in Sciences Po faces are:
Can a biodegradable or recyclable cup be designed and sold for a reasonable price?
Will CROUS and/or Sciences Po resist the implementation of cupID, because doing so implies infrastructural change?
Can cupID be designed to be thin, light, and small enough that the student body will embrace using cupID?
Concept Proposal
Reusable Cup + ID = cupID
cupID: Design Elements
cupID is...
A student ID: All students will use their cupID to gain access to campus, and to campus printers
cupID is...
1. Reusable, recyclable, collapsible, light, dishwasher safe, odour-free, spill proof (top included), & insulated
2. Useful for hot and cold beverages
3. Small enough to fit in pocket or coin purse when closed. (Detailed drawings with dimensions can be found below.)
4. Versatile, offering an option to be clipped to belt buckles or bag straps
cupID is...
Convenient, and contains a chip so that cupID can be scanned at coffee machines to pay for coffee
cupID: Design Challenges
Eco Friendly Material
Our greatest challenge is finding a material that will be light weight, malleable, odor-free, temperature resistant AND recyclable. This challenge implies the need for significant financial resources.
If this material cannot be found or implemented, cupID can be made and sold at an affordable price (10-20 USD before factoring in the price of the chip technology. Also, even if made of silicone, the cup will significantly reduce plastic consumption within Sciences Po's campuses.
Integration of Chip
Integrating chip technology into cupID will imply increased production costs, and will raise cupID's price.
It will also be a challenge to ensure that the heat of a given beverage does not damage the chip. To prevent the chip from exposure to liquids, we plan to embed the chip into the base of the cupID. This, however, could impede the scanning function of the chip, and render it useless.
Furthermore, if CROUS and Sciences Po's administration do not aid us by changing vendor contracts to exclude plastic water bottles, and by redistributing hot-beverage vending machines throughout campus (at which cupIDs can be scanned to obtain drinks), both the cupID and the chip innovation will be hindered.
Size
One of the main appeals of cupID is that it is small enough, when closed, to fit inside a wallet, a coin purse, or a back pocket. As we have seen, a cupID can be made with silicon and be sized 15mm thick when closed. However, to build the cupID at this size constraint using an eco-friendly material is a significant challenge. Ultimately, we aim to achieve this goal, and to that end we are seeing funding. (image from: https://www.amazon.com/EJAYOUNGer-Silicone-Collapsible-Foldable-Expandable/dp/B07SCZCPN5)
cupID: Detailed Projection of Design
Please Click Images To See Full Size
NOTE: Images are representations of cupID, not exact depictions.
Images 2-4 & 9 from: https://www.amazon.com/EJAYOUNGer-Silicone-Collapsible-Foldable-Expandable/dp/B07SCZCPN5
 1. The size of cupIDRadius = 35 mm & Height = 90 mm |  2. cupID_Open CupThis is an outline of what cupID looks like when open. |  3. cupID_Closed Cup TopHere is cupID, collapsed, with the top on and sealed. |
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 4. cupID_Closed Cup BottomHere is cupID, collapsed, viewed from the bottom. NOTE: Though not pictured here, the bottom of cupID will be a circle the same size (R = 35mm) as the top. On this base will be the chip and the printed student ID information, as shown in image 6 of the gallery. |  5. Depiction of ChipThe base of cupID will have a chip similar to those found in Navigo cards and credit cards. The chip will enable users to scan the cupID at coffee machines throughout campus, so as to order and obtain coffee without the use of a paper cup. |  6. cupID_Base with chip & student ID information |
 7. cupID_Top ViewLooking into the open cup. |  8. cupID_Side ViewThis is the side view of cupID. The top is not included, but will connect as in photo 2 of this gallery. |  9. cupID_Projected Thickness When ClosedThe following is achievable with silicon. We hope to achieve this with an eco-friendly, recyclable or biodegradable material. |
Solution & Scope
Why is our solution unique and effective?
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To what degree do we hope to see cupID implemented?
Why is cupID unique?
CupID's dual use as drinking container & student ID makes it an innovation. Our reusable, the cupID, cannot be left at home in the morning by students. It must be used! Furthermore, cupID is a revolution in term of size. Its pocket size is a main asset. We believe that Sciences Po takes an actual step forward for the environment thanks to this innovation.
Why is cupID feasible and effective?
We believe that we will get support from the most advanced institutions concerned by climate change. As aforementioned, the cupID can be made of silicone and still significantly reduce Sciences Po's environmental impact. However, our cupID aims to be, as much as possible, made of eco-friendly, biodegradable or recyclable materials. This will require R&D. Furthermore, the launch of cupID can be accompanied by price incentives at vending machines and CROUS cafes when the cupID is used. Student sensitivity to price incentives will facilitate the transition to cupID's full implementation.
What other solutions exist?
There are many alternatives that attempt to address the problem of waste produced by single use paper and plastic cup disposal (cups made of glass, metal, and silicon already exist, and they all have the disadvantage of their large size). None, we believe, does so as effectively as the cupID.
Primarily, presently existing innovations make paper cups recyclable or biodegradable, or they involve institutional changes that incentivize the use of a reusable beverage container. They do not address the problem of inconvenience surrounding the reusable beverage container (i.e. it is too big to carry around, or it is forgotten at home), which often undermines its use. Ultimately, the combination of the reusable beverage container and the student ID—making the reusable beverage container as essential as one’s phone and keys, and not to be forgotten at home—is quite innovative. We believe that, with the cupID, Sciences Po will lead part of the change toward a sustainable future.
Initiatives similar to the cupID are outlined below. We view these innovators as sources of inspiration and potential collaboration in the moment of cupID’s design and implementation.
This list was not written by the cupID team, but quoted directly from: https://www.greenbiz.com/article/will-one-these-12-visions-replace-todays-throwaway-coffee-cup
Colombier BioBarrier Coating: water-based, recyclable, and makes paper cups recyclable by replacing their plastic lining.
Earth Cup (Sun Chemical, France): Home compostable and recyclable 100 percent paper cup with same barrier performance as plastic-lined cups.
Formed Fiber Solution (Footprint, United States): Biodegradable, compostable and recyclable fiber-based cups.
The Game Changer Cup (Kotkamills: Finland): Plastic free, recyclable and compostable cups with water-based dispersion coating
New Gen BioPBS Coated Cup (PTT MCC Biochem; Thailand): Bio-based heat resistant biopolymer.
Solenis Topscreen: Consumer Board (Solenis; United States, Belgium): Recyclable, compostable biofilm barrier coating.
Sun Chemical Inks and Coatings (Sun Chemical, United States): Recyclable and compostable non-plastic cup liners.
WestRock Circular Cup Solution (WestRock, United States): Recyclable fiber-based cup for hot and cold applications.
Join the Reusable Revolution (CupClub, United Kingdom): Returnable cup ecosystem which replaces the 100 billion single-use cups and lids used globally every year.
ReCup Deposit System (ReCup, Germany): Cup rental returnable at any participating location.
Revolv (Revolv; Indonesia, Hong Kong): Network of reusable cups and bottles.
SoluBlue Biodegradable Cups and Straws (SoluBlue: United Kingdom): Plant-based, food grade, nontoxic biodegradable cups
Scope & Scalability
Initially, we plan to implement the cupid at Sciences Po’s Paris campus. As students there, we will be able to advocate for and facilitate the transition from student ID cards, single-use beverage cups and bottles, and unnecessary waste production, to the cupID!
Ultimately, the key to the cupid innovation is that it is simple, cost-effective, and easy to implement. Thus, it is scalable. We believe that if the cupID can be successful at Sciences Po’s Paris campus, then it can be successful at the rest of Sciences Po’s campuses as well! In the long term, we believe that this innovation could be extended beyond Sciences Po, to other universities and institutions that require the use of an ID card.
Finally, we envision that the cupID could be paired with a mobile application, so that the scanning function of the integrated chip could be changed according to the context one is navigating. Hypothetically, one cupID could be used as a metro card, a student and work ID, and an access card to vending machines. These innovations, of course, would require investment in app development, and institutional collaboration on a broad scale. Thus, they are proposals for the long-term implementation of cupID.
Expected Positive Impacts
No more plastic cups
As our cupID is reusable cup, which can be used for cold AND hot beverages, the campus won't have to dispense plastic and paper cups for vending machines. The campus of Sciences Po will be free of single use cups waste.
No more water bottles
As our cupID comes with a lid, which makes it as convenient as a bottle. It can fit a large amount of liquid, replacing then water bottles. As water is drinkable on campus, students can fill their cupID up either with water or with something else.
No more student ID plastics
Our cupID is combined with each student's ID card which allows everyone owning one to access campus and printers with their cupID. One of our goals is to stop using regular student IDs, reducing then the amount of plastic used by Sciences Po students.
How sustainable is this solution?
The reduction of single use paper and plastic beverage containers is our main goal. However, we also aim to use an entirely made-of-natural-fiber design. We aim to use the least plastic as possible, including silicon and polymer, which would open possibilities for replacing plastics in other products, for example packaging.
A raise in awareness
We hope that our project will impact students in their daily consumption of single use plastics and will then be able to extend their eco-friendly behavior to everywhere else. Once its launch is programmed for the campus of Paris, other campuses are expected to follow.
A leader for change
We hope that our cupID will be adopted by other universities in France and furtherance its utilisation is standardized within Sciences Po. The cupID will be implemented firstly for students, but staff and guests of Sciences Po will also be sensitized, so that they let others know about it.
Major Risks & How We Reduce Them
1. R&D may not be able to lead to the design of a cup that is made of organic materials AND small, collapsible, and heat resistant.
This risk can only be reduced with extensive research. Such research implies the need for potentially extensive funding.
2. Sciences Po & CROUS Cafes resist the institutional and structural changes that the cupID implies.
To reduce this risk, we must form coalitions with student groups focused on sustainability at Sciences Po, as well as with professors and members of Sciences Po's administration who could be instrumental in helping us lobby for the changes that the implementation of the cupID would imply at Sciences Po.
3. Students do not embrace the cupID.
We hope that this risk is minimal, and that, knowing that the cupID would reduce waste production, students will embrace the innovation. Of course, part of our rollout strategy involves a communications campaign to reduce this very risk.
Deployment Strategy
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Major Milestones
Communications campaign to raise awareness among students
Start: Spring Semester Academic Year 2019--2020
Duration: 1 Semester
To raise awareness that our innovation is coming, we will take advantage of a full communications strategy that implies the use of above and below the line media. We propose:
A social media presence to inform the student body of the benefits, the how-to, and the progress of our innovation.
Email Newsletters from Sciences Po regarding the forthcoming innovation
Out of Home Media (e.g. fliers) throughout campus informing students
Offer of a workshop showing how to use the cupID (much like a library resources workshop)
Rollout the cupID & Implement Price Incentive for cupID use--e.g. 50 cent discount on hot beverages--while unsustainable options are still present on campus)
Start: Fall Semester Academic Year 2020--2021
Incoming students given cupID
Enrolled students exchange ID cards for cupIDs.
Old ID cards are recycled.
Change the structure of the CROUS cafes and vending machines
Start: Spring Semester Academic Year 2020-2021
Finalize: Fall Semester Academic Year 2021-2022
Use summer break to change vendor contracts and place new hot beverage vending machines (that do not use plastic, or any, cups) throughout campus.
No plastic water bottles are sold on campus, and students can use cupID to purchase hot beverages without having to wait in line at CROUS cafes.
NOTE: Given the lack of unsustainable options on campus, the price incentive for using the cupID rather than the unsustainable option becomes irrelevant.
Monitor Waste Reduction
Start: Spring Semester 2020 (Same time as cupID rollout)
Monitor:
Number of cups or bottles that were not used or disposed of thanks to the cupID
This implies logistical challenges
It will be hard to monitor water bottle reduction because we cannot always know when a student refills their cupID
AFTER VENDING CONTRACT CHANGES: Number of plastic bottles and paper cups that were not used by Sciences Po simply because they were not purchased.
Monitoring should happen on a monthly or bi-monthly basis. We suggest either the use of a survey to measure efficacy of cupID use among students, or the observation and recording of consumption data at CROUS cafes and campus vending machines.
Reports of annual reduction of waste production owing to cupID usage should also be compiled.
cupID:
A cost/benefit analysis
What does our ROI look like?
Our solution combines a consideration of eco-friendliness with innovation. The Unique Selling Point (USP) lies in a combination of two concepts: a collapsible ’smart’ container, which makes our product easy to carry and practical, & the student ID. cupID creates value for both the organization promoting it and the consumers. Our concept aims to add value while pursuing a reduction in environmental impacts.
Detailed Projection of Financials
Note: Please click images to expand.
We have projected the incurred and avoided costs that cupID implementation would imply for Sciences Po.
It is noteworthy that "France loses €73 million to plastic waste every year." (from: https://www.euractiv.com/section/energy-environment/news/france-dumps-11200-tonnes-of-plastic-in-the-mediterranean-every-year/)
Given that the cupID would reduce plastic bottle and paper-plastic cup waste production, the cupID would surely reduce this 73M Euro figure. We cannot, however, quantify the degree of implied savings at this time.
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Proposed Partnerships & Sponsors
Sciences Po
Our best ally is and stays Sciences Po, because it will be the first place of implementation. The success of cupID depends of Sciences Po's involvement.
The cupID Team
Four Sciences Po students, hoping to make a difference...
Jeremy Kundtz
Roma Drelich
Rayenn Ouaji
Marine Alonso
Questions? Get in Touch!
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