The Erb Institute is hosting the first annual conference of the Alliance for Research on Corporate Sustainability (ARCS), the leading forum for academic research in the fast-emerging field of sustainable business. The conference, which includes a keynote address by Dow Chemical Company SVP of Sustainability Neil Hawkins, will take place May 8-9, 2009, at the Ross School of Business on the campus of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Read More (htm)

Using social networking tools, Erb Institute Associate Director, Andy Hoffman reveals the intricate web of relationships that exist between business and environmentalists and suggests ways that these relationships could become even more fruitful in the environmental movement. Shades of Green Read More (pdf)

Congratulations to all Masters Projects Students!
Pictured Team: "The Case for New Transmission in the US: Meeting the Need for Large-Scale Renewable Energy."
Team from left to right: Theo Ludwick, Laura Bruce, Siobhan Doherty, David Cieminis and Faculty Advisor,
Tom Lyon.
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It is widely known that information technology (IT) can contribute to economic performance in a firm. But a new research agenda, developed by the Ross School's Nigel Melville, is exploring ways in which IT also can contribute to environmental performance across the globe. Melville, an assistant professor of business information technology at Ross, is an expert on information technology innovation and organizational performance. He is a special sworn status researcher of the U.S. Census Bureau at the Michigan Research Data Center and has been published in such leading journals as Information Systems Research and MI Quarterly. Read More(htm)

The U.S. dairy industry hopes to cut annual greenhouse gas emissions related to the production of fluid milk by 25% by the year 2020, according to the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy, which represents nearly 70 percent of the dairy supply chain. The center says such a reduction is equivalent to removing 1.25 million cars from the road.
Matthew Welch, the Sustainability Relationship Manager for Dairy Management Inc. and graduating Erb student, is helping them to achieve this goal. Matt focuses primarily on strategy and marketing, especially in the area of sustainable food systems and sustainable development. He brings to his studies over ten years of experience managing his family-run specialty food retail business and consulting for producers of organic, fairly traded coffee and cane sugar as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Peru.Read More (htm)

Other Voices: "China Is Key to Global Climate Solution." by Thomas P. Lyon.
With President Barack Obama and the Leaders of the new Congress on record supporting climate legislation, the U.S. should begin a public debate about what policy to pursue. The political favorite is a "cap-and-trade" system, under which total emissions of greenhouse gases are limited by law and emitters allowed to trade emissions permits. In one version supported by the administration, emitters would acquire the permits in a government-run auction; in another, the government hands them out for free, as has been done in the European Union's Emission Trading System. In both versions, the permits can be traded at market prices after the initial allocation. Such a system, which helped reduce acid rain, uses free-market mechanisms to reduce emissions efficiently. Putting a domestic price on carbon is badly needed. But focusing only on domestic carbon policy misses three critical points. Read More (pdf)

There is a problem brewing within the nation’s business schools that has important implications for business practice generally and issues regarding corporate responsibility more specifically. Let me illustrate by asking you three questions. How often do you read cutting edge research related to corporate responsibility coming from business school professors? When is the last time you read the latest issue of Administrative Science Quarterly, Academy of Management Journal, Management Science or Strategic Management Journal? When is the last time you saw research from these journals spotlighted in the Wall Street Journal or Business Week in the same way you might see research from the New England Journal of Medicine spotlighted in the New York Times or on NBC News? Read More (htm) / Leave a Comment