Date: July 9-13, 2012
WHO SHOULD ATTEND
This course is appropriate for professionals from a wide range of industries and sectors who are interested in organizational sustainability. Participants from local, state and federal government, especially those who are engaged in environmental and planning activities, would also benefit from the course.
OVERVIEW
This course will introduce participants to the goals, principles, and practical applications of sustainability. Many organizations, companies, and institutions are increasingly interested in conducting their activities while becoming more sensitive to environmental, social, and other concerns over a longer-term future. Sustainability has many definitions, and includes environmental, social, and economic dimensions. In this course, we will examine the major environmental issues and trends happening in modern society from a scientific and practical perspective, including energy and resource use, pollution, climate change, water, and population. Different definitions of sustainability will be introduced and discussed, and case studies will focus on examining and critiquing sustainability plans from organizations and institutions. The course will present practical skills for participants in the area of integrating sustainability into business practices, operations, policies, and research and development. New research will be presented by faculty working in the area of sustainability science and engineering at MIT.
ABOUT THE PRESENTERS
Noelle E. Selin is an Assistant Professor of Engineering Systems at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, with a joint appointment as Assistant Professor of Atmospheric Chemistry in the Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences. She is also affiliated with the Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change.
Jason Jay is a Lecturer in the MIT Sloan School of Management, teaching three of the core courses for the MIT Sloan Sustainability Certificate, and coordinating the Sloan Sustainability Initiative and its Research Group (SSRG).
David L. Levy received his doctorate from Harvard Business School and is now Chair of the Department of Management and Marketing at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. He teaches courses in international business, strategy, business and climate change, and business and society. He recently founded and is now Director of the Center for Sustainable Enterprise and Regional Competitiveness, whose mission is “to foster a transition to a clean, sustainable, and prosperous economy.”
Sai Ravela studied Computer Vision and Robotics at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst where he earned a doctorate in 2002. As a graduate student, he became interested in Earth’s sustainability, and joined the Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences department as a post-doc, where he continues today as a Principal Research Scientist.
Stacy D. VanDeveer is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of New Hampshire. His research interests include international environmental policymaking and its domestic impacts, the connections between environmental and security issues, and the role of expertise in policy making.
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