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How do changing business practices impact our environment? What are the challenges that corporations face when they become fully sensitive to their surroundings within the context of globalization?
While the formal study of "corporate environmentalism" is a relatively new field of endeavor, the implications for our society are enormous. As individuals, companies, organizations and countries become more aware of their role in creating the “global village,” a focused approach to this subject may provide critical insights to help guide corporate policies and stimulate public discussion.
Brandeis addresses corporate environmental issues through courses, symposia, student and faculty research, roundtable discussions and other venues. While these activities are centered at the International Business School, there is a strong interdisciplinary component as well. IBS works closely with the Department of Environmental Studies, as well as the Center for International Development at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management.
Brandeis is fortunate to have the support of the Schulhof Foundation, which provides valuable funding for a wide variety of projects within this area. If you are interested in learning more, please e-mail Michael Appell at IBS.
Please follow the links below for more detailed information on the study of business and the environment at the School.
Symposium on Corporate Environmentalism
On 10 September, the International Business School will hold a symposium on corporate environmentalism, entitled "People, Profit, Planet - Will the New Corporate Environmentalism Change Your Life?".
Human activity threatens every major earth system, from temperature cycles to biodiversity. This symposium explores how industry is grappling with new strategies for joining with governments, financial institutions, environmentalists and our communities to preserve the earth for future generations.
The keynote speaker at the symposium will be Dr. Braden R. Allenby,Vice President at AT & T for Environment, Health and Safety. Panelists will include Barbara Batshalsom, Executive Director of The Green Roundtable, Andrew Brengle, Environmental Research Analyst at KLD Research & Analytics, and Robert L. Hurdle, Vice President at Camp Dresser & McKee. The symposium will be moderated by Professor Laura Goldin of the Environmental Studies program at Brandeis.
Funding for the event has been provided by Dr. Michael P. Schulhof PhD.'70/The Schulhof Foundation. It is sponsored by the International Business School and the Sustainable International Development Program of the Heller Graduate School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University. The symposium will be followed by a reception.
For more information please call 781-736-2298.
Roundtable Discussions
Special round-table discussions are being organized for Schulhof Scholars to give them opportunities for intensive interaction with key faculty members who bring their own rich perspectives on corporate environmentalism. Brandeis IBS is also exploring the possibility of creating these discussion sessions for broader groups of students who may be interested in this subject area.
Schulhof Scholars
IBS names Schulhof Scholars each year to recognize students who show special interest and promise in their study of corporate environmentalism. The Schulhof Foundation is a valuable partner with Brandeis in providing funding for scholarships, programs and research related to this area.
Faculty Research
IBS faculty members Chad Bown and Rachel McCulloch have prepared a chapter for a handbook on the economics of the World Trade Organization. The paper draws together material on the treatment of environmental issues in the WTO and recent economic research related to trade/environment issues.
A key message of the paper is that expanded trade does affect the environment. Thus, one appropriate role of the WTO is to ensure members realize that and act accordingly. In particular, where there is a generally positive relationship between trade and environmental quality, this arises through upgrading of environmental standards at the national or subnational level. This upgrading is not automatic, and there is no basis in theory or practice to support a laissez-faire attitude based on the idea that economic growth and better environmental standards necessarily go hand in hand.
Student Research
One student research project is currently underway. It will focus on tea smallholders living in the buffer zone of the Sinharaja World Heritage Site in Sri Lanka, who are encroaching on the forest reserve and using chemically intensive methods of production, resulting in pollution of local watersheds. The researcher will go to Sri Lanka in July, 2002 to engage in an intensive program of community organization and education. The goal is to work with individuals, companies and the Sinharja Village Trust to develop a transition program for tea producers in the buffer zone, creating a model for corporations to work within environmental guidelines in the Third World.
Courses
During the spring semester, 2002, Professor Adam Jaffe, Chairman of the Brandeis Economics Department, taught a course on Environmental Economics. This survey course covered the economics of natural resources and the environment, with emphasis on analysis of public policy issues. It included the analysis of markets for renewable and non-renewable resources, externalities and market failure, cost-benefit analysis, and the choice of policy instruments for particular environmental problems.
Professor Jaffe is a contributor to a major report, “Climate Change 2001,” prepared by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. He explores barriers, opportunities and market potential for a variety of technologies and practices. In addition, he provides a special graph that he developed to illustrate a conceptual framework for penetration of environmentally sound technologies.
Professor Jaffe also made a presentatation entitled "Environmental Regulation and Competitiveness: An Interpretive Update," to the Environmental Law Institute-Carnegie Mellon University Symposium on Environmental Regulation and Innovation in April 1999 (review a summary of this presentation in PDF format).
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