Community Announcements

“Profitability and Social Responsibility: The Debate on Going Green”

A panel and discussion hosted by the Clark University Economics Society

April 21, 2011 from 1:00-3:00 PM

Lurie Executive Conference Room, University Center, Clark University

Moderator: Professor Wayne Gray, Ph.D., Economics Department Chair

Faculty Sponsor: Chang Hong, Ph. D., Assistant Professor of Economics

Our panelists for the debate are:

•  Cameron Carey, President/CEO – Sustainable Energy Solutions, Inc.

•  Mark Myles, Training Program Manager – Toxics Use Reduction Institute (TURI)

•  Will O’Brien, J.D., M.B.A, Visiting Assistant Professor of Management, GSOM

•  Joseph Sarkis, Ph.D., Professor of Operations and Environmental Management, GSOM

The panelists will discuss material regarding a variety of the following questions:

1)       What are the lifetimes of some of the industrial inputs to a sustainable building?

2)       Have you seen specific companies holding back from being more sustainable for any reason?

 3)       For what type of firms is sustainable business a viable option?  Are there specific sectors, business sizes, or company maturity related to the viability of green business?

  1. From your experience, what is the typical initial investment required, given business size, for a company to be green?  Given certain technologies and industrial ecology materials, what would be a typical payback period for a company?
  2. What is your take on ‘clean technology’ versus ‘green technology’?  How do each work symbiotically in the industrial ecology sector?

4)       What is the role of developing countries in the future of ‘going green’?

5)       Does working within a green company create a more healthy company culture?

6)       What policy, rules, and regulations have been recently implemented or are in the process of being implemented in the near future?  How does legislation stimulate or smother future green initiatives?

7)       How can the free market provide incentives for a business to go green?

–          Is there enough information available to the consumer to change consumer preferences such that the free market provides incentives for, or rewards, companies to go green?

8)       Is green possible without government subsidization?  How can a business overcome price differentials of green or clean technologies without government subsidies?