GreenBiz University

GreenBiz University is an extension of the GreenBiz 16 conference, held at Arizona State University’s Tempe campus. Through the Sustainability Solutions Festival’s partnership with GreenBiz, we are able to recruit top-notch speakers in sustainability to engage with the ASU community.

Speakers include Dame Ellen MacArthur, Ari Kobb (director of Sustainability and Green Building Solutions at Siemens), Dr. James Hansen (professor at Columbia University’s Earth Institute), Bob Langert (retired vice president of Sustainability at McDonald’s) and a panel from The Sustainability Consortium.

Presented by: Walton Sustainability Solutions Initiatives, GreenBiz 16 and The Sustainability Consortium

Keynote Address: Dame Ellen MacArthur, Ellen MacArthur Foundation
Noon-1:00 PM, Arizona Room
Dame Ellen MacArthur made yachting history in 2005, when she became the fastest solo sailor to circumnavigate the globe, and she remains the UK’s most successful offshore racer ever. In 2003, she founded the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust to allow young people aged between 8-24 to experience sailing and help them regain their confidence on their way to recovery from cancer, leukemia and other serious illnesses.

She stepped away from professional sailing in 2009 to launch the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. Following four years traveling the world, she became acutely aware of the finite nature of our planet’s resources that our linear economy relies upon. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation has become one of the foremost proponents of the circular economy and recently named ASU one of their Pioneer Universities.

Can Big Food Be Sustainable?
1:00 -2:00 PM, Alumni Lounge
Bob Langert, President, Mainstream Sustainability LLC and Editor at Large, The GreenBiz Group
Sara Beaubien, Director of Sustainability and Stewardship, Tillamook County Creamery Assn.
Jim Hanna, Director of Environmental Affairs, Starbucks Coffee Company
Deborah Hecker, Vice President of Sustainability and CSR, Sodexo

The State of Sustainability in Corporate America and Perspectives on a Career in Sustainability with Ari Kobb
2:00-3:00 PM, Alumni Lounge
Ari Kobb leads the Energy and Sustainability consulting practice within the Siemens Building Technologies Division, where he is responsible for the portfolio of energy and sustainability offerings and manages a team of consultants. He is a LEED Accredited Professional (LEED AP O&M) and was elected to the Board of Directors of the United States Green Building Council – Illinois Chapter in 2012, serving as Board Chair in 2014.

The Sustainability Consortium Panel: Opportunities for Circularity Across Different Consumer Product Sectors
3:15-4:00 PM, Alumni Lounge
Dr. Kevin Dooley, Chief Scientist at The Sustainability Consortium and professor of Supply Chain Management, ASU WP Carey School of Business at Arizona State University
Dr. Chris Helt, Research Manager for the Home and Personal Care Sector Working Group at The Sustainability Consortium
Dr. Lingxuan Liu, Lead Researcher, China at The Sustainability Consortium
Dr. Carole Mars, Senior Research Lead for the Electronics, Home and Personal Care and Toys sectors at The Sustainability Consortium
Dr. Matt Scholz, Research Associate for the General Merchandise Sector Working Group at The Sustainability Consortium

Wrigley Lecture Series with Dr. James Hansen
Climate Change and Energy: How Can Justice Be Achieved for Young People and Nature?
4:30 PM Doors Open, 5:00 Lecture Begins
Turquoise Room
Climate scientist James Hansen was legendary during his long career as NASA’s chief climatologist for being ahead of the curve on seeing the threat of catastrophic climate change. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences for his pioneering work and is widely considered to be the father of global climate change awareness and has become a climate activist. Today, Dr. Hansen is a professor at the Columbia University Earth Institute, and he recently called the December 2015 Paris climate negotiations “one of the greatest frauds in history", arguing that world leaders “only pretended to initiate actions to address climate change.”