May 2013 Newsletter

Sign up for IGEL’s newsletter »

Latest News:

• New speakers announced for the 2013-2014 IES/IGEL Seminar series! Tom Schneberger, Andrew Winston and more
• New on the Wharton IGEL Blog: Sustainable Brands 2013 – From Revolution to Renaissance

On Our Radar:

• Shell, DOW, Unilever – Working with The Nature Conservancy
• Check out these new Innovation Videos from BASF – The Chemical Company: Ensuring plant health and Helping corn withstand drought
• Take a look at this article on micro-sampling and air pollution
• Dow Delivers 1st Quarter Update on 2015 Sustainability Goals
• Nestle Waters North America Publishes Third Creating Shared Value Report

Other News

Check out these interesting updates from the White House Council on Environmental Quality:

• On Friday, the Department of Energy finalized new energy efficiency standards for microwave ovens. Read Heather Zichal’s blog post highlighting the societal benefits of the microwave oven standard, which reduces carbon emissions and helps consumers save on energy bills. The standard is just one of nearly 40 appliance efficiency standards that the Administration has established since the President took office.
• Bring your attention to an upcoming speech by Agriculture Secretary Vilsack. On Wednesday, June 5th, Secretary Vilsack will discuss his vision for USDA’s work to help American agriculture adapt to modern environmental challenges such as the severe storms, historic drought, devastating floods and resurgence in invasive pests our nation’s farmers, ranchers, and foresters have confronted in recent years. The speech will be given at the National Press Club at 1 PM. Click here to view more information about the event.
• Yesterday, along with Education Secretary Duncan and Acting EPA Administrator Perciasepe, Chair Sutley delivered remarks at the Department of Education’s 2013 Green Ribbon Schools Awards Ceremony in Washington, D.C. honoring this year’s winning schools and districts. The winning schools have worked to reduce their environmental impact and utility bills, create healthy learning environments, and provide effective environmental education that prepares students to succeed in the 21st century economy.
• As part of the Obama Administration’s initiative to reduce energy use, pollution, and waste and save money in Federal operations, Federal agencies released annual updates on Friday that show significant progress toward energy and sustainability goals. These annual performance scorecards benchmark agencies’ progress and help them to target the best opportunities to improve their energy efficiency and reduce costs and waste in their operations moving forward. To view agency scorecards, click here. Learn more about Executive Order 13514 here.
• On Monday, Interior Secretary Jewell announced the approval of three major renewable energy projects in Arizona and Nevada. When built, they are expected to deliver up to 520 megawatts to the electricity grid, enough to power 200,000 homes.
• Finally, last week, as part of the Department of Defense’s Advanced Drop-In Biofuels Production Project, the Department issued $16 million in contracts to biofuel plants to supply fuel for fighter jets and destroyers by 2016.

• Check out the 2013 Plasticity Forum, serving up sustainable, innovative solutions and market opportunities for transforming plastic waste into a valuable resource. Here’s a video and a GreenBiz article on this upcoming event in Hong Kong.
• Check out these new internship opportunities with the EEB Hub!
• Job opportunity with the Erb Institute: Managing Director
• New video: Funding Innovation for Cleaner Cities, Gary Survis
• Check out the pictures from our 2013 IGEL Conference!
• New article from our 2013 IGEL Conference: Serving the Public for Sustainability, by Matthew Brodsky
• What’s ahead for Urban Mobility? Check out the new K@W & IGEL Report and video.
• Are you a student looking for internships for the summer/fall? Check out the Sierra Student Coalition Internship Program.
• New Blog Post: Peeking into Sustainable Paper and Packaging, by Silvia Schmid
• Two job opportunities with GE:
  # 1702139 –  Executive – State Government Affairs & Policy,  # 1701640  - US Government Affairs Fellow. Candidates can apply on-line here.
• Check out this article in preparation for our 2013 IGEL Conference: Water Scarcity ‘Must Be Addressed Urgently’ To Avoid Food Shortages, Nestle CEO Paul Bulcke Says
• Check out the latest posts on the IGEL Blog:
  • Clean Energy Challenges and Opportunities for Investing in Sustainability by Sharon Muli
  • Water: Emerging Risks and Opportunities Summit by Samantha Guidon
  • Five Insights from ACORE’s National Renewable Energy Policy Forum by Candice McLeod
  • Community Engagement through Penn’s Sprouting Athletics Eco-Reps Program by Marissa Rosen
• Penn Professor Jim Hagan will speak about Corporate Sustainability on February 27.
• LEED Green Associate Training at Wharton, February 23.
• Pitch for Impact 2013 Registration: Pitch for Impact is an elevator pitch contest which provides an opportunity to present an idea, business or product that creates social value. With the help of mentors, students interested in social impact and entrepreneurship will have the opportunity to explore ways of developing ideas for social businesses.
• Postdoctoral Research Positions in Risk Management, Decision Making and Insurance (Academic Year 2013-2014)
• Check out these two summer internships at FMC: 1) External Assurance Project and 2) Water Project
• Read the follow-up articles on the Penn Athletics Eco-Reps event IGEL sponsored last week (from the DailyPenn and Penn Athletics websites)
• New blog post: A Business of Sports and Sustainability, by Silvia Schmid
• IGEL welcomes its new Faculty Advisor Sanjay Patnaik,Visiting Lecturer and Senior Fellow, Management Dept at Wharton
• Check out these internship opportunities with Resonate for this summer.
• Listen to the Bank of America sponsored IGEL panel discussion at the 2012 Global Alumni Forum in Jakarta
• EPA Awards United Water for Outstanding Operation of Wastewater Treatment Plan
• Interested in helping out with the Ocean Recovery Alliance while in school? Contact us
• Check out the Student Competitions for this spring semester!
• Wharton’s Huntsman Hall gets its first water bottle filling station!
• Enterprise Institute Explores Potential of Algae-Based Fuels.
• In Memory of Fred Scatena: IGEL commemorates Professor Fred Scatena, friend and mentor
• How SAP’s sustainability program got built: GreenBiz’s interview with SAP’s Peter Graf.
• Check out this PhD Scholarship in Sustainable Construction at the Copenhagen Business School’s Center for Corporate Social Responsibility
• Entrepreneurs: Check out the CleanTech Challenge business plan competition with a £10,000 cash prize, jointly hosted by the London Business School and University College London, UK.
• Producing energy but recognizing the nexus stresses: check out the new article “Can Shell’s ‘stress nexus’ change the conversation about natural resources?”
• IGEL Faculty member Noam Lior, Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics, is elected to the prestigious Club of Rome for its work on sustainable development.
• Bank of America Merrill Lynch Named Most Innovative Investment Bank for Climate Change and Sustainability by The Banker Magazine.
• New Knowledge@Wharton article covering IGEL’s panel in Jakarta, Indonesia, and IGEL’s wH2O.
• Check out Bank of America’s Global Environmental Group Q3 2012 Update and their new website pages on CSR.
• BASF explores the BRE Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) and its eco-efficiency lifecycle approach to sustainable building in a seminar in Toronto, Canada.
• Interested in managing an academic journal on gender and sanitation? Check out this job opportunity with wH20!
• IGEL’s Huntsman Hall finished 3rd in the University of Pennsylvania’s Power Down Challenge! Check out all the results and details from the University’s initiative to reduce electricity consumption.
• The Nature Conservancy is hiring a Lead Scientist (MGR). Check out the job description for this opportunity.
• IGEL Fellow Bernard David writes on natural disasters and future development for the Huffington Post.
• Penn graduate student Iliana Sepúlveda presented on Energy Subsidies at the World Resources Forum in Beijing.
• Check out the  new Fall 2012 Wharton Magazine issue, which devotes a section to Sustainable Food.
• Out of Eden: A Journalist Gone Rogue. Two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Paul Salopek will discuss his upcoming seven-year walk around the world on November 8th. Register here.
• Penn IUR is hosting this year’s Penn GIS Day, on November 14.
• New course offered in Spring 2013: Environmental Management LGST 215/815, co-taught by Gary Survis and Charles Howland.
• Penn IUR presents Community and Education Challenges in Philadelphia: Research and Reform, on November 5th.
• Professor Susan S. Silbey presents on “Governing Inside the Organization: Interpreting Regulation and Compliance” in the next Risk Regulation Seminar on October 23 (IGEL is a sponsor).
• Mark your calendar for the School of Design’s Architecture and Energy Conference, January 25th, 2013.
• Interested in a faculty position in Business Law and Business Ethics? Learn more about current opportunities.
• Save the date for IGEL’s Sixth Annual Conference-Workshop on “The Nexus of Energy, Food, and Water”.
• Next Philadelphia Global Water Initiative Conference “Gender & Water: Innovating Global Change” to be hosted in collaboration with IGEL on April 9th, 2013.
• Jon Freedman and Francesca McCann to present on the Future of Water at the IES/IGEL seminar on November 7th.
• Jim Montavalli discusses the Electric Vehicle Ecosystem Pilot Project in an article on the New York Times’ Wheels Blog.
• CBS Philly writes a piece on two MES students’ experience in the Wharton Antarctica Leadership Venture. The students were able to participate in this initiative thanks to IGEL.
• Professor Noam Lior willpresent on Sustainable Energy Development at the upcoming IES/IGEL seminar.
• New opportunities for research in global water and sanitation, including up to $3,000 in funds. Learn more about this initiative and submit your proposal by September 30th.
• New course this fall: Energy And Its Impacts: Technology, Ecology, Economics, Sustainability (EAS 401/501).
• The sports industry is getter greener, says Allen Hershkowitz in a new article for the Huffington Post.
• Bank of America announces $50 billion for environmental business initiatives. Read the press release for more details.
• Goldman Sachs sets $40 billion finacing and investing goal for clean technology companies over the next decade. Watch the video annoucing and explaining the initiative.
• Vice President Boediono invites Wharton alumni, students and faculty to share knowledge with Indonesia. Learn more about the Jakarta Globe’s coverage  of the Wharton Global Alumni Forum.
• Wharton Magazine releases a video from IGEL’s Greening the Supply Chain conference.
• Dow and The Nature Conservancy announce a pilot site in Brazil to use waste biomass and sugarcane to produce new biopolymers. Learn more about this collaboration by reading thre press release.
• New IGEL and Knowledge@Wharton report on Greening the Supply Chain available!
• Are you an entrepeneur with a water and technology idea? On October 26 in Philadelphia, there’s a funding match event.
• IGEL 5th Annual Conference-Workshop on Greening the Supply Chain: Best Business Practices and Future Trends. Press, blog posts, report and pictur for the event are available.
• Banyan Water Field Application Project class at Wharton presents its findings. This project made possible through IGEL funding. View the project’s presentation.
• IGEL Report on eco-labeling, certification and deforestation now available. Report made possible through a Wharton Global Initiatives Grant. Read the full report.

Newsletter

IGEL News Fall 2012
IGEL News Winter 2011
IGEL Fall Newsletter 2011