FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Sustainability is one of the 21^st century’s biggest business opportunities, University of Arkansas officials believe. Discovering and implementing strategies for conservation and reuse of resources requires collaboration among many entities. That is why the University of Arkansas has established the Applied Sustainability Center, funded by a $1.5 million gift from the Wal-Mart Foundation Inc.

The Applied Sustainability Center, which is an interdisciplinary initiative of the Sam M. Walton College of Business, will work with a wide range of partners for the rapid development of sustainable business practices and to promote their application across the retail and consumer goods industries.

“Being a sustainable university means that as we educate new generations of leaders, conduct research that makes our lives better and reach out to the communities of Arkansas, we do not compromise future generations,” said Chancellor John A. White. “The new Applied Sustainability Center allows us to maintain a commitment to the environment and also to assist others in their goals of becoming more sustainable. I am thankful to the Wal-Mart Foundation for their generous support of this critical initiative.”

“We are very excited to be collaborating with multiple businesses, nongovernmental organizations, universities and other interested parties on this initiative,” said Dan Worrell, dean of the Walton College. “The center basically is an umbrella organization and a clearinghouse for ideas. We hope to help businesses incorporate sustainability into best practices that will increase long-term profitability and at the same time benefit society.”

Jon Johnson

Jon Johnson, Walton College professor of management, has been working on the formation of the center for the past year and is serving as the center’s executive director. The University of Arkansas Board of Trustees approved the creation of the Applied Sustainability Center in February 2007.

“This gift from the Wal-Mart Foundation will enable us to create an information hub and a network of experts to support the corporate community in their efforts to become more sustainable,” he said.

Johnson is a long-standing environmentalist and has been active in such organizations as the Ozark Natural Science Center.

“Capitalizing on this opportunity is not trivial,” added Johnson. “Sustainability can only be realized when managers understand the nature of the challenges and opportunities, and have the tools and ways to move on them.”

Michele Halsell

Michele Halsell, previously an assistant dean of the Graduate School of Business, is serving as managing director of the center. “Our mission is to make the business case for sustainability,” she said. “It is not simply good for the environment; it is good for business. The center can also help environmentalists working with business and industry to improve the natural environment.”

In the first year, the center plans to conduct two innovation projects. One will focus on reducing the embodied fossil fuel content of products and will involve leading experts in carbon reduction.

The second is a sustainable food and agriculture project, in which the center will collaborate with the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences. This project will involve holding working sessions with leading experts in the use and research of sustainable agriculture to identify key sustainability factors in 21^st century agriculture in the United States.

In addition, the Applied Sustainability Center will play a major role in education through a speaker series. The objective is to expose the business community in northwest Arkansas, students and faculty to a wide array of national thought leaders on sustainability theory.

As part of the education process, the center also will develop pilot training modules for Wal-Mart buyers, suppliers and other key decision makers on specific sustainability issues. The modules will be designed to be applicable to any kind of business and customizable to specific businesses.

“During the first year, a strategic plan will be created to position the center as a world leader in infusing sustainability into mainstream business practices,” said Johnson. “We hope to expand the center to include additional corporate sponsors in order to expand our capacity.”

“There are many steps on the road to sustainability, but each of us can take the first steps in our own lives and encourage the people around us to join in,” he added. “The move toward sustainability means reducing nonrenewable energy and natural resources such as coal, oil and gas. When people use nonrecyclable materials in their day-to-day activities, those materials become a continuous waste stream. Finding sustainable products and services that the world finds useful to increasing a standard of living is the only sustainable way to address and reduce the use of nonrenewables.” 

For archived stories about the University of Arkansas sustainability efforts, go to the university’s Web site at http://sustainability.uark.edu/