Engagement and Outreach

Urban Sustainability in the Congo:

Working in partnership with the University of Lubumbashi, the Center is supporting the development of capacity building for urban sustainability in Lubumbashi, the 12th fastest growing city in the world.

Assisted by GreenMBA students, the Center is working on sustainability initiatives with representatives from NGOs and mining companies active in the area. Currently, copper mining is driving rapid urbanization in Lubumbashi without infrastructure or sustainability planning.

During a recent visit to Lubumbashi, Center representatives Saran Diefendorf, executive director of the EPA-funded Environmental Finance Center, and Green MBA student Lauralee Barbaria (both pictured), met with the  Governor of Katanga State, local community groups and NGOs, and officials from local mining companies to secure funding and begin developing projects focused on a sustainable future for Lubumbashi.

A California Green Plan

With leadership from Sarah Diefendorf and John Stayton, students enrolled in Dominican’s Green MBA program have been busy with a project funded by a grant from the Fred Gellert Family Foundation.

The result of this project is a comprehensive report entitled, "A California Green Plan: Making the Case for Business." This 50 page report finds that overlapping environmental regulations and agencies are hampering the state's business climate. The report credits green planning - a comprehensive and integrated management approach to environmental sustainability - for strengthening the economies of the European Union and other nations.

A California green plan, the Report suggests, would help the state by consolidating functions, leveraging technologies, and creating clear authority and accountability. The report comes as California begins to implement the pioneering Global Warming Solutions Act (AB 32).

Click here to read news stories about the California Green Plan in GreenBiz.com and Britain's Energy Efficency News.

News Release

October 16, 2008
(San Rafael, CA):  A new report, "A California Green Plan: Making the Case for Business," finds that overlapping environmental regulations and agencies are hampering the state's business climate. The 50-page report was produced by Dominican University of California’s School of Business and Leadership with funding from the Fred Gellert Family Foundation,

The report credits green planning—a comprehensive and integrated management approach to environmental sustainability—for strengthening the economies of the European Union and other nations. A California green plan, the report suggests, would help the state by consolidating functions, leveraging technologies, and creating clear authority and accountability.

The report comes as California begins to implement the pioneering Global Warming Solutions Act (AB 32).

“A comprehensive, large-scale, and committed approach to solving environmental, health, and economic issues is the way to make progress,” said Sarah Diefendorf, executive director of the Environmental Finance Center for Environmental Protection Agency Region 9, an advisor on the report.

"The foundation commissioned the report because we want to offer practical and proven ideas to policymakers, businesses, and environmental grant makers to solve the environmental crisis," said Annette Gellert, co-chair of the Fred Gellert Family Foundation, which funded the report. "Other nations have successfully used green planning for more than twenty years. We believe that if California were to learn from and adopt these principles, it would become a model for the U.S. and other nations," she added.

The report states that, like many companies, California has gone through mergers and acquisitions, leadership changes, rightsizing, unprecedented growth and budget constraints. As a result, California’s government has evolved into "silos." This lack of integration limits the effectiveness of the state’s environmental leadership efforts.

For example:

• Four state entities address reducing solid waste in landfills, inhibiting the state’s ability to create a comprehensive waste management program.
• Pollution prevention is split among three separate programs. There is a lack of emphasis on pollution prevention due to single-issue programs. For example, recycling for bottles and cans is housed at the Department of Conservation while recycling for oil, tires, and e-waste resides at the Waste Management Board.
• Two agencies—the Revolving Fund at the California State Water Resources Control Board and the Drinking Water Fund at the Department of Health Sciences—operating separately, seek federal water funding, resulting in federal funding below the national average, despite California’s size.
• California's permitting and licensing processes continue to be a major area of frustration due to complexities, inconsistencies, and long lead times. For example, to open a gas station requires registration, permits, and licenses from nine state departments. A person wanting to open a beauty salon must register or obtain permits and licenses from eight different state entities.
• California does not have a comprehensive regulatory framework for the regulation of chemicals in consumer products and packaging. As a result, interest groups and policy makers have been attempting to take these safety issues one by one.

When determining the way ahead for the state, business should be part of the solution, said John Stayton, executive director of Dominican’s MBA in Sustainable Enterprise (the GreenMBA).

“Businesses bring an understanding of their unique circumstances and familiarity with their stakeholders, and must be at the green planning table from the get-go,” said Stayton.

“California’s reputation as a magnet for human resources and ingenuity must be preserved,” said Stayton. “With a proactive approach to green planning, California will become an even more desirable place to live and work, thus attracting the most talented work force.”

Lauralee Barbaria, and Nancy Roberts, both students in Dominican’s GreenMBA program, co-authored the report.

Dominican's Master of Business Administration in Sustainable Enterprise (GreenMBA) is a graduate business program focused on corporate social responsibility, environmental sustainability, and social justice in a corporate and business context.

The Environmental Finance Center, based at Dominican University, is  supported in part by the EPA, and coordinates the development of Green Business Programs for California, Hawaii, Arizona, and Nevada.

The Fred Gellert Family Foundation, established in 1958 by Fred Gellert, a prominent San Francisco Bay area developer, homebuilder and philanthropist, funds innovative programs that encourage a sustainable quality of life for present and future generations.

View and download the report: http://www.wellnetwork.org/reports.html

Sustainability Hub

In October 2008, the Center was awarded a grant of over $140,000 to implement a project entitled, “San Mateo County Sustainability Hub.”  The Environmental Finance Center for Region IX and Dominican Green MBA students will work together with Earthsite (a company founded by Green MBA graduates) to help develop a web-based toolkit that will serve as a hub for sustainability programs in San Mateo County, and provide information regarding green business resources and model sustainability practices that can be replicated throughout San Mateo County and the greater Bay Area.

Systems Thinking Labs

The Center for Sustainability’s Systemic Thinking Lab provides a regular forum for faculty, students, members of the community and representatives of local government to come together to discuss how to address the complex environmental issues of our time.  This forum is very popular with Dominican MBA students and is also well attended by members of the local community.  The Center has recently expanded the focus of the Systemic Thinking Lab to incorporate the participation of high school juniors and seniors from our community, to work alongside Green MBA students and members of the community.  The goal of this model program is to develop practices and principles to address the issue of climate change as it pertains to business, government, schools and the San Francisco Bay Area community.

Environmental Restoration Programs

Dominican students are involved with a variety of environmental restoration projects such as removal of invasive non-native plant species in national and state parks, beach and hiking trail clean-ups, and educational campaigns to increase awareness of environmental problems.

Students, faculty and staff are given the opportunity to participate in international field courses to increase awareness of global environmental problems and our role in preserving humanity’s natural heritage.