Green Business at Dominican University of California

Luis Calingo, Dean of the School of Business and Leadership

Luis Calingo, Dean of Dominican’s School of Business and Leadership, has been appointed as the Director of the new Center for Sustainability.  The Center has brought together an extraordinary team of experienced environmental professionals, academics, and students who are committed to pioneering innovative solutions to the complex environmental issues of our time.  A few of the key participants in this new collaborative include: John Stayton, the Dominican Green MBA Program Director; Jane Lorand, senior faculty member for the Green MBA program; Kendall Dunnigan, the Program Director for the new undergraduate degree in Sustainable Communities; Sarah Diefendorf, Executive Director for the Environmental Finance Center for Region IX; Vania Coelho, science faculty, founding member and past Chair of the Greener Dominican Task Force; Sandy Baker, Program Director for the new Sustainable Practices Certificate; and Denise Lucy, Executive Director for the Institute for Leadership Studies.

“The Greener Dominican Task Force is keenly involved in seeking to make Dominican as a campus more sustainable in its business and lifestyle practices.”

- Denise Lucy, Executive Director for the Institute for Leadership Studies, and member of the Greener Dominican Task Force.

A few of the partners currently engaged in collaborative projects for the Center for Sustainability include:

• 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).
  

“A comprehensive, large-scale, and committed approach to solving environmental, health, and economic issues is the  way to make progress. The costs of inaction on environmental issues and the resulting crises should outweigh the temptation to do nothing.”

- Sarah Diefendorf, Executive Director for the Environmental Finance Center for Region IX

“When determining the way ahead for the state, business should be part of the solution. 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.  California’s reputation as a magnet for human resources and ingenuity must be preserved.  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.”

- John Stayton, the Dominican Green MBA Program Director

 

• Sustainability Hub.  This fall 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’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.
• The Torres Martinez Study.  With the help of a grant from US EPA, Ms. Diefendorf and her staff conducted a Green Technology Feasibility Study for the Torres Martinez Reservation.  As part of this study, EFC9 staff evaluated the potential technologies available for converting waste streams (green waste and construction and demolition debris) into economically viable products such as energy, fertilizers and building materials.  Working together with the local Torres Martinez Tribal Council, EFC9 also identified potential funding sources to help implement these projects.  EFC9 staff are hopeful that, in the future, they will be able to help the Torres Martinez Tribe implement these new programs to preserve the land in their community.

Highlighting the strength of its environmental program, in January 2008 Dominican was honored by the San Rafael Chamber of Commerce with an Environmental Leadership Award for our work on campus and in the community in the area of environmental sustainability. The energy and focus of key Dominican faculty, staff, and students has been an important factor in developing and expanding Dominican’s environmental program. With our Center for Sustainability, EFC9, the Green MBA program, the new undergraduate degree program in Sustainable Communities, and the new Sustainable Practices Certificate, Dominican is leading the way in green education in Marin.