To discover how to sustainably meet the global demand for energy, the Fuqua School of Business launched the Center for Energy, Development and the Global Environment Monday.
EDGE, which is described as “an educational, research and outreach initiative,” will prepare businesses to meet the global demand for energy, resources and improved quality of life, according to a Duke news release.
The initiative will be directed by Rick Larrick, William and Sue Gross Research Fellow at Fuqua. Daniel Vermeer, former director of the Corporate Sustainability Initiative at the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, will serve as the executive director of EDGE.
“Business sustainability has evolved from a regulatory or ethical concern to a central strategic priority for many firms,” Vermeer said in the news release. “The risks associated with environmental and social issues are increasingly material, but so are the opportunities to capture savings, drive innovation and create new markets by taking sustainability seriously.”
EDGE will host many events in upcoming weeks, with its first event Sept. 17 titled “Capturing the Energy Efficiency Opportunity.” The event should include 60 MBA students and representatives from 30 companies to establish strategies for pursuing profitable opportunities to decrease energy use and carbon emissions, according to the news release.
The keynote speakers at the event will be Michael Lamach, CEO of Ingersall Rand, and Peter Senge, director of the Center for Organizational Learning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Management.
Future events also include a Houston Hydrocarbons trip and a Duke Sustainable Business and Social Impact Conference and Career Fair. The Nov. 4 event “Energy for Tomorrow” will include industry leaders from TIME, Fortune and Shell.
Duke is an ideal university to address issues such as the “global dynamics of energy, natural resources, development and environment” because of its interdisciplinary focus and global campuses, according to the EDGE website.
This story has been corrected to reflect that the Corporate Sustainability Initiative is a Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions program and that Daniel Vermeer formerly served as director of this program. The original story incorrectly reported that the initiative was part of the Fuqua School of Business and that Vermeer was still the program's director.
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