CENTER FOR GLOBAL LEADERSHIP IN SUSTAINABILITY
Click here to visit the home website for the Center for Global Leadership in Sustainability !
One aspect of the mission of the PSU School of Business is to “serve the social and economic vitality of the region.” With the increasing drive to create a ‘green’ and socially responsible economy in our region, the School of Business created the Center for Global Leadership in Sustainability (CGLS). CGLS is a central source within our region for discovery and knowledge-sharing for furthering the creation of an economy based on social and environmental sustainability.
The “Definitions”
What is Design? The combination of creativity and functionality.
What is Design for Sustainability? The combination of creativity and functionality that responds to changing societal values and increasing environmental pressures.
Why Design for Sustainability? Design is the primary determinant of the social, environmental and financial impact of products, services, processes and business models.
What is Innovation? The fostering and commercialization of novel ideas, technologies, processes and business models.
What is Innovation for Sustainability? The fostering and commercialization of new ideas, technologies, processes and business models that respond to changing societal values and increasing environmental pressures.
Why Innovation for Sustainability? Response to changing societal values and increasing environmental pressures requires development of new materials, technologies, processes and business models.
The “Tools”
Design and Innovation for Sustainability incorporates design principles, life cycle analyses and accounting, supplier and component manufacturer engagement, community engagement and social entrepreneurship, cross-sector partnerships and organizational change.
The “Approaches”
Design and Innovation for Sustainability integrates the creative process, the stewardship of products and service, and engagement with societal members ‘from raw material to final use to raw material.’
Design and Innovation for Sustainability are becoming increasingly important to the competitive success of businesses of all sizes – from large multinationals with complex product lines and global supply chains to regional businesses to entrepreneurs. CGLS offers conferences, workshops, and educational programs, supports faculty research, and provides student fellowships.
Industry Foci
Based on the mission of the School of Business to serve to economic and social vitality of the region, CGLS focuses its Sustainable Design and Innovation program offerings around five regional industry clusters. These regional industry clusters include:
- Apparel and Footwear
- Consumer Packaged Goods
- High Technology
- Building Materials and Construction
- Renewable Energy
Research, Education and Outreach
Guided by its founding philosophy of “Discovery and Knowledge for the Sustainability Economy,” CDIBS engages in a variety of activities. Each of these activities purposely engages the three key constituencies of PSU’s School of Business – students, faculty and business community – to facilitate knowledge creation and sharing.
Annual Conference
CGLS works with PSU’s Center for Sustainable Policies and Practices to organize the annual International Conference on Business and Sustainability. The inaugural conference, focusing on Sustainability in the Supply Chain, was held November 1 and 2, 2007. The theme of the 2008 conference is Designing Sustainability, and is scheduled for October 15-17.
DfS Fellowship Program
CGLS organizes and facilities the Design for Sustainability (DfS) Case Study Fellowship Program. The DfS Fellowship Program brings together innovative sustainability-inspired companies and PSU graduate business students to create written and video case studies of products and/or services based on sustainability criteria. These case studies are broadly disseminated to university faculty and other interested individuals.
Discovery and Knowledge Development
CGLS supports academic research in the areas of sustainable design and innovation. Research grants are provided to PSU faculty members to undertake research in this area.
Education and Professional Development
CGLS advises on the development of current School offerings, including the MBA + specialization in “Managing Sustainable Enterprises” and the MIM specialization in “Global Business and Sustainability.” Professional development courses and programs will focus on design and innovation for sustainability – both for broad professional audiences as well as industry-specific audiences.
International Conference on
Business &
Sustainability
Dates: November 5th & 6th 2009To view the conference website, click here.
CGLS played a key role in staging the annual conference, presented in collaboration with Portland State University's Center for Sustainable Policies and Practices.
The 3rd annual conference will be themed around "regenerate".
This conference brings together leading industry practitioners and scholars to share best practices and leading edge research. The conference's innovative format provides for in-depth dialogue from industry representatives during the first day, followed by a series of presentations from academic researchers on the second day.