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344th New Thing - Attended a Sustainability Class

I didn't have time to post the last night, therefore I'm posting this late as this occurred yesterday (Fri 9/28/12).
As I stated earlier this week, I signed up for a Sustainability Class called Sustainability Leadership and Implementation Certificate Course offered by University of Denver and Natural Capitalism Solutions. It is the leading sustainability certificate program that will help students gain the knowledge and skills needed to implement an effective and profit-enhancing sustainability program in their organization.

Class started on Friday morning. We were served coffee, tea, yogurt, fruit, and pastries to start our day. We met our organizers, Toby Russell, and teachers, Hunter Lovins and Scott McLagan. Hunter spoke 1st to intro the course and discuss advocates and leaders in sustainability such as Gandhi, Rachel Carson, E F Schumacher, David Brower, Karl-Henric Robert, Ray Anderson, Paul Hawken, Dana Meadows, etc, and books to read on the subject (there are many). We discussed how there are also many definitions to the word sustainability (EPA says it maintains conditions under which humans and nature can exist in harmony, fulfilling the social and economic requirements of present and future generations). Hunter explain any person or company can be more sustainable and she gave some tips on where to start. She talked about Walmart and how they are a leader in sustainability for about 10 years. Finally, she discussed some of the frameworks like Natural Step, Holistic Management, Cradle to Cradle, Ecological Economics, and Natural Capitalism. We were then dismissed for lunch to us our $10 at a variety of local campus restaurants, so I went to Brueggers for a bagel sandwich with 2 other classmates. Scott McLagan spoke to us next. His topics were more about corporate change management, resistance to change, and leadership. Then we were dismissed to happy hour at Jordan's with drinks and apps. Day 1 was successful. I enjoyed both speakers and they provided many items to think about to bring to my company. Day 2 is on Saturday.

What did you do today?

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