EcoTuesday and Rick Bunch, Managing Director of The Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise, a partnership between the Ross School of Business and the School of Natural Resources and Environment at The University of Michigan. The Institute’s large MBA/MS program prepares students to lead sustainable enterprises by pairing management training with environmental science and policy knowledge.
Rick’s EcoTuesday talk will lay out the education and research agenda for the next generation of sustainable business leadership, describing programs and strategies of the Erb Institute and how the Institute can work with business, non-profits and governments to advance sustainable enterprise. He will address the proposition that Michigan should strengthen its economy through a focus on green manufacturing, while also exploring what additional competitive advantages the state might realize from its long history of addressing social sustainability issues in business.
Rick has 15 years of global experience leading development of business education and research programs around issues of sustainability and corporate social responsibility. Previously with the Business and Society Program at The Aspen Institute, he launched a new program for education and research on business-and-society topics in Chinese business schools.
Rick's diverse background has included an assignment with the Bainbridge Graduate Institute, near Seattle, Washington. Founded in 2002, BGI's mission is to be the leading values-driven business and management school that prepares individuals to transform the world of work and to help create sustainable, socially just economies and healthy environments.
From 1996 to 2003, Bunch served as director of business education at the World Resources Institute (WRI). He produced training conferences for business school faculty and program staff in North and Latin America and China. He also oversaw the development and publication of business-school curriculum, and developed and co-authored the Beyond Grey Pinstripes MBA program rankings.
Bunch holds an MBA and environmental management certificate from the University of Washington and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Yale University.
Green Building at the Ross School of Business
The Ross School is among the world leaders in research and academic programming devoted to sustainable enterprise. The Ross building is an example of that commitment. Incorporating many architecturally innovative and environmentally responsible features, the building was designed and built in accordance with the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System. The building features cutting –edge energy conservation features and technologies, green roofs, water-conserving fixtures, sustainably harvested and renewable materials and extensive recycling and reuse of demolition and construction waste materials.
