Michael S. Brown, PhD, Principal at Brown and Wilmanns Environmental, LLC

- and- 

Jeff Wilson, Director of Business Value Strategy & Development at Textile Exchange

present:

“Pushing Sustainability Forward:  Business Collaborations and the State of the Art.” 

Corporate sustainability efforts are expanding at an increasing pace across industries and among large, medium, and small enterprises.  Complementing internal efforts to green products, services, and operations, a wide variety of companies are looking to collaborate with their industry peers to address a range of sustainability issues.  

Brown and Wilson will share their experiences working in and with individual businesses and collaborative organizations to help move the business community further along the path towards a restorative and sustainable world. 

 

The work is more complex than one might imagine, especially as capital, trade, and information has become globalized in the late 20th and early 21st century. The underpinnings of our modern production and consumption models are rooted in largely western ideas of capitalism.  In particular, a key aspect is the legal and fiduciary responsibility of corporations to operate with the sole purpose of delivering shareholder wealth regardless of the impacts on the environment and human welfare.  

Is it time to re-think core aspects of capitalism and expand the purpose of corporations to include environmental and social wealth?

 

Paralleling the growth of western capitalism is an economic model rooted in linear dynamics characterized as a "take, make, use, waste" system that has been with us since the industrial revolution and penetrates nearly every society that evolves away from agricultural and towards industrialization.  As part of re-thinking this entire system, is it also time to disrupt this linear process with a more circular approach that mimics nature, where “make, use, return” becomes an economic norm?

 
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Dr. Michael S. Brown has worked in sustainability and environmental management for over 30 years leading efforts to establish cutting-edge programs and practices in industry and government.  Clients in his consulting practice have included firms in apparel and footwear, personal care products, household products, and specialty chemical products along with public sector and nonprofit organizations.  

Previously, he established and led Patagonia’s internal environmental sustainability program and developed innovative nonregulatory governmental programs that provided technical assistance on pollution prevention for large and small businesses.  
Mike received his M.R.P. and Ph.D. degrees from the Department of City and Regional Planning, specializing in environmental health policy, at Cornell University.

He has written and spoken extensively on state-of-the-art sustainability practices and is co-author of the book, Workers at Risk and numerous journal articles.  Dr. Brown serves as an Assistant Editor for the Journal of Industrial Ecology.

Jeff Wilson is the Director of Business Value Strategy & Development, responsible for ensuring meaningful business value is delivered to membership and their respective industry sectors. His role includes strategy development and implementation, membership value development and delivery, Supply Network platform development, the Learning Center, industry collaboration, and operations.  

Jeff’s career has been in sales and marketing and general business management in the for-profit sector with numerous market leading companies including Delta Air Lines and Quiksilver/Roxy/DC Shoes.  Jeff led the establishment of the global sustainability organization at Quiksilver and has been an active participant in industry collaboration with the Outdoor Industry Association Sustainability Working Group, the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, Cradle to Cradle, and the Organic Fiber Council.  

Jeff has a Master’s in Business Administration in Marketing and Strategic Planning from the University of Southern California and a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies from the University of California Santa Barbara.