Partnerships in sustainability forum Oct. 30 at UNL
Released on 10/22/2009, at 2:00 AM
Office of University Communications
University of Nebraska–Lincoln
WHEN: Friday, Oct. 30, 2009
WHERE: Hardin Hall, 33rd and Holdrege Streets, East Campus
"Transforming Vision into Action" is the theme of the second Building Sustainable Partnerships forum, presented by the University of Nebraska Rural Initiative, the School of Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the City of Lincoln, scheduled for 1 to 6 p.m. Oct. 30 at Hardin Hall, 33rd and Holdrege streets on UNL's East Campus.
Speakers for the free, public event, are Charlie Cunniff, head of the Seattle Climate Partnership; Debra Rowe, president of the U.S. Partnership for Education for Sustainable Development; and Dennis Murphey, Chief Environmental Officer for the city of Kansas City.
The forum is intended to draw the community together to encourage partnerships that exist to make sustainability happen in Lincoln and eventually statewide, according to Sandra Scofield, director of the Nebraska Rural Initiative. Attendees will get a chance to hear from nationally known speakers and participate in break-out groups about what the university, community and businesses can do to be more sustainable.
Refreshments and exhibits will also be offered. Participants are asked to visit www.lincolngreenbydesign.org/bsp for more information and to register for the free forum.
Cunniff leads one of the nation's leading business partnerships and will describe the pathbreaking sustainability collaborations in Seattle and how the business community, civic organizations and the city cooperate on sustainability. Rowe, of Oakland, Mich., will describe the role of the university in leading the way for communitywide sustainability projects, including examples from campuses across the United States. Murphey will detail the success of Kansas City in becoming a regional sustainability leader in developing communitywide climate action plans.
In addition, Beth Osborne, deputy assistant secretary of policy for the U.S. Department of Transportation, will be video-linked from Washington, D.C., and will outline the groundbreaking interagency Partnership for Sustainable Communities, led by the departments of Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development, and the Environmental Protection Agency.