Dow Head of Sustainability to Deliver Keynote Address

ANN ARBOR, MI--(Marketwire - April 30, 2009) - The Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise at the University of Michigan today announced that it is hosting the first annual conference of the Alliance for Research on Corporate Sustainability (ARCS), the leading forum for academic research in the fast-emerging field of sustainable business. The conference, which includes a keynote address by Dow Chemical Company SVP of Sustainability Neil Hawkins, will take place May 8-9, 2009, at the Ross School of Business on the campus of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

In addition to the Erb Institute at the University of Michigan, the ARCS consortium includes leading sustainable business scholars from five other top North American academic institutions with leading programs on corporate sustainability: Dartmouth College, Harvard University, the University of Virginia, Duke University and Canada's University of Western Ontario.

Focused on fostering first-rate research into sustainable business issues, members of the group will present papers and invite dialogue on cutting-edge sustainable business research techniques and topics. Discussion topics include:

--  Competition and environmental investments in deregulated retail
    electricity markets
--  Voluntary environmental standards adherence and corporate transparency
--  The role of competitors as whistleblowers on environmental issues
    

In addition to Dow's Neil Hawkins, guest speakers will include "Sustainability By Design" author and leading "green" business thinker John Ehrenfeld.

"As a world leader in research on sustainable enterprise, the Erb Institute is delighted to host such a distinguished group of experts and scholars," said Erb Institute Director and Professor Thomas Lyon. "The creation of ARCS demonstrates that academic research on corporate sustainability is no longer a fringe issue in business schools, but has matured into an essential part of mainstream business scholarship. We are honored to welcome our colleagues to Ann Arbor and look forward to discussing how new and emerging research from the ARCS alliance will impact sustainable business strategy and practice in the near future."

The Erb Institute, which celebrates its 15th anniversary year in 2009, awards a dual MBA/MS degree from the Ross School of Business and the School of Natural Resources and Environment at the University of Michigan, giving students unique expertise in both the science and the business of sustainability. For more information on Erb and the ARCS conference, please visit http://www.erb.umich.edu/arcs/aarcs-home.htm.

About the Frederick A. and Barbara M. Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise

Created in 1996, the Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise is a 50-50 partnership between the School of Natural Resources and Environment and the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. The Institute fosters professional education, public outreach and scientific scholarship supportive of the transition to sustainability -- that is, meeting the fundamental needs of a growing human population in an equitable manner within the means of nature. Utilizing a collaborative approach, the Institute helps business, government and civil society organizations to achieve meaningful progress toward sustainability. Its mission is to be a premier source of knowledge and leadership for the achievement of environmentally, economically and socially sustainable development and enterprise. For more information, visit www.erb.umich.edu.

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