FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The University of Arkansas’ newly created Center for Applied Sustainability is bringing three nationally known environmental leaders to campus to talk about the idea of sustainability and ways to make that idea a reality.

The first in the center’s planned UA Sustainability Speaker Series will be at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 14, 2007 in the Reynolds Center for Enterprise Development on Fairview Street, just east of the Walton College of Business. Admission is free, and the public is invited.

Adam Werbach

Jib Ellison

Hunter Lovins

The three speakers are Adam Werbach, former president of the Sierra Club; Jib Ellison, a sustainability consultant; and Hunter Lovins, president of Natural Capital Solutions Inc. All three are recognized leaders in the sustainability movement.

Sustainabilty is defined on the Environmental Protection Agency Web site as “the ability to achieve continuing economic prosperity while protecting the natural systems of the planet and providing a high quality of life for its people.” 

“As stewards of our planet, we make choices every day,” said Jon Johnson, director of the sustainability center. “We can make choices so we contribute to sustainability, or not. To make the best choices, we need information that is current, correct and constructive.

“The first thing I’ve asked our speakers to do is talk with students about ways they can change the world. These three can point to their own lives and their own experiences as examples of what young people can do.”

  Adam Werbach is the youngest person ever to serve as national Sierra Club president. His environmental work started while he was still in high school, when he founded the Sierra Student Coalition. Rolling Stone described him as “a fixture on lists of the most influential Americans under 30.” Werbach owns ActNow Productions, a video production company focused on sustainability issues.

Jib Ellison first gained fame for his rafting expertise, running rivers throughout the world, both professionally and privately. He is now a partner in Blu Skye Sustainability Consulting, working with Fortune 50 corporations, including Wal-Mart Stores Inc., to develop and manage long-term sustainability plans.

Hunter Lovins is president of Natural Capital Solutions Inc. and a co-founder of the Rocky Mountain Institute. She is respected worldwide for her environmental writings and was named a “Hero of the Planet” by Time magazine.

“If I had to pick a phrase to describe this event,” said Johnson, “it would contain the word 'audacity,’ because that’s a quality all these speakers have shown in their lives. They’ve all shown what that quality can accomplish.”

The Center for Applied Sustainability was created by the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees in January. The center was set up to coordinate campus research and education in sustainability. It will also facilitate academic and corporate partnerships in developing sustainable commercial practices. The center’s mission, as approved by the trustees, is to “solve problems, promote solutions, and educate stakeholders to confront the challenges of a sustainable world. The center will also facilitate sustainable practices and educational opportunities on the University of Arkansas campus.”

The UA Sustainability Speaker Series is the center’s first public event.