Sustainability professionals from around the world will gather at Yale University this October 9-12 for four days of thought-provoking lectures and interactive discussions at the third annual Yale Sustainability Leadership Forum.

The Forum’s small class size fosters an environment of idea sharing and gives participants and speakers an opportunity to interact one-on-one. The distinguished speakers are thought leaders and innovators of sustainability drawn from Yale's own renowned faculty and beyond. They collectively offer an essential set of strategies and sustainability principles to guide our institutions, governments, businesses, and societies.

Forum Director and Professor Daniel C. Esty brings to the Forum decades of thought leadership on environmental law, policy, sustainability innovation, and public-private partnerships. He will lead discussions on sustainability and climate change.

Forum speakers will share a rich set of insights with participants and are all eminent in the field of sustainability:

• The U.S. State Department's former top climate change lawyer and a key architect of the Paris Climate Agreement, Susan Biniaz, will teach a module on climate change negotiations.

• A pioneer of industrial ecology, Professor Marian Chertow will lecture on new frontiers of the circular economy and industrial symbiosis.

• Anthony Leiserowitz, an acclaimed expert on American and international public opinion on global warming, will discuss climate change communications.

• Professor Gary Brudvig will offer a primer on energy literacy, including what we need to create a new energy future.

• Professor of Green Engineering, Julie Zimmerman, will highlight the latest innovations in green design.

• One of the nation's best-regarded environmental law professors, E. Donald Elliott, will teach a module on how environmental law and policy are evolving.

• David Lubin, a world leader in the field of corporate performance management, will teach a module on sustainable investing.

• Professor Brad Gentry will lead a dynamic session on land conservation and emerging strategies for land protection.

• Professor Ken Gillingham will offer his insights on environmental economics in the age of 21st century sustainability. 

• Long-time international climate change negotiator James Cameron will discuss global perspective on sustainability. 

To view the agenda, click here. To view the speaker line-up, click here.

Participants of the 2017 Forum praised the depth and breadth of the candid discussions and felt confident that they left Yale inspired and armed with a myriad of innovative and practical takeaways. Participant Jeffrey Gracer, Principal at Sive, Paget & Riesel commented, "The Forum helped broaden my horizons with perspectives from many different academic and practical disciplines, provided useful suggestions for interdisciplinary collaboration, and inspired me and other participants to play a more visible leadership role in our respective spheres of influence. I highly recommend the Forum for anyone who wants to get outside of their day to day professional bubble and be energized by great thought leaders." 

The Forum is designed to advance sustainability thought leadership and to inspire sustainability action. Applicants from every corner of the world and every sector are invited to join the third cohort on the Yale University campus. Space is limited.

Early bird applicants receive a 30% discount on tuition before August 31st. Scholarship opportunities are available for a limited time.

For more information on the Forum and to apply, please visit sustainability-forum.yale.edu.

Yale Center for Environmental Law & Policy

Yale Center for Environmental Law & Policy

The Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy, a joint undertaking between the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies and the Yale Law School, seeks to incorporate fresh thinking, ethical awareness, and analytically rigorous decision-making tools into environmental law and policy.

In addition to its research activities, the Center aims to serve as a locus for connection and collaboration by all members of the Yale University community who are interested in environmental law and policy issues. The Center supports a wide-ranging program of teaching, research, and outreach on local, regional, national, and global pollution control and natural resource management issues. These efforts involve faculty, staff, and student collaboration and are aimed at shaping academic thinking and policymaking in the public, private, and NGO sectors.

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