- March 31, 2009 - The first annual, entirely student-organized MIT Sustainability Summit, titled "Discovering New Dimensions for Growth," will be held on Friday, April 24 in MIT's Walker Memorial building, as the conclusion of MIT's Earth Week celebration.

The Sustainability Summit will bring together students, business leaders, academics, sustainability activists, and public servants for a day of invited talks, panel discussions and opportunities for informal networking on the subject of how to face the opportunities and challenges of making the transition to a sustainable world.

The theme of the summit, "Discovering New Dimensions for Growth,"explores emerging solutions to the problems of unsustainable development. Our current economic, political, and academic institutions, though highly interwoven, mainly work in isolation from each other. Students and practitioners of the field of sustainability are increasingly aware of the opportunities to collaborate to enhance their work on environmental, social, and economic endeavors. Our goals are to restore natural systems, create a just and equitable social infrastructure, and revitalize the world's economies "“ an incredible challenge that requires collaboration across many previously disparate fields.

The daylong event will feature keynote addresses by industry leaders, including Michael Shellenberger and Ted Nordhaus, the president and strategist from The Breakthrough Institute, speaking on "Why we can't leave saving the planet to environmentalists." The panel discussions, by notable figures from industry, government and academia, will address three key topics in sustainability:

• How do we progress toward sustainability in a recession?


• How do we measure the success of our sustainability practices?


• How do we seize opportunities for innovative approaches, technological breakthroughs, and partnerships in sustainability?

The Summit will also feature "capacity-building" breakout sessions that will focus on sustainability in a variety of practical contexts, from product design to transportation and food systems.

Sponsors of the event include Whole Foods, Seventh Generation, and Green Mountain Coffee. Partners include Technology Review, CSRwire, Engineers for a Sustainable World, Net Impact, Sustainability Television, and the MIT Alumni Association.

The MIT Sustainability Summit is open to all, but registration is required. Please visit the website at http://sustainabilitysummit.mit.edu for conference details, agenda and registration instructions. Media will receive complimentary registration.

Other MIT Earth Week events are open to the public. These include a major address by Frances Beinecke, President of the National Resource Defense Council (NRDC) on April 22, and an Earth Week Fair and Eco Expo on April 23. MIT Earth Week is planned collaboratively by six departments and groups, representing the academic, staff, and student communities at MIT. Visit www.mit.edu/earthweek for more information.

Confirmed speakers for the Sustainability Summit:

Wayne Balta, Director of Corporate Environmental Affairs, IBM
Laurie Burt, Commissioner, Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection
Eric Friedman, Director of the State Sustainability Program, Massachusetts Executive Offices of Environmental Affairs
Philip Giudice, Commissioner, Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources
Roberto Huet, Senior Vice President, Aggregate Industries
Judith Layzer, Associate Professor of Environmental Policy, MIT
Mindy Lubber, President, Ceres
Daniel Mahler, Global Coordinator for Sustainability, A.T. Kearney
Taryn Miller-Stevens, Director of Programs, StartingBloc
Ted Nordhaus, Strategist, Breakthrough Institute
Gwen Ruta, Vice President, Environmental Defense Fund
Donovan Rypkema, Principal, Place Economics
Michael Shellenberger, President, Breakthrough Institute
Sarah Slaughter, Senior Lecturer, Behavioral and Policy Sciences, MIT
Lawrence Susskind, Director of the Environmental Policy and Planning Group, Department of Urban Studies, MIT
Terry Yosie, CEO, World Environment Center

MIT Sustainability Summit

MIT Sustainability Summit

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