Grinnell College to host Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility Symposium Feb. 12-14

Grinnell College's Rosenfield Program in Public Affairs, International Relations, and Human Rights will host a three-day symposium, Feb. 12-14, to discuss sustainability and corporate social responsibility.

"The goal of this symposium is to explore the balance between doing well and doing good at the corporate level," explains Liz Queathem, chair of the Sustainability Committee and senior lecturer in biology, "as savvy consumers increasingly want to know that the goods and services they use have been produced in a sustainable and socially responsible manner. This places a burden on corporations to ensure that their business practices address social values, as well as the bottom line, while creating a market where 'greenwashing' may be abundantly rewarded."

The three-day symposium will include the following free, public events to be held in Room 101 of the Joe Rosenfield '25 Center on the Grinnell campus:

• Tuesday, Feb. 12, 4:15 p.m.: John R. Ehrenfeld, director of the MIT Technology, Business, and Environment Program (retired), will open the symposium with a lecture titled "Sustainability: A Cultural Challenge."
• Tuesday, Feb. 12, 5:30 p.m.: A buffet-style dinner will be provided. Everyone is invited.
• Tuesday, Feb. 12, 6:30 p.m.: David Gerard '90, associate professor of economics, Lawrence University, will give a lecture titled "The Capitalists' Cooperative: Economics of Organization and its Implications of Corporate Social Responsibility."
• Wednesday, Feb. 13, noon: Scholars' Convocation with John Ikerd, professor emeritus of agricultural economics, University of Missouri, titled "Can Corporations be Sustainable?" A sandwich buffet will be provided.
• Wednesday, Feb. 13, 4:15 p.m.: Pete Ferrell '74, owner/general manager of Ferrell Ranch; Elizabeth Grossman, journalist/writer; and Nancy Himmelfarb, sustainability consultant, will lead a discussion, "Holding Corporations Accountable."
• Wednesday, Feb. 13, 5:30 p.m.: A buffet-style dinner will be provided. Everyone is invited.
• Wednesday, Feb. 13, 6:30 p.m.: Hank Balikov '67, vice president of Goldman Environmental Consultants, will lead a discussion titled "Responsibility, Sustainability, and Transparency."
• Thursday, Feb. 14, noon: Career Connection with symposium guests.
• Thursday, Feb. 14, 4:15 p.m.: Ken Yeung '03, senior manager for Wal-Mart Global eCommerce; Lorie Wigle, general manager of Intel Eco-Technology; and John K. Wilson, director of corporate governance at TIAA-CREF (Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association - College Retirement Equities Fund) will close the symposium with a discussion titled "Business Perspectives on Corporate Social Responsibility."

This symposium is co-sponsored by the Luce Program in National and the Global Environment, the Donald L. Wilson Program in Enterprise and Leadership, the Center for Prairie Studies, and Grinnell's Sustainability Committee.

For more information about the February sustainability and corporate social responsibility symposium, contact Sarah Purcell, purcelsj@grinnell.edu, 641-269-3091. Grinnell welcomes and encourages the participation of people with disabilities. Information on parking and accessibility is available on the college website. Accommodation requests may be made to Conference Operations at 641-269-3235 or calendar@grinnell.edu.

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