College of Business and Crain's Detroit Business partner for sustainability discussion

The program is part of the College of Business' Betty F. Elliott Lecture Series on Business and the Future.

Panelists will include:

• Trevor Lauer, vice president, Retail Marketing, DTE Energy
• Paul Murray, director, Environmental Safety & Sustainability, Herman Miller
• Jean Redfield, vice president, Public Policy Programs, NextEnergy
• Ann Marie Sastry, Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Mechanical, Biomedical and Materials Science and Engineering, U-M Ann Arbor and CEO and co-founder of Sakti3

This forum will explore how manufacturing companies are adapting to the impact of various dimensions of sustainability in the product-life-cycle and the entire supply chain while remaining competitive and maintaining operational excellence. The forum will shed light on best practices, standards and initiatives launched by the industry to achieve sustainability. Also discussed will be pitfalls and practical difficulties that the industry may face in the implementation of sustainability-related issues in their businesses.

The event will take place on Wednesday, Oct. 6 at Fairlane Center North, Quad E. Breakfast and networking begins at 7:30 a.m. with the panel discussion beginning promptly at 8:30 a.m. Audience questions will be encouraged.

Additional panel discussions on sustainability are scheduled for February and March 2011.

This informative lecture series was made possible through a generous gift by UM-Dearborn alum Edward W. Elliott, Jr. (B.B.A. ’67) in memory of his late wife Betty F. Elliott (also B.B. A. ’67). The Betty F. Elliott Initiative for Academic Excellence was launched early this year by the College of Business as a campus-wide exploration of critical business issues which will connect business leaders, alumni, faculty and students throughout the next decade and beyond. The theme for the year 2010-11 is “The Business of Sustainability.”