The University of Dallas Sustainable Business Network hosts quarterly events free.

March 29, 2016

North Texas leaders interested in learning how to build or retrofit green buildings will have the opportunity to do so at “Green Buildings – Build or Transform?” to be held Friday, April 8, from 7:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. at the University of Dallas’ Satish & Yasmin Gupta College of Business SB Hall, 2925 Gorman Drive in Irving.  A free breakfast will be provided.

Greg Bell, Ph.D., associate professor at the University of Dallas, says that quarterly events hosted by University of Dallas Sustainable Business Network launched in the fall of 2013. They aim to teach/inspire business leaders to think “green.”

Dr. Greg Bell is an organzier for the University of Dallas Sustainable Business Network.

“There are a lot of corporate and business leaders today who are interested in how they can be more sustainable and socially responsible,” he says. “Currently, there is not an area business school other than us that has a leadership role in providing a network for these business leaders to come together and talk about how they can become more sustainable. We felt that we could provide this leadership to the Dallas-Fort Worth area.”

According to Bell, there has been a lot of interest in this area over the last several years.

“We have had great response to our quarterly networking events, and we continue to plan events related to responsible/ethical business practices that help corporations learn ways in which they can be more socially responsible,” he says. “Firms realize that it is important not only to be more responsible and sustainable, but it is important for their reputation.”

“Green building” is the construction and renovation of building to be more energy efficient, use few natural resources and reduce waste and pollution.

Mary Dickinson, Assoc. AIA, RID, LEED AP BD+C, a regional sustainable design leader for the Texas practice of Perkins+Will, who works with many project teams to validate projects and practices that are sustainable and follow set protocol and procedures, along with Zaida Basora, FAIA, LEED AP BD+C, assistant director of facility architecture and engineering for the Public Works Department, city of Dallas, will lead an open forum dialogue which builds relationships, exchanges best practices and centers around corporate social responsibility, sustainability and eco-innovation, and corporate governance.   

Bell shares that business leaders today are realizing that there is a business case for leaders being socially and environmentally responsible.

“Many companies today recognize that their responsibilities extend beyond economic performance,” he relates. “Being socially and environmentally responsible can have a real impact on the bottom line. Moreover, it can help to attract and retain top talent in a company’s industry.” 

When asked how companies are becoming more ethical and environmentally minded, Bell responds that they are reducing energy, finding ways to reduce water use and finding more innovative ways to reduce waste.  

“Generally, firms are thinking of performance in terms of a triple bottom line. They are realizing that all three matter and are finding more innovative ways to improve each,” he says. “For example, one of our past events focused on the way that the Frito-Lay Corporation used a compressed natural gas in their vehicles, along with electric vehicles.”    

Dr. Bell, along with Tim Galpin and Lee Whittington, coauthored Leading the Sustainable Organization.

Bell advises that it’s very important that leaders and the managers they are training for tomorrow recognize that sustainability is simply not a fad – it’s something that is very likely here to stay. While there are certain industries such as the petro industry that are not as aggressive in their efforts to become more sustainable because of revenue ability, they are recognizing sustainability to be salient.   

Students in sustainability classes at the University of Dallas learn by example. Classes are designed so that students can apply the information that they learn in class to their organizations the next day. Sustainability education is approached through this guiding principle.  

“We have many MBA students who take their projects in our classes to be a design project for their own company’s sustainability strategy,” Bell says.

Bell’s interest in sustainability was sparked during his dissertation training at the University of Texas at Arlington, when it became obvious to him that there is a strategic interest in sustainability in the DFW Metroplex and around the world.  

“It was a very interesting organizational phenomenon that I wanted to learn more about, both from research and an educational prospective. For the last dozen years, I have spent a lot of time doing research and also teaching sustainability.” 

RSVP to the April 8 event.

RESOURCES

Dr. Bell, along with Tim Galpin and Lee Whittington, authored Leading the Sustainable Organization.

University of Dallas Sustainable Business Network offers  green resources for people, businesses and communities.

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