Sustainability, or the integration of human, ecological and economic needs, is an increasingly important concern in Western society.
Two professors from different departments and distinct backgrounds are spearheading the efforts in their areas: Charles Kennel, a visiting professor in the UCLA School of Public Affairs, is using his scientific knowledge to influence policy, and Charles Corbett, a professor of management, is looking at how environmentally friendly business practices lead to successful business.
Translating science
Kennel is a physical scientist bent on making his science more accessible and useful.
“My big issue is how do we take the science that we’ve learned and use it to advance the cause of sustainability. That means working with people on issues that matter to them,” he said. “It all starts with people.”
Kennel, as a visiting professor in the UCLA Department of Public Policy, is trying to learn how to best transmit the message of global warming and sustainability to people who can do something about it.
“I’m a scientist and I came to the School of Public Affairs because I would like to understand better how policy people and government think … (and how to) make my case more compelling at the policy level,” he said.
Kennel said that over the last 25 years, the scientific community has developed the knowledge and tools to diagnose and cope with environmental changes that are now unavoidable. Scientists must learn how to explain these developments so that policy-makers will focus on coping with the issues, he said.
He plans to go to Sacramento soon to talk to the California Council on Science and Technology to make recommendations and raise questions.
“We’d like to develop a process so that we can know how climate change will impact water supplies and agriculture. … You can expect a water shortage. What should we do? Should we build more dams? More reservoirs?”
He also said he would like to see the state recognize the serious reduction of the Sierra Nevada snowcap and address the resulting impact on the spring-water runoff that feeds rivers and agriculture.
Kennel said in addition to working with state officials, he wants to make environmental impact a personal issue with the public.
“If people become personally aware, they will … start demanding solutions, government begins to act (and) industry begins to see that they have a big role in solving these problems,” he said.
Can “green” be profitable?
Corbett, an operations and environmental management professor in the UCLA Anderson School of Management, is interested in how the adoption of sustainable practices affects businesses’ bottom line.
He looks at companies that have built “green” buildings ““ buildings that use environmentally sound locations, landscape and resources ““ to see how these practices have impacted their profits.
And he said he is finding that they perform better.
A company or a school may choose to build a “green” building because it is better for the environment and find an increase in profits as a pleasant side effect, Corbett said.
“Employees are happy, more creative, less sick. (They) are more productive,” he said.
He attributes these benefits to elements such as more efficient windows that increase exposure to sunlight and decrease the need for air-conditioning.
But Corbett’s research covers other sustainability questions as well.
Last fall, he published a study on the sustainability of the motion-picture industry, a business that is particularly visible for its environmental efforts.
His research found that the film industry has a large environmental footprint, larger than most other industries he studied, such as the hotel or aerospace sectors.
“We looked at environmental impact anywhere in the United States that is related to the movie industry here in California,” Corbett said.
By taking into consideration everything from catering trucks to the production of energy, he was able to accurately measure the entire impact on the environment, though he also noted Hollywood’s efforts to counteract this impact.
“There are people in the industry that do exceptional work in trying to manage all of the environmental impacts,” he said.
At UCLA, Corbett spearheaded the effort this year to create the graduate emphasis “leaders in sustainability.”
“We have students specifically entering the MBA program because they want to do this emphasis,” he said.
In addition, he is part of the UCLA Sustainability Committee, which is looking at these issues both from an academic and operations perspective.
Dorothy Le, a fifth-year environmental science student who is also part of the Sustainability Committee, wants to see the efforts by professors and students integrated.
“Campus groups need to be working together more (and) initiate bigger changes in the campus,” she said.