Research & News
Faculty Research and News
The five Ws of supply chains: Who, what, where, when and why corporations should care
Not a month goes by without a media campaign linking the supply chain of a well-known brand with unsavory labor practices or environmental mismanagement. Such exposés can devalue brands and reduce well-meaning corporate sustainability initiatives to hypocrisy. Beyond...
Simple interventions can help to inhibit the spread of fake climate change news on Facebook
Research by Lauren Lutzke, U-M SEAS Master’s Student; Caitlin Drummond, Erb Institute Postdoc; Joe Arvai, Erb Institute Faculty Director Article by Lauren Lutzke, M.S. Candidate in Behavior, Education, and Communication at the University of Michigan “Fake News” has...
Ross Professor: There’s Something Terribly Wrong With How We Make Decisions About Climate Change
For over two decades, Joe Árvai has studied how we actually make choices — compared to how we think we make them. It will come as no surprise to even the most casual observers that the gulf between them can be large. In a recent study, Árvai and Douglas Bessette of...
The faculty member who fights fake news – Erb Institute faculty Andy Hoffman in La Nación
Andy Hoffman teaches business and sustainability courses at the University of Michigan and studies cultural issues and the knowledge that impacts decisions. He visited Costa Rica and spoke with Irene Rodríguez S. at ‘La Nación’. Translated to English from the...
Why sustainability should include political activity – Professor Tom Lyon in the California Management Review
Why sustainability should include political activity Professor Tom Lyon in the California Management ReviewCorporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability initiatives have gone mainstream, but they are missing something important: They ignore corporations’...
When you realize, it’s not just you. – Shedding light on gender and navigating academia
Or how two professors are bringing awareness and a voice to gender issues in higher education: Erb Staffer Carolyn Kwant talks with Sara Soderstrom, Asst. Professor, University of Michigan and Maria Farkas, Asst. Professor, Department of Management, Imperial College...
Do people cheat when no one’s looking? Implications for environmental management
Many environmental management programs offer people incentives to engage in conservation activities. But these activities, carried out on a local level, often are difficult to monitor. Are people inclined to cheat to get the incentives? Research led by Rohit Jindal of...
Shutdown’s economic impact is a forceful reminder of why government matters — Andy Hoffman in The Conversation
As the United States endures the longest shutdown in its history, Americans are getting a taste of life without government. The absence of some services are clearly visible, such as a buildup of trash at national parks or longer lines at airport security checkpoints....
Appeal of residential solar photovoltaics – Does framing matter?
If residential solar photovoltaics (PV) were adopted more widely in the United States, they could significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But consumers balk at high up-front costs, even if energy savings would later offset those costs. A group of researchers...
Erb faculty director, Joe Árvai talks metrics at Innovation Forum: Measuring business outcomes and impacts, and capacity building
The Erb Institute partnered with Innovation Forum during their recent visit to Detroit, Oct. 2-3rd, for their conference on "How business can measure the impact—and ROI—of corporate sustainability." The conference delved into the best ways to assess materiality, build...
What Does It Really Mean When We Call Something “Sustainable”? – Andy Hoffman quoted in FASHION
And should we stop? Think of all the terms that have cropped up over the past several decades or so to describe the environmental movement. Reduce, reuse, recycle. Low footprint. Zero footprint. Zero waste. Going green. (NB: not the same as “going clear.”)...
Rising insurance costs may convince Americans that climate change risks are real – Andy Hoffman in The Conversation
One of the great challenges of tackling climate change is making it real for people without a scientific background. That’s because the threat it poses can be so hard to see or feel. In the wake of Hurricanes Florence and Michael, for example, one may be compelled to...