Conscientious consumers are repeatedly encouraged to eat local, buy organic, seek out fair trade labels and ask about the traceability of a product’s supply chain. As sales of organic and ethically labeled products rise, companies both large and small have focused...
“Be Bold” was the theme of the 2016 Business for Social Responsibility (BSR) Conference last November in New York City. I was able to attend, thanks to Cool Projects funding, and it was my first sustainability conference. As a career changer new to the world of...
For the second year in a row, a team from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business has won Accenture’s Innovation Challenge, which brings in MBA students to tackle a challenge that one of its nonprofit partners faces. This year, the partner was USA for...
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), a federal agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce, is focused on research of the oceans and the atmosphere. It provides decision-makers with information they need—in the form of weather forecasts,...
I’ve always had a deep-seated distrust of big business. Maybe it’s because I grew up with a social worker and teacher as parents, or because my first job out of school was with a nonprofit focused on fighting corporate abuses. Whatever the reason, this wariness...
Last summer I had the privilege of interning for the National Park Service as a Business Plan Intern (BPI) at Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. This 10-week summer internship was an incredible experience. Not only did I have the privilege to live and work inside...
The Erb Institute welcomes you to join us in celebrating a recent award for one of our new Erber's, Carissa De Young. Carissa is a newly-minted recipient of the Rackham Non-Traditional Fellowship. A path that started with a week long service trip to Mexico as a 15...
In early May I packed up my car and drove West from Ann Arbor to Seattle for a summer opportunity with Social Venture Partners Seattle (SVP) to help them to develop a strategic planning process. SVP is a nonprofit network whose mission is to, “cultivate effective...
I worked with two organizations at Eastern Market in Detroit last summer: Farm Stand and Grow Eastern Market. My experience gave me insight on the food system and some of the challenges that exist in supplying fresh produce. It also reinforced my interest in working...
Exploring Best Practices for Human Rights Issues By Allison Torres Burtka The field of sustainability has evolved in recent years to include human rights issues. Consumers and investors have made these issues a priority, so businesses are responding. As they do,...