Erb Institute Seminar

Erb Institute Seminar --- This course is esigned and delivered by the Erb Institute and tailored specifically for incoming Erb students - including both first-year students, as well as second-year Ross and SEAS students who joined Erb as midyear admits. This is a survey course, which presents a high-level introduction to a wide range of sustainability issues rather than a theoretical analysis or deep-dive into any one particular issue area. A combination of Erb speakers, university faculty and invited sustainability practitioners will lead the sessions. The discussions are designed to be interactive and engaging - which means that the full learning experience will depend on both speaker and student involvement. The Erb Institute's perspective on "robust sustainability" covers a broad range of economic, social, environmental, labor, and human-rights risks and opportunities for business. Our stakeholder-based view of the firm (contrasted with the traditional shareholder-based view) recognizes the role of both internal and external stakeholders in helping companies to better understand sustainability issues, minimize risks and leverage business opportunities. The course is intended to meet the following objectives: - Sustainability Exposure: Expose students to a broad understanding of the complex sustainability risks, challenges and opportunities. - Practitioner Perspective: Temper the business perspective with real-life experiences and learnings of seasoned sustainability professionals who have experienced what works and what doesn't in their own careers. - Erb Community: Build community within the new cohort of Erb students.