Students at Brown University have organized a two-day conference to promote environmental sustainability. The conference brings together a wide range of environmental leaders, including Ira Magaziner, chairman of the Clinton Global Initiative; U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse; Gov. Donald Carcieri; and Adam Werbach, CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi S.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — The Brown is Green Initiative (B.I.G.), a student-led coalition of campus-based environmental organizations, will host a two-day colloquium around the theme of environmental sustainability on April 25-26, 2008. “Brown is Green 2008: Strategies for a Sustainable Future” will bring together a wide range of leaders in the environmental field, including academics, activists, politicians and business leaders. This event is free and open to the public; advance registration will be available online and is encouraged.

Topics include climate change, sustainable building, alternative and renewable energy, policy solutions, environmental justice, and employment opportunities in the environmental field. The conference kicks off with a donation of plastic water bottles for recycling in exchange for receiving an environment-friendly reusable water bottle. It includes a screening of the feature film, Into the Wild. Both events will take place on the College Green. The conference concludes with a dinner prepared with ingredients grown on local farms.

“Right now there is a remarkable sense of energy at Brown around the issue of a creating a sustainable environment,” said Lauren Kolodny, a Brown senior and one of the conference organizers. “We wanted to capture that enthusiasm and build on it by providing a forum for the exchange of ideas on a topic that is of such universal concern.”

The goal of this event is to foster dialogue and connections between students, staff and faculty as well as community members and government and business leaders who are trying to understand environmental problems and craft solutions to those problems. The roster of conference speakers includes:

• Ira Magaziner, chairman, Clinton Climate Initiative;
• Sheldon Whitehouse. U.S. senator from Rhode Island;
• Adam Werbach, CEO, Saatchi and Saatchi S, and former president of the Sierra Club;
• Donald Carcieri, governor of Rhode Island;
• David Cicilline, mayor of Providence;
• Frank Caprio, state treasurer Rhode Island;
• Stephen Schneider, professor of biological sciences, Stanford University.

A full schedule of events is available online at www.brown.edu/big.

Brown University has demonstrated a commitment to environmental sustainability in all facets of University life. Students pursue coursework in the field and faculty members are engaged in environmental research and innovation in alternative energies and global climate change. In January, the University announced an aggressive and comprehensive plan that will reduce campus greenhouse gas emissions from existing facilities to 42 percent below 2007 levels by 2020. Brown also implemented a requirement that emissions will be reduced by up to 50 percent for all newly constructed and acquired facilities.

In addition, the University has initiated and supports on-campus recycling and energy-saving transportation and purchasing initiatives. University Dining Services strives to purchase locally grown and fairly traded foods. A full description of University efforts is available at www.brown.edu/Departments/Brown_Is_Green/

Editors: Brown University has a fiber link television studio available for domestic and international live and taped interviews and maintains an ISDN line for radio interviews. For more information, call the Office of Media Relations at (401) 863-2476.

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