Webster University’s Second Annual Sustainability Conference comes to Webster Groves

Webster University’s second annual Sustainability Conference will be held on April 12-13 at Webster University in St. Louis.

ST. LOUIS, March 18, 2013 –Webster University’s second annual Sustainability Conference will be held on April 12-13 at Webster University in St. Louis.

The conference theme Sustainability: Our Common Future embraces a wide range of topics and issues related to community and global sustainability. The conference will bring together academia, businesses, community leaders and organizations to share in dialogue and achieve a greater understanding of how we collaborate on sustainability challenges for our common future. This conference is a part of the University’s overall commitment to sustainability, which involves reducing its impact on the environment, improving campus engagement and increasing the awareness of the benefits of sustainability in education with our growing academic offerings in all Webster’s schools and colleges.

Ameren Corporation will be the presenting sponsor of the second annual conference that  builds upon the success of the 2012 event where presentations included information on the state of sustainability in higher education and how organizations and individuals can work together to be better global citizens.

“Sustainability is a priority for Webster University and through conferences such as this, we are able to connect our efforts in academia with the greater community,” said Oren Yagil, organizer of the Webster University Sustainability Conference. “I am grateful to all of our sponsors and especially thankful to Ameren for their generosity as a presenting sponsor.” 

“As part of our strategic plan, Ameren is committed to enhancing the sustainability of our communities,” said Michael Menne, Vice President of Environmental Services, and chairman of the Corporate Sustainability Council at Ameren. “By supporting this conference, we are helping educate more thought leaders on the benefits of integrating the triple bottom line, enhancing value for people, planet and profit. We see our commitment to sustainability as key to fulfilling our promise, Focused Energy. For Life.”

The keynote speaker for the conference is Dr. David W. Orr, the Paul Sears Distinguished Professor of Environmental Studies and Politics and Senior Adviser to the President, Oberlin College. He is the author of seven books, including Down to the Wire: Confronting Climate Collapse (Oxford, 2009) and co-editor of three others. Dr. Monty Hempel, a documentary filmmaker and environmental scientist, is the featured speaker for the event. He is currently the Hedco Professor of Environmental Studies and Director of the Center for Environmental Studies at the University of Redlands, in Southern California. He is also president of Blue Planet United, a small 501(c)(3) educational organization that produces environmental films and publishes a quarterly news journal about human population, consumption and sustainability.

Other speakers at the 2013 conference include Kathleen Logan Smith, executive director of the Missouri Coalition for the Environment; Lt. Gen. Kathleen M. Gainey, deputy commander, U.S. Transportation Command, Scott Air Force Base; and Col. Christopher G. Hall, commander, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers St. Louis District.

Ameren is the Presenting Sponsor for the event. Silver Sponsors include Mallinkrodt, St. Louis Business Journal, Laclede Gas, Sodexo, Waste Management, AT&T and Herff Jones. Visit the conference website to learn more about the event.

Conference Registration

Register here for the conference, which is open to the public.

About Ameren

Ameren’s 9,000 employees provide the energy that powers the quality of life for approximately 3.3 million electric and natural gas customers in Missouri and Illinois. As a business leader, Ameren is promoting a broader culture of sustainability by focusing on practices we can implement across our 64,000-mile service territory. One example is our single-stream recycling program. Ameren employees’ recycling efforts divert 120 tons of trash from a landfill every month. For this and other sustainable practices, Ameren received the Star Circle of Excellence award from the St. Louis Regional Chamber’s 2012 Green Business Challenge.