New Website Showcases Efforts to Make Products More Sustainable

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, June 07, 2011

CONTACT: Erin McKenzie
(919) 613-3652
erin.mckenzie@duke.edu

DURHAM, N.C. – The Duke Center for Sustainability & Commerce has launched a new website designed to support independent and transparent sustainability research that can be used by decision makers to meet global sustainability challenges.

The site can be accessed at http://center.sustainability.duke.edu/.

It enables users to interact with the Center’s Director Jay Golden, on his blog “Dialogue with the Director,” and browse details on current projects, reports and research fact sheets by the Center.

In addition, it features sustainability-focused reports from organizations and universities across the world as well as a growing library of articles, standards, policies and regulations on the topic. The site will eventually expand to house a larger, more interactive database of this information.

“The Duke Center for Sustainability & Commerce will be the place to go for information on emerging organizational and technological innovations for sustainability” said Golden. “In addition, we are working with leading academic and industry partners to undertake research to more effectively support decision makers on issues of global sustainability and commerce.”

The site houses information on sustainability-related certificates and programs at Duke University for students and industry professionals, as well as the opportunities available to work side-by-side with Center researchers.

Students selected as fellows of the Center also assist in populating the website’s “Innovations” section. It aims to share interviews they conduct with the industry executives behind some of today’s cutting-edge products, which are featured alongside company-provided fact sheets on these items. So far this year, fellows have interviewed executives at Nike, EGG-Energy and Procter & Gamble.

For consumers, there are facts on electricity and water consumption, and even tips to help guide individuals in reducing their own environmental impacts. Other sections include Center events, news and membership information.

The Center is housed at the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions. It is focused on bringing government and industry leaders together to find meaningful ways to make products and goods more sustainable.

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