New Program Director to Help Reduce Corporations' Environmental Footprint
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2010
CONTACT: Erin McKenzie
(919) 613-3652
erin.mckenzie@duke.edu
DURHAM, N.C. -- A leader in efforts to assist the world’s largest manufacturers and retailers in creating a universal sustainability measurement and labeling system for consumer products has joined Duke University’s Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions.
Jay Golden has been appointed director of the Institute’s Corporate Sustainability Initiative Program where he will continue work to examine corporate sustainability practices.
“I am thrilled to have Jay Golden join the Institute to take the helm of the Corporate Sustainability Initiative,” said Tim Profeta, director of the Nicholas Institute. “Jay has been at the center of work to address our great environmental challenges, and, through collaborations with private firms, will bring the same type of informed thought on these issues as existing Nicholas Institute staff have done with officials in the public sector. His presence at the Institute will ensure Duke is a key player in helping private firms chart a smart path forward on sustainability issues.”
Golden comes to Duke from Arizona State University where he served as an assistant professor in the School of Sustainability as well as held joint appointments in the School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment and the W.P. Carey School of Business. While at ASU, he not only directed a National Center of Excellence on Sustainable Materials and Renewable Technologies, but also co-founded The Sustainability Consortium. This multi-university consortium, funded by more than 60 companies that include Procter & Gamble, Wal-Mart and Disney, is developing a global labeling and indexing program to score the environmental impact of products on store shelves.
“The issues facing today’s corporations in addressing the growing social and environmental sustainability imperatives are highly complex and require a trans-disciplinary approach,” said Golden. “It is very exciting to come to Duke University and have the opportunity to pull together and work with colleagues across campus to take on these global technological and organizational challenges.”
Prior to joining Duke, Golden had worked with university faculty as partners in the consortium. In addition, he had been collaborating with several in Duke’s Nicholas School of the Environment as director of the Sustainable Energy Fellowship. A partnership between Duke and three other leading universities, the fellowship is designed to provide a unique learning experience to exceptional undergraduate and graduate students considering a career involving energy.
At the Nicholas Institute, Golden will continue to serve as director of the Sustainable Energy Fellowship and a senior advisor to the consortium as well as teach and supervise doctoral students that are transferring with him to the university.
Golden received his Ph.D. in engineering for sustainable development from the University of Cambridge, and a master’s degree in environmental engineering and sustainable development from the Cambridge-MIT Institute—a joint program of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Cambridge. He also holds a professional certificate from Stanford University in advanced project management with a focus on organizations.
He sits on the UN Life Cycle Management Task Force, the American Council on Renewable Energy Higher Education Committee and the Advisory Council to the Pew Center on Corporate Energy Efficiency. In 2009, he was the recipient of the Aspen Faculty Pioneer Award for work on sustainability education and research.
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