Sustainable Enterprise Partnership announces Michael Russo as inaugural Fetner Visiting Sustainability Leader

The Sustainable Enterprise Partnership (SEP) has announced that Michael V. Russo, the Lundquist Professor of Sustainable Management in the Lundquist College of Business at the University of Oregon, will be the SEP’s inaugural Fetner Visiting Sustainability Leader. As one of the nation’s leading academics on sustainability, Russo focuses his research on the interaction of national and international environmental, social and political policies, and on strategies for social impact and environmental management. 

As the Fetner Visiting Sustainability Leader, Russo will be on campus from Feb. 17-19 to speak about his work with faculty and students, and will return in August to teach an intensive course on strategic management in the natural environment, as part of the SEP’s Certificate of Advanced Study in Sustainable Enterprise (CASSE). 

The Fetner Visiting Sustainability Leader is made possible through a gift by Hal Fetner ’83, president and CEO of Durst-Fetner Residential, and his wife, Nina, to establish the Fetner Program Fund at the Whitman School of Management for sustainability-related activities. The title of Fetner Visiting Sustainability Leader will be given annually to a business or academic expert in sustainable enterprise whose three-to-four-day residency involves direct, in-depth work with faculty and students. 

“Nina and I are so pleased that Professor Russo is this year’s Fetner Visiting Sustainability Leader,” says Hal Fetner. “Professor Russo’s expertise and experience will be a terrific resource for the students and faculty of the SEP, and we are eager to hear his insights into sustainable business practices and creating markets for environmentally responsible products and commodities.” 

Russo is the founding director of the Center for Sustainable Business Practices at the University of Oregon’s Lundquist College of Business.  A registered professional civil engineer, he spent several years commercializing alternative energy while at Pacific Gas and Electric Co.  He recently completed a study of the drivers of green power sales and a project with the Mexican government to improve markets for environmentally certified wood products.  His current projects include a study of the impact of social and environmental issues on global supply chains and an analysis of clustering behavior by mission-driven companies. His forthcoming book, “Companies on a Mission: Entrepreneurial Strategies for Growing Sustainably, Responsibly, and Profitably,” will be published by Stanford University Press this April. 

Russo’s articles have appeared in premier scholarly journals, including the Academy of Management Journal, Administrative Science Quarterly, Management Science, Organization Science and the Strategic Management Journal. He serves on the editorial boards of the Academy of Management Journal and the Strategic Management Journal. 

The SEP is a collaborative effort involving faculty and researchers from three partnering institutions—the Whitman School of Management, the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry and the Syracuse Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems (SyracuseCoE)—and provides world-class education and research on sustainable enterprise by leveraging the academic, public and private sector resources of Central New York and beyond to address this significant and growing area of concern for businesses and other organizations.