Dominican University of California has received a bronze level ranking in sustainability, according to the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System (STARS) of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE).

"This is an incredible accomplishment considering how rigorous and comprehensive this evaluation was," said Dr. Vania Coelho, faculty coordinator for Dominican's Center for Sustainability. "This rating is a clear testament to the commitment that our students, faculty and staff have shown over the years. Without support at all levels we would never have been able to achieve such a milestone."

Skip To Renew, a Bay Area cleantech company, became the Western Region Finalist in the Air, Water, and Waste category of the 2012 Cleantech Open. Skip To Renew develops petroleum-free, non-toxic, and biodegradable lubricants for industrial applications, while striving to use 100% plant and algae oils cultivated in the US. Their passion is reduction of the greenhouse gas emissions and accidental toxic releases associated with the spills and burning of conventional petroleum-based lubricants.

The firm won $20,000 in cash and in-kind services as they proceed to the National Round of the Cleantech Open, to be held November 8-9 in Santa Clara, CA. "This has been a great opportunity to work with major industry players and raise investment. It gives our startup the chance to make a real difference at large scale, enabling companies to skip the petroleum and skip the toxins" says Skip To Renew Co-Founder Janine Elliott.

…Or so said, John Stayton, Executive Director of The Venture Green House and Professor in the GreenMBA at Dominican University of California. John had the unique opportunity to attend the Annual R& D Management Conference held in Grenoble, France this year to present his paper on Accelerating Performance: A Dynamic Capabilities Understanding of Speed in Innovative Venture Emergence in the Clean Tech Industry. He was the only scholar from an American University at the conference.

The Theme for the conference this year was Creating and Capturing Value through R&D Management and Innovation. John offered the following significant take aways from the experience that debunk American perception of Government, Innovation and Europeans.

1) The government can play a major positive role in innovation.  Contrary to what many in the US believe, active investment by the government can lead to a vibrant technology sector. For example, the Minatec campus, which is a part of a government funded R&D cluster, conducts pure research as well as commercialization of research in micro and nanotechnology and includes photon research as well as clean tech development. “The scope of the cluster was astonishing,” said John, “and has generated thousands of high wage jobs.”

2) European R&D scholars are welcoming and collaborative. In general, Americans perceive Europeans to be reserved. John’s experience at this conference was the opposite. With few exceptions, he said the conference-goers were friendly, generous, and eager to share their work.

3) Applied research on start-up performance by an American attracts attention. John assumed that his presentation would have a very thin audience. He couldn’t have been more wrong.  “The room was packed”.  While he shrugs off whether or not they were there for his presentation in particular, his research did attract a lot of attention. “There is interest in real world applications (for research on innovation)”.  Also, the US is still known for its technology start-up performance.

If The US is going to remain in a leadership position, we may have to take some cues from our European friends on collaboration, sharing and government funded R&D

By Hannah Albarazi
Read the complete article here >>

Excerpt from the article:

In San Rafael, Dominican University of California has been offering an M.B.A. in Sustainable Enterprise for ten years. Dean Dan Moshavi said the university’s School of Business and Leadership program is designed to “help students combine their own social value sets with what’s going on in the world … to align their career goals more closely with their personal views.”

“People are using good business acumen to transform, meet and exceed social needs,” Moshavi said.

Rachel Stauffer, a 2009 almunus of the Green MBA program at Dominican University, who is designing a retreat and farm in Occidental, called Tree of Life Farm, described Ecological Economics, as the most valuable class she took during her M.B.A.

“It incorporated how to use recycled and reused materials to make products in major industries. It taught you to think about the lifecycle of what you were doing and design it appropriately,” said Stauffer.

Mike Yohay of Cityscape Farms. The February 12 edition of Fast Company magazine features an interview with GreenMBA grad and CEO of Cityscape Farms, Mike Yohay. Cityscape Farms creates urban greenhouse systems for year round production of sustainable and local fresh food. According to the website: "By growing fresh food within just a few miles of where it will be eaten, we will have healthier, better tasting produce and make our cities cleaner and more self-sufficient." When asked how the Fast Company article came about, Mike noted: "I think it was the intersection of our unique venture, favorable timing (urban farming is hot right now), and word of mouth via our social networking efforts. I was amazed that it didn't even take a press release to reach the editorial staff at Fast Company; rather, they found us. The way information spreads today is truly astounding - having a strong web 2.0 presence is essential." In the interview, Mike states, "I would say the cornerstone of sustainable food is transparency, meaning, the externalities of the production of the food are not hidden from the consumer." He acknowledges that keeping down costs of Cityscape's vegetables is a challenge, but points to the advantages of building local relationships and an appreciation for the smaller footprint of his produce in terms of packaging and energy and water use as his company's strengths. Mike shows his business savvy in his caution about expanding too quickly: "I get emails and phone calls from cities saying, 'This city needs it as much, if not more, than San Francisco,' and in some cases I agree. But we’re a startup, and we’re working our butts off to get this off the ground, and we don’t want to stretch ourselves too thin. It would be a disservice. We’ll expand when the time feels right." Mike got his GreenMBA from Dominican in 2007, and started CityScape in 2008. While environmental values have always been important to Mike (he's a vegan, and previously worked at a Costa Rican eco lodge), he first gained business experience in fine art sales, after earning a degree in Art and Computer Science from Grinnell College. Mike notes that the GreenMBA training supports his decisionmaking: "I wear my GreenMBA like a badge, reminding me of the privilege and responsibility of doing good in this world and using business as the catalyst. Cityscape Farms was born from my constant dreaming of a way to build a better mousetrap in an industry that has profound repercussions on the environment: agriculture. But doing something novel in a vast and highly competitive industry requires tremendous amounts of tenacity and confidence, both of which the GreenMBA program fortifies in its students. As for being an entrepreneur and putting one's ideas to the test, I say: challenge the status quo, know when to ask for help, and continually seek candid feedback from people whose opinions you respect. Oh, and never stop dreaming!"

In yet another signal that the San Francisco Bay Area is the nexus of triple-bottom-line business education, the GreenMBA was recognized on the front page of the business section of the San Francisco Chronicle today. Reporter Carolyn Said noted: The Bay Area is home to two pioneering programs that grant green MBAs - the Presidio Graduate School with a campus in San Francisco's Presidio, and the Green MBA program (www.greenmba.com) at Dominican University in San Rafael. Alumni Mike Yohay and Phoebe Higgins were featured, along with two Presidio alumni. Read the full article here.