UO E-clips, Sept. 25

EMERALD AWARDS: Eugene Chamber developed program to recognize businesses for sustainable practices (Register-Guard): Bulk Handling Systems’ Steve Miller enjoys a reception for Emerald Award nominees at the Jacobs Gallery Wednesday night. Bulk Handling Systems received an award for a growth. The company makes recycling and sorting equipment in Eugene. A real estate firm, a medical practice, a biotech firm and a firm that specializes in recycling equipment were honored Wednesday evening at the fifth annual Emerald Awards. … [among the honored was the UO spinoff founded by two UO scientists] MitoSciences, which won the Emerald Award for Innovation. … The company’s products enable researchers to monitor the health and function of mitochondria -- the energy centers of cells -- and have implications for developing new drugs and fighting diseases such as cancer and diabetes.

The buck stops at fiduciary responsibility (Sustainable Industries): A long-time labor leader in the West once said to me that organized labor is fraught with problems, but history has consistently offered no alternative. In many cases, that seems just about right. The latest example? So-called "socially responsible investing." The problem? How do we reconcile fiduciary responsibility with sustainability goals? ... Other tactics have been taken to attempt to reconcile sustainability goals with fiduciary responsibility. A few enlightened CEOs, most notably Ray Anderson at Interface [see "Triple threat," page 21], have endeavored to justify their environmental and societal efforts under the name of long-term fiduciary responsibility. A few academic studies, including those by University of Oregon business school professor Mike Russo, have shown that companies with superior environmental performance have better long-term financial performance.

A workout at work (Bend Bulletin): It's just after noon on a sunny fall day, and at Bend Research Group's office in Tumalo, that's workout time. Employees jog out of the office onto the bucolic roads surrounding the facility or to an adjacent field, ready to play ultimate Frisbee or work out with a personal trainer. It's a scene repeated daily here, one that has become part of the culture at the company. ... The idea to promote wellness through the workplace caught on in the late 1980s and early 1990s, said Jim Terborg, a professor of management at the University of Oregon's Lundquist College of Business who has consulted on wellness programs for companies that include Nike and Coors.

Transportation will be subject of economic forum (Daily Journal of Commerce): Oregon’s transportation infrastructure is the focus of this year’s Oregon Economic Forum. Ships, Planes and Trains: Oregon’s Links to the Global Economy will be held on Oct. 16 from 7:30 to 11:30 a.m. at the Oregon Zoo, 4001 S.W. Canyon Road, in Portland. Event keynote speaker Bill Wyatt, executive director of the Port of Portland, will discuss whether Oregon has sufficient transportation infrastructure to compete in a global economy. Tim Duy, director of the Oregon Economic Forum and adjunct professor of economics at the University of Oregon, will present an update and forecast for national and Oregon economies. In addition, he will introduce a business cycle dating procedure for Oregon developed by UO economist Jeremy Piger.

UO toasts campus at White Stag Block (Associated Press, appearing in the Oregonian): With its first official semester beginning Monday, the University of Oregon's Portland campus -- on the White Stag Block, at 70 N.W. Couch St. -- will host four days of lectures, entertainment and tours next week. The recently completed eco-friendly building will serve about 150 students in UO programs such as journalism, architecture, law, digital arts and product design. Noncredit and weekend courses will be open to the community, such as writing sustainability plans, staging world-class athletic events and the law of wine.