Andy Hoffman, the Holcim (US) Professor of Sustainable Enterprise at SNRE, was one of 20 environmental researchers from across North America recently awarded Leopold Leadership Fellowships for 2011. Based at Stanford University's Woods Institute for the Environment, the Leopold Leadership Program was founded in 1998 to help academic scientists make their knowledge accessible to decision makers.
On the heels of last week's federal recommendations to help prevent another BP oil spill disaster, a University of Michigan researcher says the tragedy has come close to acting as a catalyst for deeper change---but not quite. "The BP oil spill is, potentially, a 'cultural anomaly' for institutional changes in environmental management and fossil fuel production," said Andrew Hoffman, professor of management and organizations at the Ross School of Business and a professor at the School of Natural Resources and Environment. "But true change in our approach to handling issues related to oil drilling, oil consumption and environmental management have yet to occur."
Andrew Hoffman, associate director of the Erb Institute and SNRE professor, participated in a series of workshops addressing the behavioral and social science aspects of global climate change. The recently published book Facilitating Climate Change Responses documents the information presented in the workshop presentations and discussions. This material illustrates some of the ways the behavioral and social sciences can contribute to the new era of climate research. Professor Hoffman delivered the introductory comments and moderated a panel discussion for the session on the greening of business, which is covered in Chapter 4.
SNRE Dean Rosina M. Bierbaum and Professors Andy Hoffman, Maria Carmen Lemos and Ted Parsons contributed to a series of recently published national reports on climate change. The National Research Council of the National Academies of Science produced the series, called America's Climate Choices, at the request of Congress.
The University of Michigan's School of Natural Resources and Environment is the only graduate environmental school in the nation to combine natural science, social science and design into one shared research and educational enterprise. Nine faculty members representing multiple disciplines are hosting five symposia that address distinct and complex facets of sustainability science.