NJHEPS Newsletter - December, 2005

Newsletter
December, 2005

In this issue:


New NJHEPS Executive Director John Cusack, speaking at a sustainability conference in Bonn, Germany

Meet John L. Cusack, New Executive Director of NJHEPS
Donald Wheeler, Ph.D., NJHEPS Past President and Executive Director- Introducing The New Executive Director- John Cusack

I am delighted to announce that NJHEPS has selected John L. Cusack as Executive Director from December 1, 2005. John is what we might call these days, a social entrepreneur and change agent devoted to sustainability. He brings something unique and much needed by NJHEPS at this juncture. John has thirty years of practical experience championing technical, financial and organizational innovations resulting in advances in sustainability in corporations, non-profits, academia and the community where he lives. The "triple bottom line" (performance that focuses on integrating environmental, social and economic results) was the central driving force in John's decision-making long before the term was coined. It is no accident that John went for an MCE in Environmental Engineering and Science (Manhattan College) and an MBA in Management with a concentration in Finance. John sought to bring state-of-the-art engineering and management skills to bear on sustainability challenges. He works for measurable results that make economic sense, further social equity and support a healthy, flourishing planet-long term.

Here are a few signal successes:

John's hobbies/interests include skiing, hiking, sailing, camping and railroads. He is a citizen of the United States of America and the Republic of Ireland.

Don Wheleer's Interview with the New Executive Director

I thought I would ask John a few questions that relate to why he signed on to the mission of NJHEPS to be a change agent for sustainability in higher education in New Jersey:

Don: What do you believe that Sustainability means?
John: I have two favorite definitions of sustainability. The first is derived from the definition used in the 1987 Brundtland Report on Environment and Development, namely that sustainability is an approach to human development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. The second definition comes from the financial world, where sustainability is viewed as the intersection and integration of environmental, social and economic issues, also known as the "triple bottom line". To have a truly long-term sustainable society, we must have both a sustainable economy and a sustainable planet. The real bottom line is that sustainability is about making the world a better place, not a worse place, for our children and grandchildren.

Don: Where does your interest and commitment to Sustainability come from?
John: My mother always said my curiosity would get me into trouble, and nothing is more interesting to a curious person than the interdisciplinary nature of sustainability! I became interested in environmental issues in college when I worked on an assessment of the Hudson River shoreline in the Bronx that was a partnership between Manhattan College and the Hudson River Fisherman's Association. We looked not just at the ecology of the river and shoreline, but also at the history and social structure of the people who lived along the river. Although I did not know it at the time, it was probably the first 'sustainability" study in which I was involved in my 30+ year career. Later, as I worked in the business world in such sectors as environmental technology, energy and finance, I became more interested in the inter-relationships between environmental, social and economic issues rather than specializing in any one area. It wasn't until the late 1980's, as the terms sustainable development and sustainability came into vogue, that I found a word to describe my interests. I also worked quite a bit internationally in my career, including consulting work in Asia and Africa in the 1970's, running a global subsidiary of ABB in Germany in the early 1990's, working for the World Environment Center as VP of corporate programs, and as startup CEO of Innovest Strategic Value Advisors, the environmental performance rating and financial research house, where in less than three years we signed up 150 financial industry clients in 5 continents. As I found out, the rest of the world was (and probably still is) ahead of North America in understanding and implementing the concept of sustainability.

Don: What made you interested in becoming Executive Director of NJHEPS?
John: In the process of earning both a master's in Environmental Engineering & Science from Manhattan College and a MBA from NYU Stern School, I developed a long-term interest in higher education, and whether it was doing a good job of producing the educated citizen and leaders who understood how environmental, social and economic issues affected their lives. In 1992, I was asked to become an advisor to the Sustainable Development Initiative at Columbia University's graduate Business School, and from then on, I was hooked. I ended up becoming a guest lecturer on sustainability and the interaction of environment, society and finance at a number of institutions, including at NJIT, Yale, North Carolina, RPI, NYU, Columbia, INSEAD, Erasmus, Oregon, Tufts, Iona, and other colleges and universities. I think accepting the Position of Executive Director of NJHEPS is part of my desire to continue to influence the higher education system to integrate sustainability into all parts of the educational process and the educational infrastructure that supports that teaching process.

Don: How do you see yourself working with NJHEPS- style, substance?
John: My style has always been collaborative in nature, and the consortium nature of NJHEPS is ideal for my approach to life and management. To achieve sustainability we have to work together, or we will fail separately. I also have described myself as a "practical environmentalist", which means that we cannot let the perfect interfere with the good. We may have to make compromises to get started, listen to all sides of the issues, and achieve initial progress and success- we will always have plenty of opportunities to go back and fix things later with continued input from stakeholders. A friend of mine, Dr. Klaus Topfer, former German Environment Minister and now the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme, was asked why he initiated a strict packaging recycling law in Germany when he knew the technology was not there yet to implement the law. He replied that if he waited for the technology to be developed before he implemented the law, nothing would have happened, and it did not bother him to make mid-course corrections or delay penalties as the technical ability to recycle waste developed. Dr. Topfer's key point was the need to "get started now". My goal at NJHEPS will be to an agent of change, to get started as rapidly as possible, and to achieve results of substance, yet be willing to be flexible and listen as we proceed.

Don: How do you see Sustainability and the main problems facing humankind and the earth that sustainability addresses?
John: Sustainability is just an approach, not the solution. We must apply the principles of sustainability to solving the many problems such as hunger, lack of clean water, poor sanitation, illiteracy, wealth differentials, AIDS, climate change, deforestation, etc., that the world faces. The key question is how can we find the sustainable solutions that are cost-effective, efficient and benefit society with a full understanding of their potential impacts (both good and bad) on society and the planet. If we cannot honestly say that a solution leaves the world a better place, we have to go back to the drawing board and find another solution. An excellent example is using clean and renewable energy to cut down on greenhouse gas emissions. Most of the technology needed to solve the carbon emissions problem already exists- we just need to have the courage to stop subsidizing old technologies and push the newer technologies through the steps of commercialization and implementation. It is what my children elegantly call a "no-brainer"- we just have to teach people how to think in a sustainable manner. In many cases, this means leading by example, and many NJ higher education institutions have already committed to purchasing renewable energy and/or fuel cells, designing energy-efficient buildings and encouraging use of mass transit by employees and students.

Don: How would you like to see higher education change to be more solidly supportive of sustainability?
John: I think many higher education institutions have been taking steps towards thinking in a sustainable fashion, dating back to the Talloires Declaration of 1990. However, the results have been very uneven. Most of the interest and activities have been in environmental sciences, social sciences or engineering departments, in buildings & facilities groups, and in the niches of earth/environmental institutes or specialty research teams. I think for higher education to become truly a leader in sustainability, we have to see the professional schools such as law, business and medicine teach sustainability as much as the environmental and international affairs departments. The research I led at Innovest into the relationship between the environmental performance and financial performance of publicly traded companies is an example of the type of university research that can directly lead to new businesses and job-creation in New Jersey. We have to see university/college CFO's investing their endowments in a sustainable manner, and considering actual societal life cycle costs in capital improvement budgets, not just initial costs. We have to see all students graduating with an understanding of basic technology and sustainability principles that is down-to-earth and meaningful for their daily lives. We do not lack for opportunity to make changes!

Don: What are some of the things you would like to see NJHEPS do?
John: The first thing I want NJHEPS to do is give me their suggestions, input and ideas- I plan to spend a lot of time listening, as I know I am not coming to NJHEPS with all of the answers. Some of NJHEPS's present activities are moving along fine, such as the efforts on energy-efficiency, renewable energy and energy auditing, and I expect them to continue to do so with continued support from member institutions, NJBPU, foundations, and NJ businesses. Some areas that haven't been highlighted yet may need my support and particular expertise. The financial aspects of sustainability are an NJHEPS educational area that I will want to work on with NJ business schools, university financial executives, private industry and government officials. I recently helped organize and plan a seminar on the financial risks and opportunities of climate change for the CT insurance industry that could be a good model for educating key NJ financial sectors such as insurance, asset management, venture capital and hedge funds on emerging sustainable business opportunities. Who would have thought two years ago that hedge funds and investment funds would be set up to take advantage of the arbitrage between carbon credit prices in different countries around the world (see related newsletter story), or that the investment bank Goldman Sachs would announce a corporate environmental policy? We need to train New Jersey's people for the sustainable jobs of the future, not the disappearing legacy industries of the past, and we have to help New Jersey's universities and colleges emphasize BOTH the opportunities and risks of sustainability issues, as being sustainable will be critical to the long-term economic success and job-creation ability of New Jersey's economy.

What's Up Next For NJHEPS? A Sample of Spring 2006 Activities
John L. Cusack and Donald Wheeler* *Don Wheeler will offer staff support and continue as an NJHEPS officer (Immediate Past President).

Alternative Investment Funds Such As Hedge Funds Get Interested In Climate Change And The Environment
John Cusack

Recently, the MassMutual Insurance Group announced a unique partnership with Norfolk Capital, a CT-based alternative investment strategy group to create a new joint venture, Wood Creek Capital. Wood Creek, based in New Haven CT, will look for alternative investment strategies revolving around emerging environmental issues, including possible arbitrage between the differences in carbon emission credits in various countries and regulatory schemes, or the differences between the value of renewable energy certificates (REC's) and carbon emission credits. Wood Creek Capital will both serve as a venture capital fund, investing equity in emerging fund managers with innovative investment approaches, and serve as a "fund of funds', proving client funds to the selected investment managers to manage. Other investment groups are also using alternative investment strategies based on environmental factors such as corporate environmental or corporate responsibility performance, primarily long-short hedging strategies between companies with excellent and poor performance records. These firms include Light Green Advisors of Seattle, Minlam Asset Management of New York City and Dover Asset Management of Greenwich.

Sustainability Challenges Lead to Innovative New Financial Products and Services


John Cusack A success story of how sustainability can lead to new financial products and services is the NY-based company Innovest Strategic Value Advisors. Founded in 1998 by three co-founders, one of whom was the new Executive Director of NJHEPS, John Cusack, Innovest rates the environmental performance and intangible value performance of over 2,000 publicly traded companies around the world, including most of the S&P 500, the FT 350 and a number of other well-know stock indexes using letter grades from AAA to CCC. This information is sold to financial investors and fund managers around the world, with Innovest clients in 5 continents, and allows investors to see how companies are performing on key sustainability indicators. Innovest products include company and industry environmental performance reports that summarize the reasons why companies have received their ratings. These ratings are done on a relative ranking compared to their peers in each industry sector. More information on Innovest is available on their web site at www.innovestgroup.com

A number of fund managers use Innovest ratings as an investment screen (combined with a financial screen), since Innovest's research shows that, over the long run, companies with above-average environmental performance in an industry sector do better financially.


The 454-Kilowatt Solar-Powered System Will Supply Electric Needs with Clean and Reliable Solar Power

Monmouth University to Install Largest University Solar Energy System in State
Monmouth University’s Board of Trustees have announced that installation will begin on the largest solar electric system at any New Jersey university in the next few weeks at Monmouth University. The 454-kilowatt solar-powered system, furnished by PowerLight Corporation, will supply the University’s electric needs with clean and reliable solar power.

“We are delighted that solar power is being installed at Monmouth University,” stated University President Paul G. Gaffney II. “The project will save the University at least $2.7 million in energy savings over 25 years. The University will save money and energy, while also protecting the environment.”

The project will take about one year to complete. The total cost of the project is approximately $2.8 million, of which the University received funding from the State of New Jersey Board of Public Utilities in the amount of $1.7 million.

“Monmouth University continues to distinguish itself as a University committed to the environment,” said Steve Parks ‘68, chairman of the Board of Trustees. “We are excited to be among the first universities to use this cost-effective, reliable, and non-polluting system.”

The solar rooftop system will cover 33,000 square feet atop four buildings on campus—Bey Hall, Boylan Gymnasium, the Rebecca Stafford Student Center, and the Facilities Management building.

In addition to the financial savings by avoiding the purchase of fossil-fueled generated electricity, the project will spare the University and the community from thousands of harmful emissions, including nitrogen oxide, solar dioxide, and carbon dioxide, all of which are major contributors to smog, acid rain, and global warming.

During the next thirty years, the solar-generated electricity will reduce emissions of carbon dioxide by more than 5,000 tons. These emission reductions are equivalent to planting 1,500 acres of trees, removing 1,000 cars from the road, or not driving 13 million miles on New Jersey roadways.

The solar electric system is a lightweight building-integrated photovoltaic (PV) roofing assembly installed over an existing roof membrane. The photovoltaic modules use solar cells made of solid-state semiconductors to convert sunlight into direct current (DC) electricity. The DC output from the PV modules is then converted to useable alternating current (AC) power by an inverter, and connected into the building’s service panel.

The grid-connected system reduces Monmouth University’s electrical load, especially during peak demand times when the utility grid is the most strained—and electricity is most expensive—which benefits all New Jersey utility customers.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Upcoming AEE Telecourses

Complete Course Offerings (including sessions on Sustainable Green Buildings: Introduction to LEED and Strategic Energy Planning): www.aeecenter.org/realtime/.

***
NJHEPS
John L. Cusack, Executive Director
Dr. Daniel Watts, President

Want to share progress towards sustainability on your campus? Please send news items to Terra Meierdierck (973-642-7848; tmeierdierck@njheps.org) for inclusion in our newsletter.

NJHEPS gratefully acknowledges the support of the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, the AT&T Foundation, AT&T, Inc., and the NJHEPS 40 Member Institutions.

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