Portland State Magazine Winter 2009

I I Faculty and students are taking a triple bottom line approach to sustainability research that incorporates social and economic considerations alongside environmental ones. WRITTEN BY J. DAVID SANTEN JR . ' 99 , MS ' 04 PHOTOGRAPHY BY KELLY JAMES WHEN IT COMES to defining sustainability, expercs and advocates are quick to rely on that sturdiest of metaphors: the "three-legged stool," reflecting the concept's environmental, economic, and social components. If only it were that simple. "Three strands of a braid may be a better metaphor," says Janet Hammer, director of the Social Equity and Opportunity Forum in PSU's College of Urban and Public Affairs. She sug– gests the braid analogy more accurately reflects the entwined, systems nature of the concept. Indeed, sustainability is complex, evolving, and suddenly on the tip of everyone's tongue. It's no wonder that PSU research– ers and professors have found ready audiences for their work to define and develop models of sustainability in practice. And their audiences are not just students and academics, but also businesses, nonprofits, and government agencies anxious to "green up" their organizations, but unsure how to go about it. "It's often equated with environmentalism, but really sustainability is about solutions that take a more integrated approach," says Jennifer Allen, interim director of PSU's Cen– ter for Sustainable Processes and Practices. "You can't just take the ecological, social, engineering, or economic perspective– you need to bring those multiple views together." There's another driving facto r behind all this talk about sus– tainability, of course, with several zeros attached. That would be the recent pledge of $25 million over the next decade by the James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation-a gift that requires an additional $25 million match by PSU-to support the University's efforts in sustainabili ty. Naturally, that's prompting even more faculty to consider, '"How does my work relate ro sustainability?"' That's a good thing, says Allen. "Ir catalyzes broader thinking about research opportunities and creates opportunities co find connections they wouldn't have otherwise." JUST A FEW YEARS AGO , business students who heard the term "sustainability" in a supply chain management course would have assumed the professor meant "fiscal sustainability." Bur while textbooks have yet to adapt, the classroom conversa– tion has evolved. Today, business practices are increasingly influenced by a growing interest in a triple bottom line approach that incor- porates social and environmental considerations alongside economics. For PSU faculty members like Madeleine "Mellie" Pullman, Willamette Industries Professor of Supply Chain Management and Logistics, it's an opportunity to study what's working, who's changing, and why. Country Natural Beef (formerly Oregon Country Beef) requires its member ranchers to raise beef using sustainable agriculture practices. That means no hormones, no antibiotics, open ranges, and higher costs. But by creating its own supply chain, the Country Natural Beef cooperative gets fair prices for its products, which can be found in grocery store meat departments, on the menus of fine dining establishments, and in Burgerville drive-thrus. Adaptive business practices, coupled with consumers' growing concerns about food origin and quality and animal treatment, have proven to be a successful counter to stan– dard industry practices for Country Natural Beef. And it's shown that there are some shared values and common ground between ranchers and urban consumers. "They don't completely 'get' their customer base, but they're trying to understand them," says Pullman. That willingness to innovate makes the cooperative a model worth academic investigation. "They're using values as a foundation to create their structure," she says. With other companies and economic sectors facing simi- lar challenges--doing business in a way that is meaningful, respectful, and at some point profitable-Pullman has found much interest in her research, even as it has taken her from crunching numbers ro interviewing wheat farmers and ranch– ers in the middle of rheir fields. Meanwhile, students have been very receptive to the curricu– lum shift. "1hey expect it," says Pullman. Sustainability crops up early and often, from courses on ethics to her class on Food Industry Supply and Logistics. "We've created that culture in the business school." SO FAR , it's the economic and environmental aspects that have "captured the attention and airtime," says PSU's Janet Hammer. Her goal at the Social Equity and Opportunity Forum is to change that, addressing sustainability's oft– neglected social dimension and its interconnectedness with WINTER 2009 PORTLAND STATE MAGAZINE 15