Colloquium on the Environment to feature visionary in sustainable development

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — L. Hunter Lovins, an author and sustainability development champion, will be Penn State’s 2022 Colloquium on the Environment speaker at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, April 6. Her talk is titled “Climate Change: Profitably Solving the Problem," focusing on the fact that while "we are in a horse race with catastrophe, the good news is that we are in the race" and looking at entrepreneurial solutions like renewable energy and regenerative agriculture.

The event will be hybrid, held both in person at 118 Katz Building on the University Park campus and livestreamed online. Those interested can register at https://sustainability.psu.edu/colloquium.

“Hunter Lovins is that rare combination of both thought leader and action leader, having brought about real change through her work locally with Colorado communities and globally with the Club of Rome,” said Paul Shrivastava, chief sustainability officer and director of the Sustainability Institute (SI). “I hope as many students, faculty and community members as possible can take advantage of hearing from her during this visit.”

The author of 15 books, Lovins has been a champion of sustainable development for over 35 years, consulting on business, economic development, sustainable agriculture, energy, water, security and climate policies for scores of governments, communities and companies worldwide. Within the United States, she has consulted for heads of state, departments of defense, energy agencies and hundreds of state and local agencies. In 2002, Lovins founded Natural Capitalism Solutions, a nonprofit dedicated to championing sustainable development.

According to Lara Fowler, assistant director for outreach and engagement of the Penn State Institutes of Energy and Environment (IEE) as well as a senior lecturer of Penn State Law, innovative ideas like those Lovins champions are needed now more than ever. “We are at a critical point where we need to work together to find solutions to climate change,” noted Fowler. “These solutions are even better if we can do so profitably in a way that helps make our communities a better place to live.”

Since 2004, Penn State’s Colloquium on the Environment — co-sponsored by IEE and the SI — seeks to promote critical conversations at Penn State about sustainability and the environment. The keynote talk is free and open to the public and accessible to all campuses via livestreaming.

For more information, contact Peter Boger at pgb45@psu.edu.