EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT

DATE: 5 p.m. March 11, 2013

EVENT: Achim Steiner, leader of environmental programming at the United Nations, will discuss the challenges facing the global environment movement when he delivers the 12th annual Peter M. Wege Lecture on Sustainability.

His talk, which is free to the public, is titled “The Imperative of Change: Environmentalism in the 21st Century.” A question-and-answer session and public reception will follow.

PLACE: University of Michigan’s Rackham Building Auditorium, 915 E. Washington

BACKGROUND: Steiner is executive director of the Kenya-based United Nations Environment Programme, which speaks on behalf of the environment within the United Nations system, advocating for and promoting the sustainable use of the planet’s natural assets. Steiner’s visit will be his first North American address of the year.

“I am very pleased to make my first visit to Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan, and to participate in such an important event,” Steiner said. “The sustainability challenges facing the planet are vast but solvable, if we take meaningful action now. I hope my remarks at the Wege Lecture provide insight into both the science and the policies required to bring about much-needed change, including the transition to a green economy.”

Steiner, who also holds the title of Under-Secretary-General, joined UNEP in 2006. He previously served as director general of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and as secretary general of the World Commission on Dams. He has worked at both the grassroots and highest levels of international policymaking to address the interface between environmental sustainability, social equity and economic development.

Steiner’s career has included assignments with governmental, nongovernmental and international organizations in different parts of the world including India, Pakistan, Germany, Zimbabwe, the United States, Vietnam, South Africa, Switzerland and Kenya. His educational background includes an undergraduate degree from the University of Oxford and a graduate degree from the University of London with specialization in development economics, regional planning, and international development and environmental policy.

Established in 2001, the Wege Lecture series is named to honor Peter M. Wege, the retired vice-chairman of the board of Steelcase Inc. in Grand Rapids, Mich. Past speakers include the Dalai Lama, former Vice President Al Gore, Ford Motor Co. Chairman Bill Ford Jr. and John Holdren, President Obama’s science adviser.

SPONSORS: Presented by the Center for Sustainable Systems and School of Natural Resources and Environment in collaboration with the College of Engineering, Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise, Graham Sustainability Institute, Institute for Social Research, Michigan Energy Institute, Office of the Provost, Office of the Vice President for Research and School of Public Health.

INFORMATION: For more on the lecture, visit www.snre.umich.edu/wege_lecture. For more about UNEP, see www.unep.org. For more on the U-M School of Natural Resources and Environment, visit www.snre.umich.edu.

U-M Sustainability fosters a more sustainable world through collaborations across campus and beyond aimed at educating students, generating new knowledge, and minimizing our environmental footprint. Learn more at sustainability.umich.edu.