Just Do It: Learn about Systems Innovation and Sustainability from Nike Exec

Sarah Severn, Nike's director of stakeholder mobilization, will talk on systems-level projects to detoxify the apparel and footwear supply chain and share lessons on achieving sustainability targets at a lunchtime event Nov. 27 at the Haas School.

The event will run from 12:30 p.m. to 1:45 p.m. in F320, the Koret Classroom. It is part of the Peterson Series organized by the Haas School's Center for Responsible Business (CRB). Lunch will be served to attendees who register in advance at eventbrite.com/event/4769767503#.

After sharing insights from her 19 years at Nike, Severn will have a dialogue with CRB Faculty Director Kellie McElhaney, John C. Whitehead Faculty Fellow in Corporate Responsibility, followed by a Q&A session. 

Severn joined Nike in 1993 to establish a consumer insights department in the company's European headquarters. In 1995, she relocated Nike's world headquarters in Beaverton, Ore., to work as the company's global director of the Environmental Action Team. From 1995 to 2000, she led the company’s early efforts to integrate sustainability into the business, from operations to product design and manufacturing.

In 2000, Severn was appointed director of sustainable development. In 2005, she took on the newly created role of director of horizons within the Corporate Responsibility Team, with responsibility for “looking long” and identifying future trends, opportunities, and issues at the intersection of business and sustainability.

In her current role as director of stakeholder mobilization, Severn is now focused on systems-level projects such as Nike's Road to Zero Initiative, which aims to reduce the discharge of hazardous chemicals to zero for all products in its supply change by 2020.

More information on the Peterson Series

More information on the Center for Responsible Business

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