"The business world is in the midst of a green revolution, both because there is money to be made and because it is the right thing to do," -Assistant Professor Judd Sneirson

As the realities of climate change and resource scarcity are being realized across the globe, private enterprise has found a receptive market for the technology that will help us better steward the environment.

Oregon Law's Green Business Initiative provides the context in which students and faculty discuss how the law will play a role in supporting the entrepreneurs who are changing the way people interact with the environment. Oregon-based venture capital funds, as well as the popular and financial news sector, have even predicted that green business will comprise the next "dot-com boom."

The Green Business Initiative is one of the first law school programs in the country dedicated to the intersection of law, business, and the environment. By combining two of the law school's most recognized programs -- Business Law and Environmental and Natural Resources ("ENR") Law -- Oregon Law is once again positioned at the forefront of legal education.

Quick Facts

• Oregon Law added its Statement of Completion in Sustainable Business Law in January 2008 in response to growing opportunities for lawyers versed in both the needs of new and emerging businesses and the regulation of energy and the environment.
  
• In 2008, Oregon Law announced the formation of a course in Renewable Energy, one of the first of its kind in the nation. Students enrolled in the class receive an overview of legal issues associated with financing, permitting, and constructing a renewable energy project.
  
• Oregon Law's ENR Program was ranked ninth in the nation by U.S. News & World Report in 2008.
  
• In 2008, Law Students for Sustainable Business ("LSSB") gifted approximately $40,000 to Oregon Law's library to create a new Sustainable Business Collection -- a collection unique to the Northwest.