Program Details

The Role of the Law School

As part of our public mission, Oregon Law seeks to respond to this important opportunity and contribute to its ultimate success. And, like the state, we have natural advantages in the area of green business. Our environmental program is already ranked among the ten best in the nation. And our business program is similarly strong, with a faculty comprised primarily of former transactional attorneys. Equally important, as part of the Oregon University System, including the University of Oregon, Portland State University, and Oregon State University, Oregon Law draws on a host of interdisciplinary resources.

Leadership, Curriculum, Scholarship, and Student Involvement

The leadership of Oregon Law's Green Business Initiative includes distinguished faculty members from both our environmental and business law faculties. They include Environmental and Natural Resources Program Director and Professor Adell Amos, Portland Program Director and Professor Steven Bender, business law Professor Rob Illig, and environmental tax expert Professor Roberta Mann. Many other Oregon Law faculty members also teach courses related to green business topics; in addition, practicing lawyers at large Portland law firms have also stepped up to provide their practical knowledge and skills to students in relevant areas.

During the 2008-09 academic year, we have brought the number of green business courses to seven. Those courses include: Climate Change Law and Policy, Energy and the Law, Federal Energy Policy and the Congress, Green Construction Law, Renewable Energy, Seminar on the Law of Wine (including sustainable practices), and Sustainable Tax and Business Practices. The faculty also has approved a new Statement of Completion in Sustainable Business Law.

On the research side, our renowned environmental law faculty continues to explore the potential of wave energy and the problems of climate change, among other areas of interest. Moreover, our business faculty is similarly exploring topics related to green business entrepreneurship and the application of the National Environmental Policy Act to matters of corporate governance.

Meanwhile, law students interested in the potential of green business law have organized a student group with approximately sixty members. During the spring of 2008, they hosted Oregon Law's First Annual Sustainable Business Symposium, and will host another in 2009.

Future Plans

We anticipate that the Green Business Initiative will identify a series of annual or biennial themes to serve as a focus for its programs and to keep its contributions fresh and timely. Potential topics include green entrepreneurship, renewable energy, and sustainable agricultural law (including viniculture and organic farming). More specifically, the program's activities will center around three primary areas -- teaching, research, and outreach:

Teaching

The centerpiece of the Green Business Initiative will be an expanded set of course offerings for existing law and business students. Already, we are adding courses on renewable energy law, environmental tax and tax policy, state climate change litigation, and sustainable viniculture. Additionally, we are making a particular effort to expand externships in the area of green business law.

Research

In order to promote appropriate research and expanded thinking, the program will offer financial and other support for scholars willing to focus on issues related to green business law. This will serve the dual function of helping to build significant expertise among local scholars on issues that are both rapidly evolving and only now being recognized. Such support might include faculty stipends, student fellowships, funding for visiting scholars, a student writing competition, and acquisition of library resources related to green business law and policy.

Outreach

The project's third prong will be to expand understanding of green business issues among practitioners, policymakers, and opinion leaders in Oregon and nationally. The centerpiece of any outreach will be an annual conference or series of shorter round-table discussions regarding green business law. The program also will seek to work with local entrepreneurs and small businesses in developing green business practices.