Sustainable Development: From Concept to Curriculum

Roy F. Weston was an early leader in sustainable development and maintained that environmental problems require multidisciplinary solutions and that preventing these problems was preferable to abatement or remediation.

In this presentation, we’ll trace the journey of sustainable development with a focus on the early writings and presentations of Mr. Weston starting in the late 1980s. From there, we’ll explore noteworthy trends and effective actions of early adopters and consider how legislation and implementation of sustainability fundamentals brought about the design and construction of sustainable infrastructure. Finally, the presentation will highlight how higher learning institutions began to integrate the foundation of sustainable design into the curriculum.

The Weston Roundtable is made possible by a generous donation from Roy F. Weston, a highly accomplished UW-Madison alumnus. Designed to promote a robust understanding of sustainability science, engineering, and policy, these interactive lectures are co-sponsored by the Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment (SAGE), the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and the Office of Sustainability.