November 16, 2015
UW-Madison senior lecturer Tom Eggert, a faculty affiliate of the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, has been recognized with a distinguished achievement award from the Wisconsin affiliate of the U.S. Green Building Council, formerly known as the Wisconsin Green Building Alliance.
Eggert is founder and director of the Wisconsin Sustainable Business Council and has taught sustainability courses at UW-Madison for 20 years. He was honored for his efforts to expand businesses' adoption of waste-cutting practices through his work with the university, the Green Masters program, and the state Department of Natural Resources, according to a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel report.
"I have known very few people who could effectively work in academic, government and business circles," John McDermid, a longtime colleague, told the Journal Sentinel. "Tom is one of the very, very few who can build relationships across all of these circles and engage representatives in finding common ground and pursuing common objectives."
Ian Griffiths, director and architect at Berners-Schober Associates Inc., added, "As an early-adopter and advocate of green building practices, Tom has spent his career 'walking the talk.' But in addition to that he has shared that enthusiasm for sustainable design with so many others. He is truly one of the folks that have tangibly moved the sustainability needle here in Wisconsin."
Eggert taught the first classes on sustainable development at UW-Madison, was a co-developer of the university's graduate certificate in Business, Environment and Social Responsibility, and currently teaches classes on sustainability, corporate social responsibility and systems thinking.
His interests lie at the intersection of business, sustainability and people. As part of his work with students, he creates opportunities for students to work on projects related to sustainability with area businesses.
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