 | Robert Lilienfeld |
Location
Rochester, MI, United States
Role
MediaJob Title
EditorCompany
The Use Less Stuff ReportProfile
Bob Lilienfeld is Editor of The ULS Report, a highly respected and widely read newsletter aimed at spreading the benefits of source reduction (ULS means Use Less Stuff). Both Bob and The ULS Report have received significant national attention via features in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle, Boston Globe, Wall Street Journal, Time, USA Today, U.S. News & World Report, The Christian Science Monitor, American Demographics, Parade and Home magazines.
Bob has appeared on a wide variety of network television and radio programs including CBS Late Night, CNN, MSNBC, Nova, VH-1 and National Public Radio's Morning Edition, All Things Considered, Marketplace, The Environment Report and Living on Earth. He provides commentary for public radio and is a regular guest on Fox TV's morning news in Detroit, and a regular blogger for KABC TV.
His work in the areas of source reduction and waste prevention are known internationally as well. Along with co-author Dr. William L. Rathje of the University of Arizona, he has been published in The International Herald Tribune and Le Temps Strategique. The two also wrote Use Less Stuff: Environmental Solutions for Who We Really Are, published by Random House in 1998.
Mr. Lilienfeld is also the Director of the nascent Center for Informed Decision Making, a Web site that will help people make better decisions by utilizing their critical thinking skills. He has served on the Advisory Boards of the Sustainable Enterprise Institute at the University of North Carolina's Kenan-Flagler School of Business and the Corporate Environmental Management Program (CEMP) at the University of Michigan.
Bob is actively involved with the Wal-Mart sustainability initiative, serving on the Corporate Sustainability Index advisory team, Food/Agriculture Sustainable Value Network (SVN) and Waste SVN. He has also spoken extensively at their Packaging SVN, and participated in their Sustainable Dairy strategic planning initiatives.
Bob earned a Masters of Management in Marketing, Finance and Organization Behavior from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University. He received his BA in Social and Behavioral Psychology, also from Northwestern. He lives in Rochester, Michigan with his wife, children, and pets.
Recent Blog Entries
This user does not have any blog posts available!
Comments
* indicates an article that was submitted directly to this Web site by the supplier, and was not handled by the Greener Package editorial staff.
Greener Package may share your contact information with our sponsors, as detailed in our Privacy Policy. Greener Package will not share your information with a sponsor whose content you have not reviewed. The members of the Advisory Board and Expert Network do not review, approve or endorse advertisements on this Web site.
I would be happy to talk to you about this.
Please review my website: www.use-less-stuff.com and contact me off-line at bob@use-less-stuff.com. Thanks, Bob Lilienfeld
Biodegradation vs. Compostability
A tricky question, but there's an easy way to view this. Biodegradation means that a material will break down into its component organic parts, usually when exposed to some combination of heat/light, water, air and microbes. Thus, non-organic materials cannot biodegrade. Composting is simply a process that causes biodegradation. In general, industrial composting requires more heat than what occurs in backyard piles, and certain materials, such as PLA, require industrial composting. What's left after the process is finished is the broken down organic materials, and the materials that won't break down, some of which are organic and some which are inorganic. 100% biodegradable thus means that complete breakdown into basic elements or naturally occurring molecules will occur. On the other hand, the definition of 100% compostable is fuzzy, as it doesn't mean complete breakdown, but merely breakdown to the point allowed by the composting measure in question. Anyone wish to correct or confirm?
Who Pays
I agree with you. CPGs will pay, but ultimately so will consumers as the costs will be passed on to them through higher prices. I also think that today's green will be tomorrow's normal expectations for consumers. Sustainability is simply the nom du jour for environmental efficacy. Unfortunately, as the economy improves consumers will stop being as concerned about environmental issues. This concept has been tested many times in the past. When people are upset, they get upset about everything. The reverse is true for good times.