Mizzou Law leads the way nationally to create a more sustainable planet by signing the pledge to reduce academic marketing waste 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 24, 2019

Aurora Meyer
573-884-7833
meyerad@missouri.edu 

THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI SCHOOL OF LAW LEADS EFFORT TO REDUCE ACADEMIC MARKETING WASTE

Mizzou Law leads the way nationally to create a more sustainable planet by signing the pledge to reduce academic marketing waste 

COLUMBIA, MO. – In honor of the International Day of Climate Action today, the University of Missouri School of Law has signed the Pledge to Reduce Academic Marketing Waste, which seeks to address the routine and indiscriminate use of paper-based flyers, newsletters, offprints and postcards by law professors and law schools. Mizzou Law is partnering with Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University on this initiative and signatories of the pledge will be noted on Mizzou Law’s website.

“Signing the Pledge to Reduce Academic Marketing Waste is a great way to recognize the International Day of Climate Action,” Dean and Judge C.A. Leedy Professor of Law Lyrissa Lidsky said. “We at Mizzou Law are happy to do our best to reduce paper waste and help build a more sustainable future.”

We as legal academics often don’t know what we can do to address climate change concerns, Professor S.I. Strong, Manley O. Hudson Professor of Law at the University of Missouri said.

“Eliminating wasteful paper-based marketing practices is something that we all can do, individually and institutionally,” she said. “Together, we can make a real difference in helping the environment.”

Partnering with a highly ranked environmental law program to assist in creating a national model for sustainable practices at higher education institutions and beyond makes sense, Lidsky said.

“We are pleased to sign the Pledge to Reduce Academic Marketing Waste,” said Haub Distinguished Professor of Environmental Law and Interim Associate Dean & Executive Director of the Environmental Law Program Katy Kuh. “Better and more thoughtful consumption decisions, like reducing paper marketing waste, support the transition to a low-carbon future.”

The Pledge reads as follows:

We, the undersigned, hereby pledge to reduce academic marketing waste, individually and institutionally, by limiting or eliminating the production and transmission of paper-based marketing materials and/or by encouraging the relevant decision-makers at our institutions to adopt actions and policies consistent with that goal.  Reducing academic marketing waste can take a variety of forms, including but not limited to:  (1) reducing the size of paper-based marketing materials (e.g, replacing newsletters with postcards); (2) reducing the frequency of paper-based marketing initiatives; (3) adopting an opt-in rather than opt-out approach to paper-based mailing initiatives; (4) replacing some or all paper-based marketing with electronic or other forms of marketing.

Law Schools and professors interested in joining the pledge should email Professor S.I. Strong at strongsi@missouri.edu to indicate their support.

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About Mizzou Law

Founded in 1872, the University of Missouri School of Law boasts 9 clinics2 centers9 dual degree programs9 certificate programs and countless elective courses to provide our students with a challenging and practical education enhanced by a strong traditional curriculum with an orientation toward lawyering as a problem-solving endeavor. Mizzou Law students learn by doing guided by nationally recognized faculty. Mizzou Law students can participate in the nationally ranked #3 alternative dispute resolution program and clinics ranging from criminal prosecution to the Veterans Clinic to the Family Violence Clinic. At Mizzou Law students can discover what they are most passionate about and refine the skills necessary to succeed in any area of law.