À propos
Brightworks Sustainability was founded in Portland, Oregon, in 2001 by Scott Lewis, a former environmental policy advisor to Michael Dukakis, Governor of Massachusetts and 1988 Democratic presidential nominee. Trained in natural resource economics and environmental law, and experienced in NGO work, Scott was subsequently serving on the board of directors of Schnitzer Steel (now Radius Recycling) when he founded Brightworks. At Schnitzer Steel, he had led implementation of an ISO 14001 Environmental Management System (EMS) for the steel giant. While implementing this EMS as part of Schnitzer Steel’s pioneering sustainability program, Scott came into contact with other business leaders in the progressive Pacific Northwest eager to imbue their businesses with a stewardship ethic. To serve such business leaders, Scott founded Brightworks as one of the first-ever corporate sustainability advisory firms in the United States to serve what would later become a global market for services related to sustainability transition in enterprises – a space at the time served largely by pioneering non-profit organizations like Ceres and the Rocky Mountain Institute. Using tools like ISO 14001 and conceptual frameworks like The Natural Step, significant early work by Brightworks included the first-ever campus sustainability plan for the University of California, Santa Barbara, still the highest-ranking UC campus on sustainability measures tracked by the UC Office of the President. Other early clients included Alexandria Real Estate and Sun Valley Company.