2026 Consortium for Environmentally Resilient Business (CERB) Symposium

2026 Consortium for Environmentally Resilient Business (CERB) Symposium

Join us for the 3rd annual Symposium as we foster meaningful dialogue between industries, researchers, and public institutions on climate risk and sustainability.

Date: Friday, November 13, 2026
Time: 8 a.m.-3 p.m.
Location: University of Arizona, Scottsdale Center, Scottsdale Waterfront Office
Address: 7135 E Camelback Road, Scottsdale, AZ 85251

Agenda:

• 8:00 – 9:00 am | Arrival, Check In, & Networking
• 9:00 – 10:15 am | Panel 1: Challenges to Utilities and Society of Large Load Customers
  Individual projects that require substantial electricity in a concentrated location create particular issues for transmission, investment timing, rates, and risk.

Panelists:
Shana Ramirez, Director | E3 – Energy+Environmental Economics
Diane Brown, Executive Director | Arizona Public Interest Research Group
To be announced soon

• 10:15 – 10:45 am | Break
• 10:45 am – 12:00 pm | Panel 2: Opportunities for Nuclear Energy
  Moving towards zero carbon baseload generation will potentially require new investments in frontier nuclear technologies, which promise to reshape electricity supply but also present unique challenges.

Panelists:
Horst Hahn, Materials Science and Engineering Professor and Special Advisor to the SVPRI | University of Arizona
Edwin Lyman, Director of Nuclear Power Safety | Union of Concerned Scientists
Katy Gil, Head of Nuclear | Atomic Canyon

• 12:00 – 1:30 pm | Lunch – Provided with your registration
• 1:30 – 2:45 pm | Panel 3: Potential for Negative Emissions
  Opportunities are emerging to use biochar, air capture, and geological sequestration to offset hard-to-eliminate emissions, but these technologies require new approaches to contracting, monitoring, and resource scale.

Panelists:
Wil Burns, Co-Director | Institute for Responsible Carbon Removal (IRCR) at American University
Elvy Barton, Water and Forest Sustainability Senior Manager | Salt River Project (SRP)
Brian Gootee, Director and State Geologist | Arizona Geological Survey at the University of Arizona

• 3:00 pm | Optional Networking Location: Culinary Dropout, Scottsdale Waterfront