George P. Nassos is the Principal of George P. Nassos and Associates, a firm dedicated to consulting in environmental and social sustainability and renewable energy. He is also President of Sustainable Energy Systems, LLC, a firm that markets and sells waste-to-energy technology for AgriPower as well as other companies. In addition, Nassos is Director of the MS in Sustainability Management program and Executive-in-Residence at DePaul University Driehaus College of Business.
Nassos was an Industry Associate Professor and Director of the M.S. in Environmental Management and Sustainability program at the Stuart School of Business, Illinois Institute of Technology from 1997 through 2011. Under Dr. Nassos’ leadership, in 1999 the Program added the concept of sustainability into the curriculum and pursued an interdisciplinary approach that integrated environmental, social, legal, technical and economic concerns in the classroom. As a result, the program has been recognized by the World Resources Institute and the Aspen Institute’s “Beyond Grey Pinstripes” study as one of the top such programs in the world. He was also Director of the Center for Sustainable Enterprise, a center founded at Stuart to be a resource for projects directed toward achieving sustainability in Chicago’s economic community. In this role he led numerous research projects; organized conferences, seminars and short courses; and helped found the Chicago Sustainable Business Alliance, now known as the Foresight Sustainable Business Alliance.
Prior to joining IIT-Stuart, Dr. Nassos spent 16 years in the chemical industry with International Minerals & Chemical Corp, which included being the Managing Director of IMC’s Dutch and German subsidiaries over a four-year period. He then spent the next 16 years in the environmental industry working for the Chemical Waste Management subsidiary of Waste Management, Inc. His last position with Waste Management was General Manager of a subsidiary that produced a solid fuel from renewable resources such as non-recyclable cellulosic fibers (paper & cardboard), combined with some plastic film, and resulting in a coal substitute for heating and power boilers.
In addition to the above activities, he is devoting time to teaching sustainable strategies for companies to create a competitive advantage without negatively impacting the environment. Dr. Nassos has also conducted short courses on sustainable strategies internationally. His research activities include developing small wind turbine technology and other renewable energy technologies.
Other environmental activities include being a member of the Energy, Environment and Economics subcommittee of the Archdiocesan Advisory Committee for Science and Technology, an advisory committee to the Archbishop of the Greek Orthodox Church of America. He was recently elected as a founding member of the advisory circle of the “Encyclical Working Group” (Laudato Si – Our Care for Our Common Home” by Pope Francis) for the Chicago Archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church. In June 2012, he participated in the Halki Summit (http://halkisummit.org/) in Turkey, one of 45 participants invited by His All Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew, also known as the “Green Patriarch”. In June 2013, Nassos was the keynote speaker at the 9th PESXM conference of the top three universities in Greece where the focus was on sustainability. For the past fifteen years, Nassos had been writing a column for a monthly newspaper titled “A Sustainable Environment: Our Obligation to Protect God’s Gift”. After the paper stopped its circulation, he continued writing for his blog.
Nassos has also written a book titled “Practical Sustainability Strategies: How to Gain a Competitive Advantage” which will be published by John Wiley & Sons early 2014. This book, co-authored by Nikos Avlonas, is based on Nassos’ research on strategies that can be implemented to develop, maintain or extend a competitive advantage without impacting the environment negatively. Avlonas’ contribution is on measuring, reporting and communicating sustainability successes.
His other memberships include:
• Board of Directors
American Quality Schools
Orthodox Christian Alumni Association at UIUC
• Board of Advisors
Encyclical Working Group – Chicago Archdiocese of Roman Catholic Church
Institute for Environmental Science & Policy at UIC
Urban Ponics – Chicago
“Decision Making in Climate Change” Certificate Program, Northwestern University, U of Washington, University of British Columbia, and University of California at Irvine.
Center for Sustainability and Excellence
Uniscrap – Greece
Dr. Nassos has earned a B.S. from the University of Illinois, an M.S. and Ph.D. from Northwestern University all in Chemical Engineering, and an MBA from Northwestern University.
George P Nassos & Associates © 2014 All Rights Reserved
Biography
George P. Nassos & Associates
