Robert Sroufe is an Associate Professor of Business Administration in the MBA+Sustainability program at the Donahue School.  Professor Sroufe develops and teaches a course on Sustainability Theories and Models, covering the forces and models driving current decision making while integrating sustainable business practices into operations including Life Cycle Analysis.  He also develops and teaches the spring case based Sustainable Tools and Processes for Driving Performance course with over a dozen guest speakers covering topics and assignments ranging from energy conservation to a Leading Electric and Environmental Design competition.  During both the fall and spring he develops and co-instructs the Sustainability Consulting Field Project course and the Sustainability Consulting Practicum course overseeing student teams consulting with corporate clients.  He received the University Creative Teaching Award, and the Decision Sciences Institute Instructional Innovation Award for the development and delivery of these courses.  As a faculty member within the innovative and internationally top ranked MBA+Sustainability program, he is also a contributor to the faculty team awarded the Page Prize for Best U.S. Environmental Curriculum.

In his research, Professor Sroufe primarily aims to understand what drives sustainability performance and how firms can develop effective environmental management systems to enable the measurement and management of a triple bottom line.  His work has been published in a number of journals, including the Journal of Operations Management, Production and Operations Management Society, the European Journal of Operations Research, Journal of Supply Chain Management, International Journal of Production Research, the Production and Inventory Management Journal, Greener Management International, and Business Strategy and the Environment, while also publishing the book Strategic Sustainability: The State of the Art in Corporate Environmental Management Systems.  Professor Sroufe consults with a range of corporations, and conducts quantitative and qualitative research with firms including Alcoa, Baxter, Dow, Eco Labs, Ford, Gillette, GSA, Herman Miller, Intel, Interfaces, Lucent, and Steelcase.

Prior to joining the MBA+Sustainability program, Professor Sroufe was an Assistant Professor of Operations Management at Boston College.  He holds a Ph.D. from Michigan State University in Operations and a dual M.B.A. in Materials and Logistics Management, along with Procurement from MSU. 

Hobbies and personal interests: anything that will get me outdoors including, but not limited to camping, hiking, fly fishing, kayaking, golf, and training working dogs, primarily Labrador retrievers.

Sroufe, R.P., and Melnyk, S.A., Developing Sustainable Supply Chains: Management Insights, Issues, and Tools, book publisher: Business Expert Press, 2013.

Sroufe, R., and Ramos D., "Successful MBA Consulting Projects: Insight and Opportunity", INFORMS Transactions on Education, conditional acceptance, 2012.

Nirenberg, I., Sroufe, R., "A Model for Sustainable Supply Management", Inside Supply Management, the Institute for Supply Management, February, 2012.

Drake, M.J., Pentico, D.W., and Sroufe, R.P. "The Remanufacturing Newsvendor Problem" The Handbook of Newsvendor Problems: Models, Extensions, and Applications, Springer, 2012.

Sroufe, R.P., "Defining Sustainability: Clarity and Compliance, Report to the Alcoa Foundation Systems Change Research Grant Reference # 219010, 2012.

Sroufe, R. P. Supply chain analysis. In Daniel Fogel, Sarah Fredericks, Lisa Harrington, & Ian Spellerberg (Eds.), The Encyclopedia of Sustainability: Vol. 6. Measurements, Indicators, and Research Methods for Sustainability (pp. 332-336). Great Barrington, MA: Berkshire Publishing. 2012.

Sroufe, R.P., Ramos, D., "Best Practices in Teaching Sustainability: Live Project Courses," Decision Sciences Journal of Innovative Education, Vol. 9, No. 3, 49-369, 2011.

Montabon, F.L., Sroufe, R.P., Melnyk, S., "Integration of Environmental Management into Manufacturing Planning," Production and Inventory Management, Vol. 47, No. 1, 43-55, 2011.

Curkovic, S, and Sroufe, R.P., "Using ISO 14001 to Promote a Sustainable Supply Chain Strategy," accepted, International Journal of Business Strategy and the Environment, Vol. 20, No. 2, 71-93, 2011.

Sroufe, R.P., "Reverse Logistics and Quality Issues in the Consumer Electronics Industry," The Role of Quality Management in Reverse Logistics; Edited by Yiannis Nikolaidis, Springer Publications, under review, 2011.

Sroufe, R. P., Lebowitz, J. and Sivasubramaniam, N., "HR's Role in Cultivating Sustainability: What are We Waiting For?" submitted, People and Strategy, Vol. 33, Iss. 1, 2010.

Curkovic, S., & Sroufe, R. (2010). Using ISO 14001 to Promote a Sustainable Supply Chain Strategy. Business Strategy and Environment.

Montabon, F., Sroufe, R., & Melnyk, S. (2010). Integration of Environmental Management into Manufacturing Planning. Production And Inventory Management Journal.

Sroufe, R., Liebowitz, J., & Sivasubramaniam, N. (2010). HR's Role in Creating a Sustainability Culture: What are We Waiting For? People and Strategy, 33(1), 34-42.

Sroufe, R. (2010). Reverse Logistics and Quality Issues in the Consumer Electronics Industry. In The Role of Quality Management in Reverse Logistics. EU: Yiannis Nikolaidis, Springer Publications.

Sroufe, R., & Weisburg, B. (2010). Inovest's Approach to Socially Responsible Investing. In Evolutions in Sustainable Investing' by Cary Krosinisky and TruCost, submission, Fall 2010.: Trucost.

Sroufe, R. P., Karen, C., & Frank, M. (2010). The Role of Motivation on Environmentally Driven Operations Performance. Harvard Business School's Alliance for Research on Corporate Sustainability.

Sroufe, R. & Drake, M. (2009). Evaluating the Social Performance of the Transportation Industry. International Conference on Sustainable Enterprises of the Future, Moon Township, Pennsylvania, 289-299.

Sroufe, R. P. & Frank, M. (2009). Effects of Environmental Management Systems on Environmental Management Practices and Operations. Decision Sciences Institute National Conference.

Curkovic, S, Sroufe, R, Landros, R (2008), "Measuring TQEM Returns from the Application of Quality Frameworks", Business Strategy and Environment, 17, (1)

Sroufe, R, Curkovic, S (2008), "An Examination of ISO 9000:2000 and supply Chain Quality Assurance", Journal Of Operations Management, 26,

Sroufe, R, Chinander-Dye, K, Montabon, F, Melnyk, S, (2008), "A Study of Motivation and Sustainable Operations", Production and Operations Management Society (POMS) Annual Conference

Sroufe, R, (2008), "A Study of Motivation and Sustainable Operations", L.L. Bean/Lee Surace Colloquium Series

Drake, M., Pentico, D., & Sroufe, R. (2008). Remanufacturing Newsvendor Problem. INFORMS Annual Meeting.

Sroufe, R. (2008). AACSB and ecologically sustainable business schools: Duquesne's approach to a fully integrated MBA program. Organization & Environment.

Sroufe, R. (2008). The Integration of Real-World Student Projects into a Sustainable MBA Program. In S. J. s. U. Charles Wankel, New York , and James A. F. Stoner, Fordham University (Ed.), Management Education for Global Sustainability. Charlotte, NC: IAP Publishers.

Sroufe, R., & Curkovic, S. (2008). An Examination of ISO 9000:2000 and supply Chain Quality Assurance. Journal Of Operations Management, 26, 503-520.

Sroufe, R., & Drake, M. (2008). Development and Integration of a 'Sustainable' MBA Program. Decision Sciences Institute National Conference.

Drake, M., & Sroufe, R. (2008). Efforts in the Transportation and Logistics Industry. Decision Sciences Institute National Conference.

Montabon, F., & Sroufe, R. (2008). How Does Environmental Management Affect Production Scheduling. APICS International Conference and Expo.

Montabon, F., Sroufe, R., & Melnyk, S. (2008). A Longitudinal Analysis of ISO 14000. Decision Sciences Institute National Conference.

Curkovic, S, Sroufe, R (2007), "Total Quality Environmental Management and Total Cost Assessment: an Exploratory Study", International Journal Of Production Economics, 105, (2)

Field, J, Sroufe, R (2007), "Use of Recycled Materials in Manufacturing: Implications for Supply Chain Management and Operations Strategy", International Journal Of Production Research, 45, (18-19)

Montabon, F, Sroufe, R, Narasimhan, N (2007), "An Examination of Corporate Reporting, Environmental Management Practices and Firm Performance", Journal Of Operations Management, 25

Sime, C, Sroufe, R, (2007), "Using ISO 14001 to Obtain Competive Advantage", Decision Sciences Institute National Conference

Sroufe, R, Montabon, F, Melnyk, S, (2007), "Barriers to Managing Environmental Performance", Decision Sciences Institute National Conference

Sroufe, R, Sarkis, J, (2007), Strategic Corporate Environmental Management Systems

 

Presented Papers

Crown, K., Eloyan, l., Sivasubramaniam, N., Sroufe, R., & 2010. Invisible Microenterprise Forces and Unintended Consequences. Paper presented at the Academy of Management.

Drake, M., Sroufe, R., & 2010. Measuring the Social Dimension of the Triple Bottom Line. Paper presented at the APICS International Conference and Expo.

Sroufe, R., & 2010. Injecting Sustainability into a University Curriculum: Three Graduate Schools of Business Share Their Approaches. Paper presented at the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education.

Sroufe, R., & 2010. Injecting Sustainability into a University Curriculum: Three Graduate Schools of Business Share Their Approaches. Paper presented at the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education.

Sroufe, R., & 2010. Sustainable Product Development - A Comparative Analysis of Sustainable Tools and Processes. Paper presented at the Decision Sciences Institute Annual Meeting.

Sroufe, R., & 2010. Teaching Sustainable Business Practices. Paper presented at the Production and Operations Management Society (POMS) Annual Conference.

Sroufe, R., Karen, C. D., Frank, M., & 2010. The Role of Motivation on Environmentally Driven Operations Performance. Paper presented at the Harvard Business School's Alliance for Research on Corporate Sustainability.

Sroufe, R., Ramos, D., & 2010. MBA Sustainability: Business and Engineering for a Sustainable Tomorrow. Paper presented at the National Society of Black Engineers.

Sroufe, R., Ramos, D., & 2010. Sustainable Product Development - A Comparative Analysis of Sustainable Tools and Processes. Paper presented at the National Decision Science Institute Conference, San Diego, November 21, 2010.

Stroufe, P., Robert, Greenberg, S., Taormina, A., & 2010. Greening the Ballpark. Paper presented at the Association of Marketing Theory & Practice.

My research focuses on "Environmental Management Systems" defined as the formal and informal systems integrating procedures and processes for the training of personnel, monitoring, summarizing and reporting of specialized triple bottom line performance information to internal and external stakeholders.  These systems have evolved from reactive Environmental Health and Safety systems of the past to proactive, present day Sustainability Operating Systems improving environmental performance, stakeholder engagement, and resource efficiency. 

The primary question driving my research involves what systems and tools are effective in measuring and managing environmental, social, and financial practices linked to performance?  Other secondary questions involve what obstacles hinder triple bottom line performance in new product development and supply chains; how will Life Cycle Analysis change supply chain management; how do managers define and comply with voluntary initiatives such as sustainable development to create shared value; and how can managers integrate new information and metrics into existing systems to effectively manage the innovation necessary for sustainable business practices?

I consider operations management and supply chain management critical enablers of new initiatives that call for cross-functional collaboration and visibility.  The research questions above capture what are arguable some of the main challenges that today's managers face when generating and delivering value within the emerging domain of "sustainability" both internally and externally for a firm.