2010 Greenest Office Judges Profiles

Nick Brown

Director for Campus Sustainability

University of Arkansas

Fayetteville

Nick Brown’s career in conservation has spanned more than 30 years and seemingly as many fields of interest.

“Having various kinds of conservation in my background has helped me do what I’m doing now,” he said.

Brown’s job these days is implementing sustainability programs at the University of Arkansas, whether it’s recycling, water conservation or turning food waste into compost. Brown serves as the liaison between the UA and its student groups, and also is in charge of its long-term plan to become carbon-neutral by 2040.

“It’s the most aggressive, comprehensive plan of any public university in the state,” he said.

Brown grew up in Helena and weatherized low-income homes there after earning a degree in philosophy from Hendrix. He eventually became a local, regional and state director for such projects before landing a gig overseeing solar and wind projects at the Arkansas Department of Energy during President Bill Clinton’s first term as governor.

Brown also holds degrees in environmental sciences (University of Texas at Dallas) and ecology (Cornell University), and has worked on renewable energy, environmental ethics, and sustainable agriculture projects among others. He lives in Fayetteville, coaches Little League baseball, and in-line skates as many as 200 miles a month.

Mark Cloud

Director of Business Development

HP Engineering Inc.

Fayetteville

Though he has a marketing degree, Mark Cloud has been in the lighting design business for more than a decade.

He’s lately dusted off those marketing skills, however, as the chairman of the U.S. Green Building Council’s Arkansas chapter. Cloud helped develop a monthly curriculum of educational courses on sustainable design and practices after being convinced several years ago about the value of going green.

“Lighting is a big part of energy consumption, and it became obvious four or five years ago, LEED was the way to go,” Cloud said of the internationally recognized green building certification system.

Cloud has since become a LEED Accredited Professional, with 10 or 12 projects under his belt. HP Engineering Inc. is a full-service mechanical, electrical and plumbing design firm.

HP performs energy modeling for LEED and non-LEED projects, energy reviews and energy audits for existing buildings. Cloud’s duties include overseeing lighting design, audio-visual design and HP’s LEED consulting groups.

Cloud lives in Springdale, and said he and his family “practice what we preach” by recycling as much as possible, utilizing programmable thermostats and low-flow water products, among other practices.

Kevin Igli

Senior VP and Chief EHS Officer

Tyson Foods Inc.

Springdale

The first internship piqued Kevin Igli’s interest. The second hooked him.

Three decades later, Igli leads a team of more than 180 environmental, health and safety professionals at Tyson Foods Inc.

“It’s been fascinating,” he said.

A biological sciences major at Malone University in Canton, Ohio, Igli got the first taste of his future when he took an environmental internship with a nonprofit group. His job was baseline air monitoring for the construction of a proposed steel mill.

“That planted a seed,” he said.

Igli’s second internship resulted in a 14-week stint at a hazardous waste clean-up site. Both led to jobs at Chemical Waste Management Inc. and Packaging Corp. of America.

Igli was vice president for environmental affairs at Willamette Industries Inc., a leading forest and paper company, when Tyson called.

“The day-to-day part of my job here is highly variable,” Igli said.

That means Igli might spend chunks of time interfacing with government officials or other business leaders, or monitoring Tyson’s policies and procedures. The one constant is the study and evaluation of loads of data and statistics.

To clear his mind away from work, Igli devotes time to hiking and cycling. He also plays drums, whether it’s at church or a jazz gig.