The University of Nebraska-Lincoln will host a sustainability conference Friday to generate ideas on how the university, businesses and city and state communities can be more Earth-friendly.

The theme of the second Building Sustainable Partnerships forum is "Transforming Vision into Action."

The free, public forum, presented by the University of Nebraska Rural Initiative, the UNL School of Natural Resources and the City of Lincoln, is 1 to 6 p.m. at Hardin Hall, 33rd and Holdrege streets on UNL's East Campus.

Speakers are:

• Charlie Cunniff, head of the Seattle Climate Partnership. He will discuss how the business community, civic groups and the city of Seattle cooperate on sustainability.
• Debra Rowe, president of the U.S. Partnership for Education for Sustainable Development. She'll describe the role of a university in community-wide sustainability projects.
• Dennis Murphey, chief environmental officer in Kansas City, Mo., a regional leader in sustainability.

The forum also will feature breakout sessions. In addition, Beth Osborne, deputy assistant secretary of policy for the U.S. Department of Transportation, will be video-linked from Washington to outline the national Partnership for Sustainable Communities.

Refreshments and exhibits will be offered. Participants can visit www.lincolngreenbydesign.org/bsp for more information and to register for the forum.