The 2009 Conference agenda offered a new, restructured format with more—and more varied—session time than ever before.
Participants were able to customize their agenda with the topics, level, and length of sessions that were right for them. BSR Conference 2009 participants selected from full-day, half-day, and 1-hour sessions.
Session summaries are now available for download.
Plenary Panels
Sustainability Issues in the Reset World
Wednesday, October 21, 8:30 AM - 9:30 AM
Our opening plenary panel of global CSR and sustainability experts will examine the most important trends and developments confronting companies in the reset world. Focusing on the trio of challenges we face most acutely now—the sharp worldwide recession, accelerating climate change, and a collapse of trust in business—the debate will bring unique and probing insight to the most vexing questions companies face today. This open dialogue will focus on climate change and preparations for Copenhagen, how companies can reestablish trust with citizens through improved transparency and accountability, the role of government-private sector partnerships, and the solutions needed for a sustainable future.
Scheduled Speaker(s): Ricardo Young Ernst Ligteringen Aron Cramer
Integrating Sustainability into Corporate Innovation
Thursday, October 22, 4:30 PM - 5:30 PM
Our Thursday afternoon plenary panel will explore the urgent need to incorporate sustainability strategies into corporate innovation efforts. It’s as simple and complex as asking ourselves: What kind of world do we want to live in, and what goods and services do we need and desire as a society? International experts in innovation will discuss the imperative companies face to incorporate sustainability into their innovation strategies. By integrating strategic and practical approaches into corporate sustainability programs, progress on the world’s biggest problems is possible.
Scheduled Speaker(s): Rosabeth Moss Kanter John Kao Hannah Jones Diane Osgood
Conference Track: CSR Basics
Materiality & ROI
Wednesday, October 21, 9:45 AM - 4:00 PM
This full-day working session is dedicated to your company’s sustainability efforts. Work with experts and learn from peers on issues surrounding return on investment (ROI) and materiality. In the best of times, it’s important for companies to consider the ROI of their sustainability efforts. With the economy in a downturn, it’s more important than ever for companies to take a focused, business-aligned approach that creates value for their customers and stakeholders. In this hands-on session, led by Eric Olson, BSR’s Senior Vice President, Advisory Services, participants will develop a basic materiality analysis for their company, as well as learn from compelling examples and best practices.
Scheduled Speaker(s): Eric Olson Veronica Nyhan Jones Jon Campbell Keiichi Ushijima Jesse Wiley
Internal Communications: Making the Case for CSR's Value
Thursday, October 22, 9:45 AM - 12:00 PM
Learn the top five “do’s” and “don’ts” for communicating the value of CSR internally. Hear from experts on how to effectively engage internal stakeholders and experience a range of available approaches, from in-person conversations to innovative web-based tools. This two-hour working session will help participants develop a straw model internal communications plan and will feature inspiring case studies that can free up resources and create significant support, even in tough economic times.
Scheduled Speaker(s): Eric Olson Christopher Corpuel Silvia Garrigo Kevin Moss
The Changing Function of the CSR Team in a Reset World
Wednesday, October 21, 9:45 AM - 10:45 AM
Discuss and learn about the future of the CSR function in your company and industry in this timely one-hour conversation. In many industries, there are countervailing pressures on CSR teams. With trust in the private sector at an all time low, there is a greater need for companies to increase their internal alignment, transparency, and CSR communications efforts. However, sustainability initiatives are not immune to the cost-cutting pressures and further sharpening of investment criteria. Will these forces and the reset world cause traditional CSR functions and responsibilities to merge and integrate into other departments? Or will CSR become more of its own domain, its role growing in size as a result of the breakdown in trust, the increased awareness of environmental issues such as climate change, and the growing disparity between the haves and the have-nots? Challenge your assumptions about what is the best structure for these key functions in a reset world.
Scheduled Speaker(s): Richard Gillies Peder Michael Pruzan-Jorgensen
Solving Tough Problems. An Open Way of Talking, Listening, and Creating New Realities
Thursday,
October 22, 9:45 AM - 10:45 AM
Thursday, October 22, 3 PM - 4 PM (Session Repeat)
Adam Kahane is a leading designer, facilitator and organizer of processes through which business, government, and civil society leaders work together to address their most complex challenges. In this intimate one-hour conversation, he will share his experiences and insights into how to engage in productive conversations with diverse stakeholders to solve shared problems. Kahane has worked in the United States, to make cities healthier and more livable; in Canada, to accelerate the shift to a low-carbon economy; in Colombia, to create equitable development amidst continued polarization; in Guatemala, to implement the peace accords that ended the civil war; across Europe and the Americas, to make food supply chains more sustainable; in Israel, to deal with widening cultural and ideological schisms; in South Africa, to address critical developmental issues in the transition from apartheid; in India, to reduce child malnutrition; in the Philippines, to unblock a political stalemate; and in Australia, to effect long-delayed reconciliation between aboriginal and non-aboriginal people. He is the author of Solving Tough Problems: An Open Way of Talking, Listening, and Creating New Realities (about which Nelson Mandela said, "This breakthrough book addresses the central challenge of our time: finding a way to work together to solve the problems we have created") and the forthcoming Power and Love: A Theory and Practice of Social Change.
Scheduled Speaker(s): Adam Kahane Diane Osgood
Corporate Stakeholder Engagement: Time to Evolve Our Language and Approach?
Thursday, October 22, 1:45 PM - 4:00 PM
Stakeholder engagement always has been an important tool in CSR strategy and integration. But today we are on the brink of needing a new model and perhaps a new language in order to deliver the required value to companies, stakeholders, and the issues themselves. Together, we will explore examples of new models of engagement and distill lessons into a practical course of action. This two-hour, interactive session will explore—and attempt to answer—many questions: What is the value of using a specific issue as the focal point of an engagement rather than a specific company? How can stakeholder engagement techniques be used to explore future scenarios and opportunities? What do we mean by “stakeholder”—and is there more useful language? Is the traditional model of in-person company engagement still viable?
Scheduled Speaker(s): Kathleen Shaver Stacey Smith Dost Bardouille-Crema Marie David Dan Henkle
Diversity and Inclusion
Wednesday, October 21, 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
As a group, employees are the most important stakeholders for any company. Yet employee issues are often overlooked in the CSR agenda. Diversity, in particular, is commonly disregarded as “something that HR is handling” rather than as a strategic priority. This one-hour conversation will explore the business case of how workforce diversity and inclusion can drive business outcomes, provide resilience, and contribute to a company’s sustainability performance.
Scheduled Speaker(s): Dolores Bernardo Tom Johnson Cody Sisco
Conference Track: Economic Development
Responsible Transitions
Wednesday, October 21, 9:45 AM - 12:00 PM
In today's challenging economic climate—with softening consumer demand and shrinking production—many companies are faced with site or factory closures, leading to a growing number of unemployed workers around the globe, many of whom are young women. The impact of these losses is catastrophic for producing communities and workers in the global South, many of whom have limited, if any, social safety nets to rely on. This loss in employment also sets the world back in terms of meeting the Millennium Development Goals. In this two-hour working session, attendees will develop a nuanced understanding of impacted countries and the resulting vulnerabilities of workers and communities in the global South. In addition, this session will offer strategies and solutions to manage factory or site transitions in a responsible way, with concrete ideas on how to forge cross-sector and public-private partnerships to help meet this goal.
Scheduled Speaker(s): Ayesha Barenblat Caitlin Morris Sasha Muench Jane Stewart
The Impact of the Financial Crisis on Poverty
Wednesday,
October 21, 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Thursday, October 22, 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM (Session Repeat)
The global financial crisis has sent shock waves through main streets and high streets around the world. It also has had a serious impact on the world’s poorest people. This one-hour conversation with Harvard Kennedy School’s Beth Jenkins, will focus on the role companies play in poverty alleviation and development - generating economic multipliers through routine business activity, doing business with the poor (BOP or inclusive business), investing in human capital development and local institution-building, and participating in public policy dialogue with government. The discussion will cover how corporate engagement in each of these activities is changing as a result of the financial crisis.
Scheduled Speaker(s): Beth Jenkins Alejandra Martin
Conference Track: Environment
Climate Action Initiative
Wednesday, October 21, 1:45 PM - 4:00 PM
This highly interactive, two-hour working session led by the world’s top scientists and climate change experts will explore the likely impact of global climate change policies through an open source simulator and a masterfully facilitated exercise built around it. This live demonstration, adapted for the first time for business leaders, will also demonstrate the possible significant positive impacts the private sector can make by implementing certain policies going into and coming out of the Copenhagen UNFCCC Summit. In the second half of the session, the scientists will demonstrate specific business actions that impact carbon dioxide concentration levels globally.
Scheduled Speaker(s): Tom Cummings Michael R. Goodman
Global Land-Use Policies: Development, Implementation, and Performance
Thursday, October 22, 9:45 AM - 12:00 PM
As the demands of our food and industrial systems place increasing stress on natural resources around the world, companies relying on these systems face pressure to find solutions to both the supply and demand sides of the challenges. This half-day session offers a structured forum to explore the various responses developed by global companies as they address the basic security of their future supply chains. BSR will bring together a group of companies in the food, agriculture, and natural resources sectors, as well as researchers and civil society representatives, to explore these challenges and begin to learn from each other how best to proceed. Specifically, the session will explore business drivers for establishing land-use policy, existing corporate land-use policy guidelines, and trade-offs of various approaches that can be used to identify and evaluate compliance with and performance against policy.
Scheduled Speaker(s): Stacey Smith Mark Murphy Ferdinando Villa Sarah Connick Juan Gonzalez-Valero
Ecoliteracy & Ecodesign with Fritjof Capra
Thursday, October 22, 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Today, there is still a lot of confusion around the concept of sustainability, even within the environmental movement. In this conversation, Fritjof Capra will give a clear definition of sustainability by putting the concept within its proper ecological context and by presenting ecoliteracy and ecodesign as two necessary steps for its implementation. This one hour conversation provides a rare opportunity to hear the thoughts of this world renowned physicist and system theorist. Capra has been engaged in a systematic examination of the philosophical and social implications of contemporary science for the past 30 years. His books on this subject have been acclaimed internationally.
Scheduled Speaker(s): Fritjof Capra Laura Ediger
Sustainability Solutions
Wednesday, October 21, 1:45 PM - 2:45 PM
The innovative use of information and communications technology (ICT) can help governments and large companies address a wide range of pressing sustainability challenges. Leading ICT companies such as BT, Hitachi, IBM, Microsoft, SAP, and Oracle are increasingly generating revenues through the use of ICT and sophisticated data analysis to help solve problems such as energy efficiency, food security, traffic congestion, national security, urban development, and water scarcity. This one-hour conversation with IBM will inspire you to think big about the possibilities of a technology-enabled sustainability transformation.
Scheduled Speaker(s): Kim Hewitt Edan Dionne Dunstan Hope Diane Melley
Environmental Performance for Consumers: Green Product Design
Thursday, October 22, 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM
This one-hour conversation will focus on innovative approaches to producing greener products, and the need to create common objectives and incentives for sustained value. Based on a detailed case study by Sprint, the discussion will look at how companies can credibly improve environmental performance for consumers by partnering with suppliers, manufacturers, and external stakeholders on green product design. Participants will come away with a better understanding of where the areas of alignment exist, and non-manufacturers will learn how to engage in product design effectively.
Scheduled Speaker(s): Raj Sapru Michael Kirschner Ralph Reid
The Economics of Biodiversity
Friday, October 23, 10:15 AM - 11:30 AM
Biodiversity provides the rich genetic library from which countless products and services are derived. Without biodiversity, we would not have cures for diseases, resilience in our food supplies, and ecosystem services such as water filtration. Globally, we are loosing biodiversity at an ever-increasing pace. Its loss has major implications for business' particularly for industries with direct impacts on biodiversity and ecosystems, such as mining, oil and gas, and infrastructure; for those businesses that depend on healthy ecosystems and biodiversity for production, such as agriculture and fisheries; and for industry sectors that finance and support economic activity and growth, including banks, asset managers, and insurance. The good news is that just as climate mitigation and adaptation have spurred the development of new environmental markets and business models, biodiversity conservation offers significant opportunities for investors and businesses. This one-hour conversation with economist and biodiversity expert Dr. Edward Barbier will provide the context of these developments and explore what companies can do to mitigate biodiversity loss via new market instruments.
Scheduled Speaker(s): Edward B. Barbier Diane Osgood
Conference Track: Governance, Accountability, Transparency
The Role of Corporate Boards and Corporate Responsibility
Wednesday, October 21, 1:45 PM - 2:45 PM
This one-hour conversation with Royal Dutch Shell’s Corporate Affairs and Sustainable Development Director Roxanne Decyk and BSR President and CEO Aron Cramer will provide extraordinary insights into the power of corporate boards. How can corporate boards shape and support a company’s sustainability agenda? Are companies better served with a “sustainability expert” on the board rather than raising the expertise of all board members on the most material aspects of sustainability for the company? In her current role, Decyk oversees regional business coordination, global government affairs, communications, policy, security, and HSE. She previously led strategy for Royal Dutch Shell and served as senior vice president for corporate affairs and human resources for Shell Oil Company. Decyk has served on corporate boards in the United States and in the U.K. for the past 20 years and is active in international women's organizations.
Scheduled Speaker(s): Roxanne Decyk Aron Cramer
From Voluntary to Legal Disclosure: Should Sustainability Reporting Be Required?
Friday, October 23, 10:15 AM - 11:30 AM
This one-hour conversation will cover the possible merits and drawbacks of entrenching sustainability disclosures in national or supranational law. Should frameworks such as the Global Reporting Initiative remain voluntary, or is there a business case for legally requiring companies to report? What are the implications for future trends in reporting for either scenario, and on which side of the debate do you stand?
Scheduled Speaker(s): Gary Niekerk Jerome Tagger Doug Bannerman
CSR Reporting: Outside the Print Margins
Wednesday, October 21, 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM
While print reports remain a critical method for communicating with stakeholders, companies are increasingly asking the question, “How do we put our reports to better use?” Leading companies are beginning to use their reports to go beyond one-way communication of their strategies and performance to using new web technologies and other avenues to broaden their reach, improve the accessibility of their reports, and enable two-way conversations. This one-hour discussion will reveal the emerging best practices that are defining the next chapter in reporting.
Scheduled Speaker(s): Raymond K. Homan Cecily Joseph Doug Bannerman
Conference Track: Human Rights
Human Rights Dilemmas
Wednesday, October 21, 1:45 PM - 4:00 PM
Among the most complex challenges companies face are those involving company impacts on human rights. This two-hour working session led by BSR’s Faris Natour, Director, Research & Innovation, will explore common human rights dilemmas for businesses and—through case studies and small-group discussions—will identify successful strategies for companies to begin addressing them now. Participants will receive a simple set of actionable recommendations on how to address human rights dilemmas and facilitate learning and exchange across all sectors and levels of expertise. A reception focusing on human rights will follow the workshop, allowing all Conference attendees an opportunity to share their views with peers and experts.
Scheduled Speaker(s): Faris Natour Mauricio Lazala Frank Mantero Ebele Okobi-Harris
Bringing the UN’s “Protect, Respect, Remedy” Framework to Life: An Update on John Ruggie's Business and Human Rights Mandate
Wednesday, October 21, 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Last year, the UN Human Rights Council unanimously endorsed the "Protect, Respect, Remedy" framework recommended by John Ruggie, the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative for Business and Human Rights, and gave him another three years to develop practical recommendations for governments and companies to prevent human rights abuses related to corporate activity. Join us for an interview and update from Christine Bader, the former Manager of Policy Development for BP plc, and currently Advisor to Ruggie on his UN mandate.
Scheduled Speaker(s): Faris Natour Christine Bader
Investing in Women and Girls
Wednesday, October 21, 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
There is growing evidence that empowering women — by investing in women and girls — is central to progress in the 21st century. It's often called "the girl effect" - and the critical piece is investing. Empowering women raises economic productivity, reduces family size, contributes to healthier families, and increases the chances of education for the next generation. Women perform two-thirds of all labor worldwide, and in many countries, they are the true engines of globalization. Yet women own only about 1 percent of the world's assets, and they represent 70 percent of those living in absolute poverty. It's widely accepted that by unlocking women's power, we can catalyze economic growth, and many companies are beginning to take action. Often, corporate engagement to empower women goes beyond philanthropy. Investment in women workers' health and education can increase productivity, help stabilize communities, and drive innovation. Join us for an intimate conversation with the world-renowned women's leader Kavita Ramdas, who was once named one of the world's top 20 social entrepreneurs. As the President and CEO of the Global Fund for Women, she has led an organization that has invested more than US$71 million in 3,800 women's organizations in 167 countries over the last 12 years. We will discuss the whys and hows of corporate involvement in investing in women and girls - and leave you inspired and equipped to take action.
Scheduled Speaker(s): Diane Osgood Kavita N. Ramdas
Modern Issues with Ancient Roots: Update on Indigenous Rights
Thursday, October 22, 9:45 AM - 10:45 AM
If you think indigenous rights are not relevant to your industry, think again. Recent investor data identified more than 250 companies across sectors as having exposure to indigenous peoples' rights, and 17 percent of them as facing high risk exposure. Oil and gas, pharmaceuticals, biogenetics, plant and life sciences, consumer products, and food companies are some of the key industries that need to engage in indigenous rights around the world. These dynamic issues have changed since the debates and dilemmas of the ‘80s and ‘90s around the management of indigenous rights as they relate to land and intellectual property. At this one-hour conversation, an international indigenous rights expert and a Native American elder will provide an updated view on how the nexus of indigenous rights and the private sector is evolving, and what it means for your industry.
Scheduled Speaker(s): Rebecca Adamson Harry Charger Julia Ka'iulani Nelson
Conference Track: Sustainability in a Reset World
Sylvia Earle: Update on the Blue Planet
Thursday,
October 22, 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Thursday, October 22, 1:45 PM - 2:45 PM (Session Repeat)
BSR is proud to present a rare conversation with Marine biologist Sylvia Earle, an Explorer-in-Residence at National Geographic since 1998, the year Time magazine named her the first Hero for the Planet. Called "Her Deepness" by the New Yorker and the New York Times, and "Living Legend" by the Library of Congress, Earle is an oceanographer, explorer, author, and lecturer with experience as a field research scientist. To date, she has led more than 70 expeditions, logging more than 6,500 hours under water. Her research concerns marine ecosystems, with special reference to exploration and the development and use of new technologies for access and effective operations in the deep sea and other remote environments. This visual and compelling dialogue will be of special interest to companies that use the ocean for transportation, food, and water.
Scheduled Speaker(s): Sylvia Earle Laura Ediger
Sustainability on a Budget: Sharing Cost (and Risk) through Government Partnerships
Thursday, October 22, 9:45 AM - 12:00 PM
In a reset global economy, innovation in the form of government partnerships (yes, government!) is a strategic way for companies to do more with less. How, through public-private partnerships (PPPs), can companies increase their impact on social and environmental issues along their global supply chains? How can your company develop base-of-the-pyramid opportunities in emerging economies and contribute to local economic development? Join this two-hour working session to explore innovative ways to partner with the public sector that deliver significant business value. Corporate partners from five diverse PPPs will share their successes and challenges. In addition, U.S. Government representatives from multiple agencies will be on hand to answer questions and participate in breakout sessions.
Scheduled Speaker(s): Renuka Gadde Sanjay Raman Tracey Noe Shari Berenbach Chad Bolick Michael De Soyza
When Good Intentions Collide
Wednesday, October 21, 9:45 AM - 10:45 AM
One of the biggest challenges we face given the physical boundaries of the planet and the urgent need to mitigate climate change is how to provide sufficient energy, food, and water for all people. Many companies, often together with government and other partners, are working to address these issues by introducing new technologies. But what happens when the good intentions of the technology provider collide with the equally well-intentioned, but opposing preferences of another group? What happens when not everyone agrees that the offered technology will lead to the desired outcomes? Agriculture, which sits at the intersection of natural resource capacity constraints and technological solutions, provides an interesting test case for the question of choice in the context of sustainability. This one-hour session with Monsanto, a leader in agricultural technologies, explores these thorny issues, including: When the path advocated by some groups threatens to limit the options available to others, what can a company do? Monsanto sees a real opportunity to contribute to making the world a better place—and to make a nice return on investment—by helping farmers produce more abundant crops while using fewer natural resources. But Monsanto’s ability to be part of the solution, and to succeed as a business, depends on farmers being able to choose the technology in an arena governed by regulators and influenced by public opinion. Join Monsanto's Executive Vice President for Sustainability and Corporate Affairs, Jerry Steiner and Diane Osgood, Vice President of CSR Strategy at BSR, in this lively discussion about the role of choice within the context of doing well while doing good.
Scheduled Speaker(s): Jerry Steiner Diane Osgood
A Conversation with Pamela Passman
Wednesday, October 21, 9:45 AM - 10:45 AM
Join us for a one-hour conversation with Pamela Passman, Corporate Vice President, Global Corporate Affairs, Microsoft Corporation, on the role corporations have in engaging in public policy dialogues on issues core to their business and industry. Passman, who leads both Microsoft's Global Corporate Affairs team and its Global Citizenship strategy, will discuss the importance of industry and NGO partnerships within the context of working with policy leaders to address today’s economic and social challenges. The expansive nature of Passman’s responsibilities—from providing regulatory counsel on public policy issues; to strengthening government, industry, and community relations; and to overseeing Microsoft’s philanthropic investments—provide her a unique perspective on key public policy issues of the day as well as on effective engagement and partnership strategies.
Scheduled Speaker(s): Zachary Karabell Pamela Passman
Environmental, Social, and Governance-Based Investment Trends
Thursday,
October 22, 9:45 AM - 10:45 AM
Thursday, October 22, 1:45 PM - 2:45 PM (Session Repeat)
Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing integrates long-term environmental, social and governance criteria into investment decisions. Sustainability trends are increasingly being used as part of the mainstream investment process, as investors begin to consider ESG issues as indicators of management quality or risk assessments. This one-hour conversation with Chris McKnett of State Street Global Advisors will delve into the impact of ESG trends on investment decisions and new potential investment products. Our in-depth discussion will highlight the trends and perceptions among investors of the role and value of ESG criteria, as well as the implications for your company's investor relations strategy.
Scheduled Speaker(s): Laura Commike Gitman Chris McKnett
Integrating Sustainability into Sourcing, Design, and Production of Products
Thursday, October 22, 1:45 PM - 2:45 PM
Amy Leonard and Erik Joule are two of Levi Strauss & Co's most senior leaders responsible for how the iconic brand's clothing is manufactured and produced. Levi Strauss & Co. recently began transforming its sustainability approach. While the company continues to employ a sustainability team dedicated to guiding the strategy, the bold Levi Strauss & Co. vision that the company's profitable growth will help restore the environment now includes specific deliverables and accountability from key business leaders across the organization. Incorporating these goals into a retail supply chain has created new unique opportunities for consumer engagement and forced some creative and collaborative partnerships within the company that are yielding early results. This one-hour conversation with Leonard and Joule will focus on some of their tangible takeaways and challenges resulting from incorporating sustainability targets into the sourcing, design, and production of Levi's clothing.
Scheduled Speaker(s): Erik Joule Amy Leonard Ayesha Barenblat
Sustainable Consumption
Friday, October 23, 10:15 AM - 11:30 AM
The human race is currently consuming eight planets’ worth of natural resources—and most global and local economies are predicated on growth from this unchecked consumption. What is sustainable consumption, and what are the ethical and moral dilemmas involved? It’s time we answer these important questions. There are two sides to this debate: One side argues that we don’t need to reduce our consumption, but we do need to create new products and services that keep us consuming as much we want within the physical boundaries of our planet. The other side argues that technology can’t solve all of the problems we face, and we must reduce and dramatically change our global consumption patterns. This one-hour conversation will explore both sides of this impassioned debate.
Scheduled Speaker(s): Aron Cramer Brian Collins Santiago Gowland David Orr
Think Big: Developing Systemic Answers to Sustainability Challenges
Thursday, October 22, 1:45 PM - 4:00 PM
Sustainability challenges, and therefore sustainability solutions, require a systems approach. It is only by addressing the most complex problems of our times—climate, water, labor standards, and human rights—in a context larger than one company’s direct footprint, that enduring solutions can be developed. In today’s reset world, coalitions and partnerships involving the private sector are proving effective in tackling system problems. This two-hour working session explores how these partnerships can benefit society, the environment, and your company. We will build the business case for your company’s involvement in addressing relevant sustainability challenges. In smaller breakout groups, we’ll dig into case studies covering three approaches covering how to meet the Millennium Development Goals through partnerships, create lasting poverty alleviation solutions in local communities, and provide health care for poor communities.
Scheduled Speaker(s): Euan Wilmshurst Farid Baddache Sandy Fernandez Michael Bzdak Blakey Emmett Victor Tabbush
The AT&T Experience: Integrating Sustainability in a Recession
Friday, October 23, 10:15 AM - 11:30 AM
Join Charlene Lake, AT&T’s Vice President of Sustainability, for a candid conversation about how AT&T is integrating sustainability into all aspects of its business during the toughest recession in decades. With budgets being slashed and consumers demanding more for less, how is AT&T structuring the role and return on investment of sustainability? What has and what has not worked? This one-hour conversation, moderated by Eric Olson, BSR’s Senior Vice President of Advisory Services, will provide rare insights into tried and tested strategies and tactics.
Scheduled Speaker(s): Charlene Lake Eric Olson
Public Policy for CSR: Best Practices
Wednesday, October 21, 9:45 AM - 12:00 PM
This two-hour working session will probe the challenge of how business is exercising influence in the public policy arena. The new agenda for business’ involvement focuses on what can be contributed and how engagement drives responsibility. What is the need and role for business in public policy, what are your stakeholder expectations, and what opportunities are available to shape public policy and engage with policymakers? This session will present specific opportunities that call for collaborative solutions for companies. Using real case studies, we will provide the framework for a discussion about transparency, internal alignment, communications and campaigns, political contributions, and how to align short-term business objectives with long-term societal objectives.
Scheduled Speaker(s): John Viera Kara Hartnett Hurst Virgilio Levaggi Vega Richard Feinberg Arvin Ganesan Jonathan Jacoby
The State of Sustainability in China
Wednesday, October 21, 1:45 PM - 2:45 PM
Building on GlobeScan's recent reports on CSR expectations in China and BSR's extensive experience working with Chinese companies, this session will explore and contextualize China's trends and evolutions in sustainability. Starting with GlobeScan's study, we will look at CSR expectations in China and then illustrate some of these trends with the political, cultural, and business changes BSR is experiencing. By examining the intersection of expectations and emerging practices, this session will offer insights into the future of sustainability in China.
Scheduled Speaker(s): Jeremy Prepscius Wei Dong Zhou Chris Coulter
The San Francisco Ferry Building Tour: A Sustainable Success Story
Thursday, October 22, 9:45 AM - 10:45 AM
A model of social and environmental sustainability, San Francisco’s Ferry Building was redeveloped in 2003 through a public-private partnership between a development company and the Port of San Francisco. Today the mixed-use building is centered on a sustainable local marketplace. Built in 1898, it was long the centerpiece of the city's transportation infrastructure, but it suffered years of neglect and disuse after being cut off from the city by the elevated Embarcadero freeway. This walking tour, led by Perkins+Will Senior Project Architect Andrew Wolfram, will focus on the project's development and construction process, and the manner in which sustainable planning and design principles were integrated into this now-thriving building. Participants will receive practical tips and ideas to take back to the office.
Scheduled Speaker(s): Andrew Wolfram
Conference Track: Value Chain
Traceability and Responsibility: How Far Does Corporate Responsibility Extend Down Your Supply Chain?
Thursday, October 22, 1:45 PM - 4:00 PM
The complexity and geographic diversity of global supply chains make it increasingly difficult for companies to trace all inputs and final products from their origin to final consumption. Traceability allows companies to follow the movement of a product through the various stages of its transformation and transport within a supply chain. This two-hour working session will provide an in-depth look at how traceability is put into practice in a variety of industries such as food, information and communications technology, and mining, and will examine the challenges and opportunities companies face in establishing such systems. It also will suggest a number of scenarios for the future development of traceability through examples from the Better Cotton Initiative, industry leaders, and session participants.
Scheduled Speaker(s): Zoe McMahon Michael Kobori Jorgette Marinez Roger McElrath
Improving Carbon Management in Your Value Chain
Wednesday, October 21, 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM
This critical one-hour conversation will focus on how all sectors can use systemwide approaches to efficiently de-carbonize their supply chains. What common objectives, incentives, or approaches will drive businesses to coordinate efforts to significantly reduce carbon footprints throughout value chains and reach emission reduction targets? Hear perspectives on the risks and opportunities for better alignment from globally focused companies at different parts of the value chain. How can the transport sector enable reductions for retail? How can retail enable reductions for consumers? And how can manufacturers balance and enable needs up- and downstream?
Scheduled Speaker(s): Mary Capozzi Søren Stig Raj Sapru
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