State of Green Business 2012

Joel Makower and John Davies present the 2012 annual State of Green Business Report, reviewing key trends and indicators and the state of the profession today.

Presented by: Joel Makower Chairman & Executive Editor, GreenBiz Group; John Davies VP, Senior Analyst, GreenBiz Group

One Great Idea: Un-Shopping

E-waste is the fastest growing part of the U.S. garbage stream – a fact that has huge environmental consequences. Israel Ganot has been thinking about how to get consumers to make significant changes ... without radically changing their lifestyles. In a world with so much stuff, how do we get by with what we have, start buying better things and things we need? How do we start Un-Shopping?

Presented by: Israel Ganot President, Co-founder and CEO, Gazelle

One Great Idea: Designing for Sustainability

Model, author and entrepreneur, Summer Rayne Oakes shares how the biggest sustainable design innovations are spawning out of open-source collaboration. From the development of the Sustainability Index to the practice of collaborative production to the co-founding of her own company, Source4Style - a trends-driven marketplace reducing the boundaries to sustainable sourcing - Oakes captures the current zeitgeist that is shaping the future of design and helping make sustainable design possible throughout the world.

Presented by: Summer Rayne Oakes Co-Founder & Chief Creative Officer, Source4Style

Keynote Interview: Dan Hendrix in conversation with Marc Gunther

Interface is one of the most iconic companies in sustainable business, consistently leading the pack and creating a vision for all companies. In 1994, founder Ray Anderson challenged his company, and the rest of the business world, to consider a different way of doing business - what he called Mission Zero. Now, almost 20 years later, CEO Dan Hendrix will discuss the progress Interface has made, what they've learned along the way, and how the company plans to build on the late Anderson's vision.

Presented by: Daniel Hendrix President and CEO, Interface

In conversation with: Marc Gunther Senior Writer, GreenBiz Group

Can New York Be America's First VERGE City?

VERGE describes a convergence taking place among energy, information, building, and transportation technologies that will revolutionize cities. VERGE cities won't just be smarter -- they'll be more efficient, cleaner, safer, and more economically sound. Capitalizing on this convergence will require visionary political leaders, private-sector investors, and unprecedented partnerships among cities, companies, utilities, investors, and other institutions. What will it take for New York to be the showcase city for the coming convergence?

Presented by: David Bartlett Vice President of Industry Solutions, IBM ; Steve Cohen Director and Chief Operating Officer, Earth Institute, Columbia University

In conversation with: Andrew Shapiro Founder and President, GreenOrder

One Great Idea: Redesigning our Food Systems for the 21st Century

Global supply chains and production systems are complicated and poorly tailored to a world of unlimited resources. The food industry is a chief offender, using 60% of the world’s freshwater, causing 70% of the world’s deforestation, and producing one-third of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. A system so crucial to supporting a burgeoning world population must be redesigned, and the Rainforest Alliance has pioneered a win-win approach that is transforming this system for the better.

Presented by: Tensie Whelan President, Rainforest Alliance

One Great Idea: Influencing Business with a Carrot, Not a Stick

Carrotmob pioneered a way to influence business by amassing a network of consumers, who spend money in order to reward companies for doing social good. In the process, it turns a positive spotlight onto leading companies while empowering consumers. Founder Brent Schulkin tells how this innovative approach to advocacy is igniting real change.

Presented by: Brent Schulkin Founder, Carrotmob

One Great Idea: Transforming Consumption

Collaborative Consumption describes the rapid explosion in swapping, sharing, bartering, trading and renting being reinvented through the latest technologies and peer-to-peer marketplaces in ways and on a scale never possible before. In the 20th century of hyper-consumption we were defined by credit, advertising, and what we owned. In the 21st century of Collaborative Consumption we will be defined by reputation, community, and by what we can access.

Presented by: Roo Rogers President , Redscout Ventures

Keynote Interview: Fred Bedore in conversation with Joel Makower

It has been almost two years since Walmart announced a series of sustainability initiatives, including a declaration that it would cut 20 million tonnes in greenhouse gas emissions from the lifecycle and supply chain of its products by 2015. Fred Bedore, Senior Director of Business Strategy and Sustainability, in conversation with Joel Makower, will share the status of these sustainability initiatives, the challenges the company has faced thus far, and where Walmart is headed as it strives to grow profits and reduce its environmental impact.

Presented by: Fred Bedore Senior Director of Business Strategy and Sustainability, Walmart

In conversation with: Joel Makower Chairman & Executive Editor, GreenBiz Group

Advance Preview: Findings from Ernst & Young and GreenBiz Group Survey on Sustainability Reporting

Be the first to hear the findings of a new survey by Ernst & Young and GreenBiz Group which sheds light on the latest trends in sustainability reporting in a time of economic uncertainty. Over 50 questions were asked of C-suite executives at Fortune 1000 companies across multiple industry sectors. Hear what they have to say about return on investment for sustainability projects, the shift in key stakeholders driving sustainability initiatives, what ratings and rankings matter most, GRI reporting and the role of CFOs in sustainability efforts. Join us for an interactive discussion on how these findings may impact your sustainability strategy and initiatives.

Presented by: John DeMelis Partner, Ernst & Young; Chris Walker Associate Director, Ernst & Young; Adam Carrel Senior Manager, Ernst & Young; Brendan LeBlanc Executive Director, Ernst & Young

Optimizing Office Recycling and Reducing Waste

Businesses today realize that smart purchasing practices, use and disposal of their office supplies can go a long way toward fulfilling a company’s sustainability goals. In this workshop, representatives from paper manufacturer Boise Inc. will briefly explore the sustainability impacts of office paper, from manufacture to disposal/recycle, and how the choices you make affect all pillars of sustainability. We will then take a deeper dive into how to reduce overall office waste and provide tools and resources that workshop attendees can immediately put into action.

Presented by: Terry Stepney Brand Manager, Boise Inc.

Public-Private Partnerships: Helping Cities Save Money and Grow Sustainably

Public-private partnerships are being used more and more to enable cities to maintain control of critical resources while using private sector expertise to improve efficiencies, reduce waste and identify savings. Ed Pinero, chief sustainability officer at Veolia Water North America, will discuss how public-private partnerships are being used in the water sector to help cities, including New York City and Tampa Bay, save money, reduce environmental impact and ensure the ability to provide quality services to a growing population.

Presented by: Edwin Pinero Chief Sustainability Officer, Veolia Water North America

Developing an Employee-Driven Approach to Sustainability

Caesars Entertainment has developed a grassroots employee driven approach to sustainability which is highly operationalized with bottom line results. Learn about challenges and approaches to developing a best-in-class strategy driven from the bottom up and supported from the top down.

Presented by: Gwen Migita Corporate Director Sustainability, Caesars Entertainment

Creating Supply Chain Value through Sustainability

At this session you’ll learn how organizations are re-examining their supply chains to reduce use and production of energy, carbon, water, materials, and waste, and adopting sustainability strategies to develop a high-profit supply chain. This session will also address the benefits of a resource-focused approach, including insulation against commodity price shock and collaboration between customers, suppliers, and your organization.

Presented by: Sanjay Agarwal Principal, Consumer and Industrial Products Practice, Deloitte; Josh Nothwang Manager, Deloitte

Incorporating Sustainability into Investment Decisions

In this workshop, participants will explore how environmental issues are increasingly factoring into investment decisions and what this means for companies.

Presented by: Daniel Saccardi Senior Associate, GreenOrder; Curtis Ravenel Global Head, Sustainability Group, Bloomberg L.P.

Mainstream Greening Your Brand

Incorporating sustainability into your brand story is fundamental to success in today's marketplace. But getting sustainability marketing right has proven tough, especially when it comes to converting sustainability into a purchase driver with the mainstream consumer. OgilvyEarth's groundbreaking study Mainstream Green: Moving Sustainability from Niche to Normal uncovered fresh insight into the barriers and drivers of motivating the mainstream consumer to act on their intentions when it comes to shopping and living more sustainably. In this hands-on workshop, OgilvyEarth will help you work through live marketing problems in real time, showing you how the Mainstream Green insights can help you unlock opportunity for your business and your brand.

Presented by: Freya Williams Director of Strategy, OglivyEarth; Graceann Bennett Director of Strategic Planning, Ogivly & Mather

Insight into the Newsweek Green Rankings

Learn from the key research provider that produced the rankings for Newsweek and how they used a combination of quantitative and qualitative data to assess the environmental performance of the world’s largest companies. This session will explore the criteria included in the rankings; the methodology behind the scores; how the rankings can be used for benchmarking performance; and how companies can proactively move to improve their green ranking.

Presented by: Alex Lamb Vice President, Trucost