Sustainable Business Network of Washington (SB NOW) - Spring Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability Symposium 2007 -- Working Together to Build Better Businesses & Stronger Communities

The Sustainable Business Network of Washington (SB NOW), formerly the Washington DC Sustainable Business Network (DCSBN), is hosting its third Spring Corporate Responsibility Symposium on June 8, 2007 at George Washington University from 8:30 am to 5:30 pm. The event is being co-hosted by the Environmental Sustainability Program of the GW Institute for Corporate Responsibility.

The title of year’s event is “Working Together to Build Better Companies and Stronger Communities,” and the event will focus on exchanging ideas and promoting practical solutions that can generate revenue for organizations and positively benefit local communities.

Register here.

Overview

Stakeholders from every sector increasingly recognize the importance of addressing the challenge of sustainability. More and more, the language of sustainability and the need to address the intertwined issues of people, planet and profit is emerging in public policy discussions, corporate board rooms, on campuses, and in communities across the region.

The Symposium, the premiere event of its kind in Washington DC region, will showcase examples and strategies used by business pioneers who are managing profitability hand-in-hand with corporate responsibility. By focusing on the intertwined challenges and opportunities of sustainability -- people, planet and profit -- the event will help attendees take advantage of existing expertise and resources to create strategies that benefit business and community. Further, the event will highlight strategies for working across stakeholder groups to come to grips with the challenges and opportunities of sustainability – an imperative that goes beyond any single agenda or stakeholder group.

Register here.

An Event Designed for You

The event offers a unique opportunity to dialogue, network, exchange ideas and promote practical solutions that promote sustainable companies and communities, focusing on the opportunities (and challenges) in the Washington DC area. The Symposium is designed to help you come away with the tools, resources and strategies to come to grips with the imperative of sustainability and promote practical solutions that help make the National Capital region a better place to live and work. No matter what stakeholder group you are from, sustainability affects you:

Business Professional – In the age of instant communications and changing consumer expectations, cutting-edge companies understand that balancing the needs of local stakeholders with the drive for profit, and positively impacting the communities where they live and work, is essential to building a successful business over the long term. How can business address concerns like environmental health, workplace diversity, and community investment – turning these issues into a competitive advantage?
Government Official – Local governments struggle to cope with the myriad environmental and social problems facing the metropolitan region, including contaminated drinking water, a shortage of affordable housing, air pollution, sprawl and traffic, and degradation of the Anacostia River and Chesapeake Bay. While the region experiences incredible growth, these problems persist. How can government agencies work successfully to tackle these interconnected and seemingly intractable problems?
Nonprofit community group – Community groups typically focus on a discrete aspect of sustainability – like social justice, equal rights, environmental health, transparency and accountability – and not the whole, interconnected issue. Rather than working alone, how might community groups advance the broader case for sustainability and thus promote their agenda as well?

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Why You Should Attend

The Symposium provides practical information that you can use, showcasing successful strategies being implemented by pioneers in the field and highlighting solutions that can generate revenue for business and benefit local communities. Our events attract a dynamic mix of business, government and nonprofit leaders because we offer a chance to learn about strategies being executed by each sector.

Morning Session

During the morning session you will learn how underlying social, environmental and economic trends are affecting the marketplace and changing the rules of engagement for companies and communities. Breakout sessions include:

Repairing the Social Contract – Our expert panel of will discuss the changing nature of the social contract between employer and employee, the state of US health care coverage, and the efforts – both local and national – to address the issue of our broken health care system.
The Business Case for CR– Our expert panel of will discuss the evolving landscape of corporate responsibility (CR), the link between competitive advantage and CR, as well as how principles of social and environmental responsibility apply for businesses both large and small.

Afternoon Session

During the afternoon session you will explore and develop strategies to help your organization successfully compete for the future – in the process helping build stronger local communities. Breakout sessions include:

Approaches to Sustainable Development – Our expert panel of leaders from the private sector, government and nonprofit communities will discuss how their organizations are integrating sustainability principles into their operations and strategies, as well as their efforts to collaborate across sectors for mutual benefit.
Sustainability Café – The café will help you identify opportunities to develop sustainable strategies for your organization and on fostering cross-sector partnerships to address pressing issues of concern to all.

Keynote speakers

Matt Bauer, President, BetterWorld Telecom
Neil Albert, Washington DC Deputy Mayor for Economic Development

Other featured speakers, panelists and moderators

Barton Seaver, Executive Chef and Partner, Hook Restaurant, Washington, DC
Karen Davenport, Director of Health Policy, Center for American Progress
Brendan Shane, Director, Environmental Programs & Policy, Anacostia Waterfront Corp.
Judith Hochhauser Schneider, Global Manager, Environmental Markets & Sustainability, DuPont
Elliot K. Wicks, Ph.D., Senior Economist in the Washington D.C. office of Health Management Associates
Jonathan J. Halperin, Director, Research & Advocacy, SustainAbility
John Friedman, Senior Manager Public Relations, Sodexho, Inc.
Mark Starik, Director, GW Institute for Corporate Responsibility
Harriet Tregoning, Director of the DC Office of Planning
Bennett Freeman, Senior Vice President for Social Research and Policy, Calvert Group
Bruce M. Kahn, 2nd Vice President-Wealth Management & Financial Advisor, Smith Barney
Kathleen D. Stoll, Director of Health Policy, Families USA
David Nassar, Wal-Mart Watch Executive Director

Register here.

Sponsors

Symposium sponsors include:

Partner Level

Advocate Level

Supporter Level

Sponsorship packages are still available! Click here to learn more.

Experience

Participants will have the opportunity to learn, dialogue, and network with other organizations and individuals that are leading the sustainability revolution. The Symposium brings together leaders from business, government, academia and nonprofit circles. At the Symposium you will:

· Learn how various organizations are incorporating sustainability strategies into their business operations

· Learn new strategies that will help your organization ‘do well by doing good’

· Share your group’s success stories

· Network, dialogue, exchange ideas, and forge relationships with presenters and attendees

Take Home

· Practical tools and resources to help you build a more sustainable National Capital region

· A network of practitioners and community leaders you can reach out to for support and advice

· A deeper understanding of the role sustainability can play in building better businesses and communities

· A deeper understanding of the role each stakeholder group can play in support of a more socially, environmentally and socially responsible local economy

Keynote Speakers

Keynote Speakers at this year’s Symposium include Matt Bauer, President of BetterWorld Telecom, a nationwide telecommunications company that focuses on environmental and social responsibility. Bauer will address the role business plays in shaping a more sustainable future. The afternoon session will be capped by Neil Albert, Washington DC Deputy Mayor for Economic Development, discussing the important role partnerships between businesses, government, and not-for-profit organizations plays in addressing pressing community issues.

Sessions

Morning Session

The morning session will focus on the benefit of integrating the triple bottom line of people, planet and profit into business strategy and operations and the role business can play in helping shape a more sustainable future. Breakout sessions include:

· Repairing the Social Contract – Panelists will discuss new approaches to the age-old system of employer-based health care coverage.

· The Business Case for Sustainability – Panelists will discuss why cutting-edge organizations that embrace sustainability today are the market leaders of tomorrow.

Afternoon Session

The afternoon session will provide an opportunity to dialogue, network, exchange ideas and promote practical solutions that help generate revenue for business and benefit local communities. Specifically, participants will engage in a unique and powerful conversational process for thinking together, evoking collective intelligence, and creating actionable results. Breakout sessions include:

· Building a More Sustainable National Capital Region – Panelists from government, non-profit and business will discuss how they are integrating sustainability practices into their organizations – positively impacting their organizations and the region.

· Sustainability Café – The café will focus on identifying opportunities to collaborate and develop sustainable strategies and foster partnerships to address issues of concern to all

Register Below

About SB NOW: We live in a time of intense debate regarding the proper role of business in society. At SB NOW we believe it is time for business to fully embrace the challenges and opportunities presented by CR – for their benefit and for the good of the National Capital region.

Who We Are: SB NOW is a non-profit educational corporation that helps business embrace the sustainable marketplace of the future. We are a committed network of over 80 businesses, academics and non-profits dedicated to helping companies embrace a business model informed by the concept of the triple bottom line (people, planet and profits) of corporate responsibility (CR). SB NOW helps change the way business operates and innovates with a focus on building better companies and stronger communities here in the National Capital region – the ‘capital of capitalism.’

What We Do: The Network offers information, education, networking, marketing, and promotion opportunities for businesses, non-profits, business associations, and other community groups interested in learning more about CR and the triple bottom line, and in taking action to promote a more socially, environmentally, and financially sustainable local economy.

Our Goal: Our common goal is to make the National Capital region a better place to live and work, now and in the future, by fostering business leadership on environmental and social responsibility.

For further information about this event, please contact: events@sbnow.org.

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