Can business make real progress on global environmental and social issues? Can businesses positively influence environmental and social trends while strengthening their own resilience to issues like climate change and resource scarcity?
The World Business Council for Sustainable Development, the U.S. Business Council for Sustainable Development, and Yale University think so, and are working together to get there.
During a
two-day event at Yale, companies from a range of industry sectors, Yale faculty, NGO and government representatives will explore how finance, policy, communications, and technology can be leveraged to scale up collaborative approaches to practical action.
The event, which is being co-hosted by the
Yale Center for Business and the Environment (CBEY), will be held July 16-17 at Evans Hall, 165 Whitney Ave., New Haven.
On Thursday, July 16,
Andrew Winston ’03 M.E.M., author of
The Big Pivot, and F&ES Prof.
Marian Chertow will begin the event with a discussion about how to bring business sustainability initiatives to scale. The day will continue with work sessions led by member companies and facilitated by expert academics and practitioners focused on climate smart agriculture, energy efficiency in buildings, regional and national materials marketplaces, sustainable forestry, and coastal resiliency.
A special session featuring a unique collaboration between NRG and Unilever will highlight the direct value of innovative partnerships in this space. Following an evening reception in Yale’s Woolsey Hall, John Englander, author of
High Tide on Main Street, will deliver an address over dinner drawing on his expertise as an oceanographer studying climate change.
On Friday, a series of panel discussions will explore how finance, communications, technology, and policy can be used to scale up sustainability iniatives built around the themes addressed during the earlier working groups.
“In order to address the complexity and scope of the current sustainability challenges, we must build our capacity to collaborate at individual and organizational levels,” said Stuart DeCew, director of CBEY. “The diversity of expertise and connections housed within professional networks of academics, business leaders, NGOs and policy makers are our greatest assets in scaling solutions to the challenges at hand.”
View the full agenda
