Sustainable Business Symposium at Duquesne University

This Thursday I will be attending a symposium on sustainability at Duquesne University here in Pittsburgh. I will be posting more following the event. Here is the event website.

Program schedule »

Envisioning a Sustainable Future

Daniel C. Esty, co-author, Green to Gold

An author and businessman, Esty has worked with large global companies—including BP, Toyota, GE, IKEA, Coca-Cola, Unilever and Shell—to foster innovation and competitive advantage through environmental thinking in a range of industries. Expect to capture viable ideas for reducing costs and risks while building your organization's reputation and revenues. Esty will be on hand to autograph complimentary copies of his book.

CEO Forum: Identifying Strategic Opportunities

Moderated by (photos from left to right):
Dr. Alan R. Miciak, dean, Palumbo-Donahue School of Business
Greg Babe, president & CEO, Bayer Corporation
Todd M. Bluedorn, CEO, Lennox International
Joseph C. Guyaux, president, PNC Financial Services Group
Diane P. Holder, president and CEO, UPMC Health Plan

Capture the leader's perspective on how sustainable practices fit into corporate strategy in different industries. Chief executives from three Fortune 500 companies and an internationally-renowned healthcare system will present their views. Learn what motivates an executive to support sustainability initiatives and gain insight to the issues that lie ahead for corporate leaders.

Luncheon Keynote Address: Governing for Sustainable Development Christine Todd Whitman 50th Governor of New Jersey and Former Head of the Environmental Protection Agency As head of a consulting firm that specializes in energy and environmental issues, Governor Whitman will share her perspectives on sustainability related to emerging regulatory issues, connecting the public sector with the business community, and comment on post-election expectations from a new administration. Read Bio »

Putting Sustainability into Practice

Moderated by (photos from left to right):
John T. Buckley, SVP and director of corporate social
responsibility, BNY Mellon
Nate Hurst, director, stakeholder engagement, Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
Susan Baker Shipley, SVP & managing director, Citizens Bank
Dr. Norbert Verweyen, vice president, RWE (Germany)

Senior managers, empowered to execute, share their experiences from building sustainable practices into their organizations. Learn about carbon trading from a leader in the European community; explore the challenges and rewards of metrics-driven accountability for sustainability commitments in a large organization; and follow the path that an organization traveled to leverage its scale while implementing high impact programs across the supply chain.

Building a Sustainability Action Plan

William R. Blackburn
president, William Blackburn Consulting
author, The Sustainability Handbook

William R. Blackburn's global consulting firm focuses on sustainable development; environment, health and safety management; and emergency and crisis response. A 35-year veteran in the field, Blackburn will discuss practical tactics for building a customized sustainability action plan in any organization. He will offer tools and advice for getting started, developing an action plan, adapting for unique operating needs, establishing criteria and implementing initiatives.