| Sunday, May 31st 5:30 - 7:00 pm | Setting the Stage: The Pivotal Role of Brand In Creating a Sustainable Future |
Brands in a New Age of ResponsibilityThe rash of economic, environmental and societal challenges facing humanity as we move in to the 21st century are staggering. We now live in a New Age of Responsibility, where the connection between individual and organizational choices and their impact on the shape of our future is becoming clear. In his opening SB'09 remarks, Jez Frampton, Group CEO of Interbrand will draw on his extensive knowledge of global organizations and brands to address the key role brands are uniquely equipped to -- and must play -- in shaping appropriate consumer demand for the future. | |
Sustainability is a Brand!Think about all the ways in which you interact with great brands daily. Think about interacting with Sustainability in the same ways. Imagine new possibilities for your brand to engage with Sustainability in compelling ways. Approaching sustainability as a brand provides new opportunities to innovate your business in a sustainable fashion to become more valuable to both you and your customers | |
Shift Happens -- An Emerging ZeitgeistEnjoy, as former Seventh Generation CMO and Nike brand catalyst Duke Stump helps us capture the essence of sustainability through a wider lens. Expect an inspiring narrative informed by key principles that speak to a new breed of brand and behavior. | |
Sea Change Moments: Prosperity to the ProfoundEvery brand has "sea change moments” moments that have the potential to forever alter business as usual and birth positive, profound, and sustainable transformations. They source from simple acts like making dinner to the discovery of new technologies, from world-altering threats like deforestation to passions set aflame by a loved one. These moments respond to physical events just as often as they surface from the depths of an organization's soul. Fathoming their deeper dimensions offers rich insights and ideas for proactively generating them. This is what transpires in brands intent on designing sea change shifts in industry, society, and the environment. To conclude opening night, Lauralee Alben, creator of the strategic Sea Change Design ProcessSM, will give us a glimpse into defining moments that surfaced, redirected, or evolved successful brands. These transformative brands walk their talk, translate smarts into wisdom, open hearts, and connect to something bigger than themselves. They earn descriptors like enlivening, authentic, imaginative, ethical, beloved, meaningful, and spirited. (Innovative goes without saying.) Because of these Sea Change Brands, things become possible that were once seemingly beyond our reach: from sustainable products and services to social movements to life-giving consciousness. Lauralee will explore this topic in greater depth during a break-out session on Wednesday "Sea Change Moments: In Your Life, Your Brand, the World."Join us throughout your participation in Sustainable Brands '09 in shaping a personal vision for what your sea change brand might become. | |
| Monday, June 1st 9:00-9:10 am | Welcome and IntroThe landscape for brand builders has changed dramatically since SB’08, with global economic upheaval, a changing political landscape, increasing concerns about more rapid than expected climate change, and consumers who are increasingly motivated to make better choices, but also increasingly confused about how to do so. Day One at Sustainable Brands ’09 opens with an inspiring set of insights into the economic, environmental and social context in which brands will be launched and built in the coming years, and a look at the opportunity for solving world problems associated with effective brand/consumer partnership. |
| Monday, June 1st 9:15- 9:35 am | Sustaining a Business in Turbulent Times: Cooking for SustainabilityAdam Werbach, former Sierra Club President, now Global CEO Saatchi & Saatchi S, made news in 2004 when he declared environmentalism dead. At Sustainable Brands 2009, Werbach premieres a speech based on his new book -Strategy for Sustainability, to be released in July by Harvard Business Press- which provides a new way of building core business strategy in times of turbulence. The premise of the speech? Building a sustainable business is a lot like cooking a meal. To form a great recipe you’ll need to utilize things that you know, call on what others have taught you, do a good amount of taste-testing, and innovate along the way. “Cooking for Sustainability” presents the key ingredients in a smart sustainability strategy for the future. |
| Monday, June 1st 9:40 - 9:55 am | The Evolutionary Benefits of AltruismDr. Keltner's recent book, Born to Be Good, is a profound study of how emotion is the key to living the good life and how the path to happiness goes through human emotions that connect people to one another. As it turns out, humans are not hardwired to lead lives that are "nasty, brutish, and short". We are in fact born to be good. This session will give us a glimpse into new science around an old mystery of human evolution: why we have evolved positive emotions like gratitude, amusement, awe, and compassion that promote ethical action and are the fabric of cooperative societies, and by association, sheds light on the power behind brands that connect to the greater good. Level: all |
| Monday, June 1st 10:00 - 10:15 am | Marks and Spencer's Consumer Education & Empowerment StrategyIn 2007, UK retailer Marks and Spencer embarked on an industry leading, five-year, 100-point 'eco' plan to tackle some of the biggest challenges facing business and our world. They have made enormous progress on their 5 core goals: Become carbon neutral, send no waste to landfill, extend sustainable sourcing, help improve the lives of people in their supply chain and help customers and employees live a healthier lifestyle. At SBi in Miami Beach, Mike introduced the SB community to Plan A. At SB'09 Mike will return to share some of the exemplary work they’ve done to communicate their efforts to their customers and engage them in the success of Plan A, as well as discuss how these efforts are helping create deeper brand affinity. |
| Monday, June 1st 10:20 - 10:35 am | Building the Business Case for EmpathyRecent history has seen the rise of innovation as a key mandate for driving top-line growth in business across multiple sectors. But as organizations have devoted increasing resources and attention to innovation, a critical issue has been ignored in the process. How can you create new value if your company doesn't have a gut sense for what people outside its walls actually value? The challenge facing business today isn't a lack of innovation, it's lack of empathy. Join Dev for a look inside leading companies like IBM, Target and Intel to see how empathy can drive change and growth. He dives deep into the human brain to find the biological sources of empathy and their critical role in decision-making, learning, and judgment. And he spends time on both sides of the political aisle, to show how empathy can give politicians the acuity to cut through a morass of contradictory information |
| Monday, June 1st 11:05 - 11:20 am | A Brief History & Some Quick Takes on the Future of the American CorporationWith the unraveling of confidence in 'The Corporation’ as we know it, change makers will do well to take a quick look at how and why we got here, and contemplate some of the positive ways corporations are already beginning to respond for the future. This talk provides an insightful, rapid-fire look at the history of the American corporation as well as a quick look at some of the solutions being explored for improving corporate governance, driving transparency, and supporting the emergence of brands that are committed and equipped to serve the greater good. |
| Monday, June 1st 11:25 - 11:45 am | Unchaining Value: Growth in Fairtrade and the Corresponding Opportunity for Business & SocietyDespite the economic morass, both consumer purchasing and business investment in Fairtrade sourced ingredients is on the rise. In this session, explore the motivation behind recent major corporate investments aimed at expanding access to Fair Trade certified goods with senior representatives from two leading brands, and learn why they have undertaken these actions during the financial crisis. Learn why and how responsible supply chain practices -- even when they cost more -- increase quality and certainty of supply and strengthen brand relationship with consumers while improving the lives of producers and strengthening the economies of producer nations. Level: all |
| Monday, June 1st 11:50 am - 12:05 pm | Defining Carbon LeadershipAs the debate continues to heat up about the appropriate way to regulate carbon, setting smart goals and understanding how to talk about them is becoming a must. These well informed leaders provide their perspective and lay the groundwork for further conference conversation. |
| Monday, June 1st 12:10 - 12:30 pm | Thinking Beyond Carbon; Understanding Carrying Capacity and the Full Ecological Footprint of BusinessWe may finally be on the verge of a tipping point wherein mainstream attention to identifying and mitigating a company’s carbon impact will become a core strategic priority for all businesses. But what comes next? The reality is, global warming is just one of the detrimental impacts of unchecked business activity. During this time of seismic shift in awareness of the interconnectedness of things, the opportunity is to take a longer, more systemic view of the many ways our activities impact the world around us. By doing so, we will begin to anticipate and respond more quickly to both the needs and the enormous world of possibility in front of us to innovate for a whole, healed world. Be inspired by this thought leader who is working with leaders around the globe to help us all understand and ultimately align our activities with the basic carrying capacity of the earth. Level: all |
| Monday, June 1st 1:45 - 2:30 pm | Sustainable Futures 09 - Understanding the Opportunities to Build Durable Brand Value from SustainabilityMoving beyond the climate change and global warming issues, GlobeScan and Havas Media are collaborating on a new research study that will broaden its focus, to include the full sustainability debate. Concentrating once again on consumer perception, the project will explore the various ways in which business can address the full range of environmental and social challenges as we move into an era of greater transparency. Specifically, the project will explore consumer perception towards these issues in the context of twenty leading consumer-facing brands across each of nine markets: US, UK, Spain, France, Germany, Mexico, Brazil, China and India, and will make it possible to discuss specific brands and how their actual activities in sustainability contrast with or contribute to the consumer perception of their brand. |
Leveraging Sustainable Packaging In a Growing Recession | |
Dialogue Session: Channeling Optimism to Business BenefitDig into compelling conversation with the experts and your peers on what makes us tick and how we might innovate our brands and campaigns in ways that can connect deeper to the human spirit, help create needed behavior change and lend themselves to stronger brand loyalty. | |
Dialogue Session: Product and Supply Chain GHG Footprinting: Inevitable Evolution or Resource Distraction?Join senior sustainability professionals from various industries for an up to the minute dialogue about the pros and cons of product and supply chain GHG foot printing in light of impending changes in global policy and shifting consumer demand. | |
Your Culture as Brand: Green from the Inside OutSabre believes that travel can be transformative and have deeply positive and transformative impact on the vitality of communities, places, and people. That said, the travel industry also has an inherently significant ecological footprint, and the company also feels a deep sense of commitment to be a steward of the people and planet it serves. In this session, you’ll gain insight in to some of the far reaching ways a creative company can transform itself for sustainability from the inside as it works to better align its operations and culture with the needs of the stakeholders it serves. | |
SPONSORED SESSION: Growing "Greener" Products: Leading with Raw Material Selection & TransparencyToday's families want to know what's in the products they use in their homes. Information is a key source of confidence for consumers when making product choices. What does this new press toward transparency mean for SC Johnson and other producers going forward? Get insights into an innovative and expansive ingredient communication model. SC Johnson products like Glade(r), Nature's Source(tm) and Windex(r) are used by millions of families around the world. Learn how the company's award-winning and patented Greenlist(tm) process (which can be licensed free-of-charge) helps it to classify raw materials to formulate safe and effective products, while continuously improving them. | |
| Monday, June 1st 2:40 - 3:25 pm | Uncovering New Business Opportunities by Meeting People Where They AreIn 2008, the San Diego Zoo partnered with Jump Associates, a growth strategy firm, to explore how it could use its accessible, friendly brand to help people live more sustainably while growing their revenues and impact in the process. Using the Zoo as a spotlight case study, Lara and Jon will explain why it is critical to examine sustainability through the needs of ordinary people and then create product and service solutions that meet people on their own terms. Participants will leave with a clearer focus for their existing sustainability initiatives, as well as new ideas about where they might uncover new opportunities for revenue growth in the green market. Level: Intro-intermediate |
LCA on a BudgetMany fear that doing a meaningful product life-cycle assessment may be inordinately expensive and take an unwarranted amount of time. But with the growing amount of publicly available data, as well as tools on the market to support your efforts, this no longer need be true. In this session, you will be equipped with an understanding of best available strategies and tools for assessing the life-cycle impact of your product without breaking the bank. By doing so, you’ll be armed with a much better sense of how to communicate about your impact, as well as where to focus your innovation efforts for highest return on impact. Level: Intro-intermediate | |
Getting the Mix Right: Balancing Green Messaging with Traditional Value PropositionsGreen is hot. Green is cool. But Green on it’s own doesn't move products. Not surprisingly, what still tops the list of key messages for most businesses when considering purchasing cleantech products and services are cost and ease of use. This panel will bring together senior executives from leading PR agencies to talk about how to balance messaging green in relationship to traditional business decision inputs. What works, what doesn't, and what you should be thinking about. Level: Intro-intermediate | |
Dialogue Session: The Future of Ethical SourcingLed by Mark, Lee, SustainAbility, with Here’s your chance to discuss this important topic with the experts and your peers and a moderated, round-table style dialogue. Level: Intro-intermediate | |
Winning Partnerships That Generate Business BenefitIn this session you will learn about best practices developed by major brands in partnership with Environmental Defense Fund, including a up-close look at the EDF’s work with Wal-Mart to create a ripple effect in the supply chain‚ strategically creating a race to the top where suppliers compete, not only on price and quality but also on the environmental value they can bring to their customers; with Wegman’s Food Market to develop an industry-leading purchasing policy, from concept to brisk sales; and with United Parcel Service to create innovative changes to the company's express delivery packaging, resulting in less waste and pollution and benefiting both UPS and its customers. | |
SPONSORED SESSION: Navigating The Greenwashing Minefield: A Legal PerspectiveHow do you go about making green marketing claims without running afoul of the law? What type of substantiation do you need for your green claims? Are there any lawsuits pending where green claims are being challenged? If you have been thinking about these questions, this is the presentation for you. Get the latest information regarding the FTC's Green Guides, legal developments relating to green marketing claims in both the United States and abroad, trends and issues to keep your eye on, and steps you can take to avoid greenwashing allegations. Level: Intro-intermediate | |
| Monday, June 1st 4:00 - 4:45 pm | Dialogue Session: To B or Not to B - The How's and Whys of Formalizing Your Sustainable Business ValuesThis session looks at the organization and certification program created by B Lab, featured in media including the NY Times, Inc. and Forbes magazines, and public radio's Marketplace program. Panelists, including representatives of B Corporations such as Give Something Back, Indigenous Designs, and Method Products, will discuss why they joined this powerful movement and what they hope to gain from formalizing their business values. Level: Intro-intermediate |
Strategy by Design: Incorporating Design Thinking into Your BusinessLearning how to bridge the gap between sustainability and financial concerns is the missing link many executives are searching for. By using sustainable design principles as a strategic frame for your business, executives and other business leaders can learn to better identify and communicate the connection to sustainability in terms that shareholders care most about -- the bottom line and the health of the company. From there, linking brand communications to tangible strategies and steps that began as part of product creation can lend exactly the kind of credence needed to protect against accusations of green-washing and insure that the sustainable message in the brand comes through with authenticity and power. In this session, participants will learn a simple ‘design for sustainability’ framework to help craft the direction of their company, insure higher quality, more desirable products and craft a tighter integration between business strategy, execution and communication. Level: Intermediate | |
Speaking The Right LanguageYahoo!’s audience of hundreds of millions of consumers provides a rich data set for understanding what consumers are responding to online today, and how this is shifting over time. A recently completed 5-month study, reveals significant insight into the kinds of green content people are responding to most. Participants to this session will learn what types of advertising messaging, tone and voice resonate with different types of consumers. Interestingly, not only does it depend on who you're talking to, but also what type of product you’re advertising. Level: Intro to Intermediate | |
Building a Sustainable Supply Chain at Kaiser PermanenteAs one of the largest health care organizations in the country, Kaiser Permanente’s national environmental purchasing policy has become a model for other organizations, providing an example of how value networks, working together, can help innovate more sustainable, and economically viable business solutions. In the past several years, Kaiser Permanente’s procurement and supply team has helped drive down the price of latex-free, pvc-free gloves in all facilities; purged 630,000 grams of mercury from its facilities rendering Kaiser 95 percent mercury-free; implemented reusable linens and patient gowns rather than disposable paper products, drastically reducing the amount of waste produced and realizing a 24 percent cost savings for the company, and prevented thousands of bone stimulators from being disposed of in a landfill by negotiating a return process with the manufacture. In this session, you’ll learn how one organization can help encourage and support sustainable innovation within a supply chain, and how Kaiser Permanente created their "Environmentally Preferred Purchasing Policy" | |
Appreciative Inquiry: Getting Back to our Best SelvesMost conversations about sustainability start with the worst of human behavior: ethics violations, climate change, child labor, rivers on fire, massively destructive tsunamis, hurricanes, for example. The doom-and-gloom scenario is effective to a point. Then it has the potential to paralyze us, individually and collectively. What can one person, or one company, or one industry, really do to make a difference? Appreciative inquiry is a facilitated process that engages organizations in connecting with stories about when they were the most proud, and then digs deeply into that experience. How can companies use appreciative inquiry to propel their sustainability journey and what can it yield? At Walmart, former CEO Lee Scott could have opened his first speech on sustainability to his internal team with a sobering message, but instead he took his team to the place when they had been the most powerful, and used that positive energy to kick-off the process. Interface, a long-time leader in sustainability, is using appreciative inquiry to reflect on its progress to date, and then chart the course for its next leg of the sustainability journey. This “Theory and Practice” session will engage and inform you, giving you a good introduction to appreciative inquiry, and examples that illustrate how it might be applied in practice to address sustainability challenges in your company. | |
SPONSORED SESSION: Ecos, Coca-Cola & Burgerville: A Case Study in CollaborationTo have a truly sustainable brand is to back it with measurable actions. Nowadays, the efforts behind the “sustainable” brand have to quantifiably demonstrate the business case for engaging in the process. In 2008, three companies pooled their collective resources to launch a sustainability initiative that would set a new standard in their respective industries. For these organizations, this collaboration would be built upon a mutual desire to improve efficiency, enhance the bottom line and deliver a strategic framework toward environmental sustainability. Coca-Cola sought a sound methodology to deliver a suite of tools and resources for their food service customers to assist them on the path to sustainability. Burgerville sought to further develop and broaden its environmentally conscious products and services. In this session, Ecos Consulting will discuss how they convened the collaboration, assessed and identified the tangible opportunities for efficiency, and developed a suite of offerings that can be leveraged by food service customers within the Food Service Sector. Coke now offers the Coca-Cola Food Service Sustainability Resource Center to its customers and numerous measures are currently under deployment at Burgerville providing them the opportunity to be recognized as a leader in environmental stewardship. | |
| Monday, June 1st 4:45 pm - 5:30 pm | The Economy at a Crossroads: Navigating to Success in an Uncertain EnvironmentOne thing is sure as we move solidly into the 21st Century – the brands of the future will be built in the midst of a new set of resource constraints, a growing set of stakeholder expectations and a deepening of human awareness. Inevitably they will grapple with, and ultimately, we hope benefit from a new set of assumptions about what constitutes healthy economic performance. Do not miss this unparalleled opportunity to be in conversation with some of the most creative and stimulating thinkers on today's economy and what comes next as they share their thoughts on the changing definition of wealth, the principles and drivers behind smart growth and the beauty of small, and slow. Level: all |
| Tuesday, June 2nd 9:00 - 9:10 am | Sustainable Brands Through the YearOur Day Two morning plenaries offer an inside look at some of today’s most interesting market segments and successful brand initiatives. Jacquelyn Ottman, founding conference co-chair, who this year celebrates the twentieth anniversary of her leading consultancy focused on eco-innovation and green marketing, will share her always-insightful perspective as she moderates. |
| Tuesday, June 2nd 9:15 - 9:30 am | Clorox: Learning From the Field Since SB'08In 2008, Clorox stepped up to the sustainability plate in a serious way, launching three distinct strategies for responding to the rising demand for more sustainable consumer solutions: repositioning Brita as a solution to the growing concern about plastic in landfills, purchasing ‘sustainable from the start’ company Burt’s Bees, and launching its first new brand in 20 years with “GreenWorks”. Since launch, GreenWorks has exceeded initial expectations and taken a leading share of a growing market for green cleaners. Join us as Clorox provides a frank and honest update on what they have learned through each of these strategic initiatives. |
| Tuesday, June 2nd 9:35 - 9:50 am | 2009's Greenest BrandsUpdating research presented at SB'07 and SB'08, Landor, PSB and Cohn & Wolfe will present new research that explores specific behaviors and attitudes that are driving (or preventing) purchase of sustainable products, as well as the latest public perception about which brands are the best at being green. |
| Tuesday, June 2nd 9:55 - 10:15 am | Sunchip's Sustainable Brand Journey: Thinking Outside (And About) the Bag!In 2007, SunChips was successfully repositioned as a snack brand that is better for you and better for the planet. This presentation will highlight the motivation and strategy surrounding this decision, and the resulting brand innovation and marketing initiatives that were launched to both build and communicate the brand's authentic steps towards becoming the preeminent sustainable snack. |
| Tuesday, June 2nd 10:20 - 10:40 pm | The 4th R: Reinvention and Your Sustainable BrandThe 4th R: Blair Shane, Chief Marketing Officer of the new California Academy of Sciences discusses how a 150 year old institution dedicated to nature took on the challenge of reinvention for a new generation. Ms. Shane will cover all aspects of creating a durable, sustainable brand: environmental, financial, new audience development and consumer experience. Hear how the 4th R - Reinvention is as critical as the traditional three – reuse, renew and recycle and how the Academy is using it to move from surviving, to thriving. |
| Tuesday, June 2nd 11:10 - 11:25 pm | Building High Impact Brands in a Digital AgeThe internet remains one of the a prime drivers behind the growth of sustainability – first because it speeds the pace at which an increasingly wired consumer base can understand the impact of business on the environment and society, but also because of its potential to create and support coordinated consumer action. The 2009 Presidential Election proved the wired generation has an ability to drive real and meaningful change by asserting its influence in politics. That same generation represents a new addressable audience for building game changing brands. Be inspired as one of the leading social media entrepreneurs showcases several innovative businesses being built at the speed of the internet using social networks to drive game changing businesses. |
| Tuesday, June 2nd 11:30 - 11:50 am | Insights in to New Consumer Segments: Mom's, Millenials & Communities of FaithOne of the most exciting things about sustainability as a potential driver for behavior is its capacity to cross multiple consumer segments. Here’s a quick look at what’s driving some significant, but disparate market sectors to reach toward a more sustainable lifestyle. |
| Tuesday, June 2nd 11:55 - 12:10 am | Changing the World Through Constructive ConversationWhile it may be easy to attract the attention of a growing cross section of consumers with your social or environmental brand messaging – if you know the right language, not all consumers are so easy. Drawing from his new book "Igniting Inspiration: A Persuasion Manual for Visionaries" Roberts will outline core principles of transformational communication, as illustrated through the groundbreaking marketing and messaging for President Obama's historic presidential run. He will illustrate how the audience can shift their thinking and apply this same framework to create breakthrough results for their own social and environmentally conscious business ventures through strategic, authentic values-based marketing and communications. |
| Tuesday, June 2nd 12:15 - 12:30 am | Behind the Scenes of Kaiser's Thrive CampaignLisa Ryan and Susannah Patton will discuss how to incorporate sustainability messages across marketing disciplines. Specifically, they will highlight how Kaiser has integrated its commitment to sustainable building, purchasing and procurement, as well as healthy food choices and reducing waste into advertising and public relations campaigns. As the National Advertising Director, Lisa Ryan will discuss the role of sustainability in Kaiser Permanente’s Thrive campaign. In the public relations practice, Susannah will discuss how she and her team have told the company’s sustainability story leveraging traditional and online media. |
| Tuesday, June 2nd 12:30 - 1:30 pm | Research Roundtable: Brown Bag LunchGrab your lunch and join our research round table for an unusual opportunity to pose your questions about consumer purchasing, brand perception and behavior to a cross section of experts, each with their own perspective and methodology for understanding the changing consumer brand landscape. |
| Tuesday, June 2nd 1:45 - 2:30 pm | Dialogue Session: Invention and Creative Destruction –Varying Paths to Innovation SuccessWhether you are in a billion dollar global company, or an on the ground, scrappy start up, re-thinking the opportunity, and operational requirements presented by today’s changing business and social context is necessary for success. In this session, dialogue leaders compare and contrast successful strategies being used to help companies on both ends of the spectrum find a path to thrive. |
Low-Impact Packaging and DesignA crucial element to walking the talk of sustainability is the packaging and design behind a product. Artist-turned-entrepreneur Reem Rahim will lead this panel with a discussion about how her personal passion as an artist helped inspire the design strategy and branding of Numi Organic Tea. The panel will then discuss how their own commitments to innovations in packaging, making tough decisions against conventional wisdom, and retaining a promise to sustainable business practices have helped them communicate the soul of their brand, capture the consumers they want and create businesses that have achieved economic, environmental and social success. Level: Intro to Intermediate | |
Dialogue Session: Redefining the American DreamSuccess in America, used to mean "making it big". But in today's era of environmental and economic crisis, has the American Dream become unreachable? Perhaps as it has formerly been imagined. However, studies of younger people today reveal that while they still want to live better, they are also comfortable consuming less. The door is now open for the first time in a generation to re-imagine a new American Dream. What is it that the consumers of the future will find attractive and engaging in a new brand? Join this dialogue session to hear how designers are helping to create new value propositions in response to the shift in attitudes and values of striving Americans today, and to contribute your own thoughts about how to re-think the American Dream and what this might mean for the brands of the future. Level: All | |
Maximizing Profits by Imaginative Use of MaterialsBells From Everest began as a lark to turn trash from Mount Everest into inspirational works of art. But when a byproduct of the production process starting accumulating on the shop floor, imagination took over, and the company created a way to use their own waste to produce a product with even greater marketing appeal and the company is now being distributed by Walt Disney World, Neiman Marcus, LL Bean, Fred Segal, The American Museum of Natural HIstory, and our own direct sales. Moral of the story? 1) Just because an idea is not sexy does not mean it will not be profitable for you. 2) Never let a useful product go to waste 3) Ingenuity, persistence and positive media communications pay off. Learn more from this case study. Level: Intro to Intermediate | |
Bringing Sustainability Home: Integrating Fresh, Locally Grown Food to the Health Care SystemDr. Maring will present a case study about how he developed Kaiser Permanente’s Farmers' Markets and other healthy foods programs including farm box delivery to employees and local produce being served at hospitals. You’ll learn how to raise awareness about sustainable food in the workplace, why it's critical to partner with a wide range of stakeholders to start a farmers' market program, and how better access to fresh produce can inspire a healthier workforce. Level: Intro to Intermediate | |
Changing the Game: The EarthEraTM InitiativeLearn how EarthEraTM can help position and align your brand with your customers’ beliefs. Hear how businesses, universities and municipalities are responding to their customers' values with the simple and powerful EarthEra message. At the end of this session, you will know how implementing EarthEra offers directly responds to your customers' needs and provides your company the opportunity to increase brand value and customer loyalty. EarthEra is supported by NextEra Energy Resources, the largest producer of wind and solar energy in North America, with over 20 years experience building and operating renewable energy projects. Level: All | |
| Tuesday, June 2nd 2:40 - 3:25 pm | The Market Value of Sustainability - For Brands, Consumers, and InvestorsIncreasing disillusionment about business ethics and the instability of rapid growth investment schemes continues to drive growth in socially responsible investments from both SRI and mainstream investment houses. At the same time, new ventures such as GoodGuide, Vanno, Carrot Project, Zumer and EkoHub are all contributing to greater information access for advocacy groups, consumers, and customers. While increased information access steps up the pressure for brands to become increasingly more authentic in their commitments, for brands that get out front on their sustainability initiatives, there is a growing opportunity to attract and retain the commitment of investors and other stakeholders who are more likely to remain loyal to your brand because of your efforts. Learn about these increasingly influential stakeholders and information resources, what they are looking for from you, and how you can communicate with them effectively to the advantage of your business. Level: All |
Persuasive Design: A Case Study and Dialogue on Issues & OpportunitiesIf ‘brand’ has the power to change the world, product design will certainly play a fundamental role. Much emerging thinking is taking place around the notion of persuasive technology and the opportunity for design to help people both understand the change they need to make, and change their behavior accordingly. While potentially controversial, perhaps at no time in history has there been such a need for the kind of rapid and positive behavior change needed to help us build a sustainable future. With mobile adoption rates now reaching 90% in some as of yet untapped markets, enormous opportunity exists for leveraging this technology to provide business solutions to some of the greatest social needs. This session will discuss issues associated with and persuasive technology within the context of a case study of Project Masiluleke (http://www.frogdesign.com/services/project-masiluleke.html#/images/project-m-gallery_1.jpg) the first ever attempt to tackle the HIV epidemic in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa with a mobile solution, starting with a single text message to 1 million phones. Level: Intermediate/Advanced | |
The Promises and Perils of Behavioral Targeting OnlineLevel: Intermediate/Advanced | |
Eco-Labeling – Who Do You Trust?When it comes to eco-labels and certifications, the name of the game is trust. Who can consumers trust in their search for credible, clear information – not for profits? Government? Retailers? Even for-profits? Join a lively debate and learn about the latest newcomers to the field of eco-labeling and certification — and decide for yourself. Note: This session is sponsored by Underwriter’s Lab in partnership with the EPA ENERGY STAR program. Level: Intermediate/Advanced | |
Sustaining Sustainability: Creating Brands that Build Community And Shift BehaviorHow do we transform all the interest surrounding sustainability into real and sustainable change? Robin Raj, founder and executive creative director of the agency Citizen, San Francisco (citizengroup.com) will address this question through real-life examples of meaningful market transformation and shifting consumer behavior. Robin will showcase Citizen’s work for WWF’s Climate Savers project, USA Network, and NRDC’s efforts on behalf of major sports leagues, entertainment companies and other culture leaders. As we count down to Copenhagen and usher in the clean energy economy, he will illuminate the opportunity to mainstream green by creating initiatives that involve many stakeholders, leverage social media, and provide organizations the tools, confidence, and creativity to transform themselves. Level: Intermediate | |
Blue Collar to Green Collar: Evolving a Traditional IndustryThe informative and entertaining story of how a paper company in a once timber dependent community has used the “triple bottom line” business approach to evolve into the industry leader in the development and production of environmentally friendly papers. This talk provides practical and pertinent information on strategies that your organization can take home and implement immediately. Level: Introductory | |
| Tuesday, June 2nd 4:00 - 4:45 pm | Women and Green: Who They Are, What They Want, and Why They MatterWomen are taking sustainability by storm. Whether in their business roles, or at home, not only are they fueling the growth in green products and services; they're holding businesses accountable for manufacturing practices perceived to harm them, their families and the environment. This presentation will review the most current data on womens' buying patterns; highlight what environmental issues matter to them most (hint: it's not climate change); and offer specific recommendations the audience can use to develop and market new and existing green products that will meet their needs - and strengthen revenue streams for producers. Level: Intermediate |
Effective PR In The Age of TransparencyFrom Vanity Fair to Businessweek, every major national publication has put "green" on its cover at some point in the past two years. But are consumers even interested in reading a magazine, or is all the news really found online? No matter what medium, public relations plays a key role in helping to communicate corporate strategy and product benefits, and even in helping media understand the right questions to ask. This session, which will feature experts from Cohn & Wolfe, Communications4Good, as well as sustainability journalists, will explore the relationship between green media and green PR, including how to target your messages appropriately. Level: To Be Determined | |
Form, Function and Footprint: Strategies for Designing a More Sustainable BusinessWhen Mark set out to launch Rickshaw Bags, building a business and product line that was both elegant, efficient, and therefore sustainable was at the center of his design strategy. Learn the strategies he’s taken to ensure that no compromise in form and function was made to ensure the smallest footprint possible at Rickshaw. Level: Intro to Intermediate | |
Dialogue Session: Opportunities and Conditions for Successful Multi-stakeholder CollaborationMany of the thorniest, but highest value innovations require highly integrated collaboration across a market sector and/or supply chains to succeed. These efforts are often fraught with intangible challenges associated an outdated competitive, protectionist mindset. This session will present some successful efforts in the plastics, organic cotton, furniture industries and elsewhere, where collaboration for the greater good prevailed (or failed), as well as open the discussion to participants to discuss their experience and contemplate together what it takes to create conditions for successful multi-stakeholder initiatives. Level: Intermediate/Advanced | |
Leader as Social ArchitectSustainable brands depend on healthy organizations that pulse with creativity and innovation. As we shift from the static models of organizational structure to dynamic, creative living systems, the leader’s role as a designer or architect of that space is crucial. Great leadership taps the collective energy, intelligence, and vision of the enterprise. This workshop will explore the changing role of the leader for influencing deep cultural shift in organizations seeking structures for blended values. Level: Intermediate | |
SPONSORED SESSION Face-to-Face Marketing & the Practical Green EventGreen face-to-face marketing presents its own unique challenges. Not only will your customers be judging your messaging, but they will be seeing your organization living its values. Forget a single detail and you may lose customers because they don't believe that you are authentic. This seminar will focus on an approach to evaluating your events including mobile programs, trade shows, conferences, and sponsorships. We will cover the “Practical Green Event Check Up” which is a simple tool to ensure that your event delivers a strong green positioning within an eco-friendly event. We will also discuss best practices for selecting vendors, suppliers, and partners who will assist your organization in delivering your presence at an event. Finally, a structured process will be outlined for selecting events and sponsorships to align your organization. | |
| Tuesday, June 2nd 4:45 - 5:30 pm | Rethinking the Consumption CompulsionIt's ever been enough to make novel solutions if they don't fit customers' lives. It's not enough to make more sustainable solutions for the same reason. Most customers don't even respond to sustainability as strongly as they respond to health, efficiency, convenience, price, emotion, and meaning. One strong path forward for companies is to understand the system of meaning in order to make more meaningful offerings, whether products, services, or events as these make deeper, more lasting connections with customers. However, this poses new issues for companies to address, ultimately questioning values, customer relationships, and even business models. The aim of this session is to answer the most pressing questions with information we can put into practice immediately. But, it also aims to surface bigger questions that need to be brought forward that we will only answer together. |
| Wednesday, June 3rd 9:00 - 9:20 am | Recovering Green: Sustainable Innovations That Will Lead us ForwardSustainable brands, of course, start from the inside, with an innovative value proposition. In a world where more and more people are coming to understand the interconnectedness between their choices and the health and sustainability of the future, the business/brand community has a unique opportunity to move beyond selling "whiter whites" to create brand promises around solutions to the very real challenges facing individuals and our global society. We approach this opportunity, however, in the face of increasingly tight operating constraints. This morning we take a 360 degree look at some of the new building blocks and creative business solutions being crafted in response to some of today’s real world problems. Andrew Winston, author of the soon to be released "Green Recovery" from Harvard Business Press, takes us through the morning, after sharing some thoughts from his book about how you can engage your workforce in 'going lean' while innovating for a sustainable future. |
| Wednesday, June 3rd 9:25 - 9:55 am | Transparency & Green Materials: Key Building Blocks for Tomorrow's Brand LeadersGain a 360-degree perspective on some of the key drivers of emerging greener product design. First, Leonard Robinson, CA Dept of Toxic Substance Control, will discuss California’s Green Chemistry Initiative, including information and implications of two California laws intended to stimulate the rapid acceleration of replacement of harmful chemicals and ingredients with safer alternatives. Next, Business Week Innovation Columnist and Materials Scientist Andrew Dent will discuss why intelligent and cost-effective sustainability has become increasingly important, particularly as consumers grow weary of being bombarded with “green” solutions of questionable validity. He'll provide some guiding examples of how to approach a new 'good design' ethos, as well as a look at innovative new materials, the present state of recycled materials, and ways to ensure compliance with current and future bans on certain chemicals, and will feature examples from a wide range of industries, including packaging, sneaker design, medical and consumer products, and electronics and house wares. Finally, Dan Lawson, Product Lifecycle Steward at SC Johnson will lend his perspective on SC Johnson’s new materials transparency commitment with its cleaning products and what the new trend toward transparency might mean for SC Johnson and other producers going forward. |
| Wednesday, June 3rd 10:00 - 10:30 am | Market Sector Innovation Snapshot: The Built EnvironmentThe built environment is a top contributor of toxins, waste and CO2 emissions, offering plenty of opportunity for innovation and brand differentiation. Emerging solutions lower impact while still meeting our needs for comfort, design and functionality. This session offers a look at two breakthrough examples: Living Homes, a new bonfire brand that is collaborating with innovative solutions providers to create one of the lowest impact and cost-sensible sustainable home solutions available. And NASA's Sustainability Base, a planned new federal building, that blends the self-sufficiency goals of a future lunar base with a terrestrial test bed for evolving energy-efficient technologies from NASA and its research partners. |
| Wednesday, June 3rd 11:00 - 11:15 am | Hot Off the Drawing Board!2009 marks the launch of the first Sustainable Brands New Venture Exchange, sponsored by Renewal2 Fund, designed to help highlight and connect innovative new sustainable brand ventures & solutions that drive sustainable business with partners, advisors and other resources that can help them achieve their potential. Here's a look at the top two winning submissions. See if they spark your imagination! |
| Wednesday, June 3rd 11:20 - 11:45 am | Water: The Next Eco-Innovation OpportunityBy now anyone exposed to the field of sustainability is aware that water is a major resource challenge to private and public sector enterprises while also presenting opportunities for business innovation. Here's your opportunity to gain a quick understanding of the global scope of the issue, as well as hear from early innovators about solutions to the problem that offer business benefit through reduced risks and costs, new revenue streams, or brand enhancing partnerships. |
| Wednesday, June 3rd 11:50 - 12:15 pm | Inspired by TrashWho would have thought just one generation ago that trash could offer such a rich opportunity for creating successful new businesses? This session provides an inspiring look at just three examples of the myriad that may develop as we begin to see a resource in what used to be considered waste, and envision solutions to closing the loop on our limited natural resources. Get an inside look at a rewards and loyalty program that motivates people to recycle; a revolutionary consumer recycling system that brings together physical and digital infrastructure, product tracking, point-of-retail collection, rewards and a closed loop recovery system; and a business that works with consumer brand companies to identify material needs and find a way to source it from the cast off waste from other products. |
| Wednesday, June 3rd 12:20 - 12:35 pm | HP's Next Generation: Re-defining the Opportunity for ImpactOne of the very earliest pioneers in working to reduce the environmental impact of the electronics sector, HP is now thinking outside the box about how it can play a key role, not only in reducing the impact of the IT industry, but in providing tools for its customers to significantly reduce the impact of their businesses as well. Imagine how you can take this same approach as together we collaborate to rethink the way we all work, and work together to institute new paradigms for working, and making things, that lend themselves to a legacy we can be proud of and a future our planet, and our children can thrive. |
| Wednesday, June 3rd 1:45 - 2:30 pm | NextPlays: Building a Balanced Sustainability StrategyAfter three and half years of research, trial and development Moxie have built a unique approach to organization transformation called NextPlays. A platform to explore, image and plan towards a sustainable future, NextPlays uses a card deck of over seventy case studies from throughout the world to demonstrate new sustainability thinking and approaches. In this session, Peter will provide a briefing and demonstrate how to use the NextPlays cards to devise new approaches that will move you from just refining your current practices to shifting your business into a whole new state. For those interested in a more in-depth experience, Peter is running a fast-paced and very hands-on NextPlays Lab during the Post Conference workshops. Level: Intermediate to Advanced |
Eco-Fabulous!The retail sector continues to provide one of the major pivot points for driving sustainable product innovation. This cross section of the retail community, from an eco-designer for Target to a buyer for Barney’s about how they are working to bring more sustainable products to their customers, while keeping their businesses sound at the same time. Expect to be reminded that environmentally and socially respectful design doesn’t have to be expensive or dumpy -- in fact the best things in life come in all shades of gorgeous. Be inspired by this panel of some of the leading consumer trend-setters who are giving eco and socially responsible design a good name Level: Intro to Intermediate | |
Best Practices in Driving Brand Value Through CSRTo be most effective, CSR initiatives must be intimately connected to the corporate brand. They must reinforce a company’s unique identity and be an integral part of how a company tells its story. In this session, Kellie McElhaney, one of the world’s leading experts on CSR strategy, offers a seven principles and a detailed process for helping you develop a CSR strategy that is authentic because of its natural linkage to your company’s mission, vision, and values, and delivers significant, quantifiable, bottom-line benefits. Level: Intro to Intermediate | |
Toward Closing the Loop in the Bottled Beverage IndustryThe vision for more effective reuse and recycling of plastic has led to an innovative new model for the bottled beverage industry founded on the concept of shared responsibility between the manufacturer, retailer, waste management company and consumer to work together toward a common goal. By directly engaging consumers in the importance of recycling through increased consumer education, incentive-based recycling programs at retail and demonstration of the valuable uses for recycled plastics, this concept is an important first step toward changing consumer behavior and increasing U.S. recycling rates. This panel presentation will explore issues and challenges related to consumer recycling in the U.S. and discuss new approaches to addressing the issue. Presenters will also examine opportunities and challenges in changing consumer behavior related to recycling, and share lessons and key insights gleaned from the initiative. Level: Intermediate/Advanced | |
What Gets Measured, Gets Done: Driving Sustainability HomeEveryone knows that "What gets measured gets done." (Well, that's not exactly true; what gets measured can get done.) But how do you select powerful measures -- and compelling goals -- that help track and drive better decisions, and better performance? And how do you actually put those measures to work for your organization: supporting strategy, implementation, reward systems -- and results? During this lively interactive session, representatives from a small, but leading sustainable printing company and a multinational advertising, brand and PR conglomerate reveal their internally created sustainability management systems and receive feedback live from one of the pros on creating culture change by measuring what matters. | |
Social Media Marketing for “Do Good” BrandsMost of us (that aren’t 21 yrs old) are intimidated by this thing called “Social Media” – blogs, social networks, tweeting, Hulu...who knew? In this session we’ll talk about the world of social media: what’s going on, who’s involved, good examples to follow and principles for engagement. Not only will you get a good look at the social media landscape, you’ll walk away with tips on how you can leverage tools (to your advantage), build market presence and stay ahead of the game. We hope to leave you with the confidence to engage or increase your commitment to social media as an increasingly important core component of your marketing efforts. | |
| Wednesday, June 3rd 2:40 - 3:25 pm | Strengthening Your Brand with Context-Based SustainabilityBest known for its award-winning "World's Best Cheddar," Cabot launched its sustainability program in 2007 with the intention to achieve "farm-to-fork" sustainability in its operations as a way to bolster its brand. Cabot is now one of the leading practitioners of context-based sustainability, an approach that measures and manages sustainability performance in terms of impacts on essential social and environmental resources in the world. Drawing from Cabot as a case study, this session will explain context-based sustainability and provide practical advice on both its benefits to your brand and how best to get started in your organization. Level: Intermediate/Advanced |
Breakthrough Design Ideas Borrowed From Developing World SolutionsShawn Frayne (co-founder of Humdinger Wind Energy and Haddock Invention), will discuss the Windbelt technology, the world’s first non-turbine wind harvester, and the SoDis bag, a simple new water disinfection system. These products are examples of what some designers and engineers are calling ‘confluent technologies’ -- technologies born out of the difficult constraints of emerging economies that grow up to create new billion-dollar markets in unexpected places. | |
Top 10 Online Sustainable Brands Stories and the Tools That Got Them ThereSocial media has transformed the way consumers stay informed about and connected with the people and world around them. How can brands leverage the social web to cut through the seemingly never-ending chatter with meaningful stories? This panel will feature the top successes and failures in leveraging social media to authentically engage consumers and other stakeholders. We will also cover which social platforms your company should use and how to use them to maximize their reach and impact. Level: All | |
NASA Sustainability Base: A Case Study in Collaboration & StorytellingIn the four decades since the iconic Earthrise image ignited an environmental movement, NASA has continued its commitment to see the Earth, know the Earth and benefit the Earth. NASA Sustainability Base will play a vital role in the continuum of decision-support tools linking the choices of an individual to the performance of a building to the energy consumption of a city to the carbon footprint of a region, enabling researchers to better understand and manage climate change. In this session, Sustainable Brands founding co-chair Pam Van Orden, will offer a behind-the-scenes look at this work-in-progress. From her perspective as an external consultant to NASA Ames Research Center, Pam will share insights to the vision, the story and the cross-sector research collaborations that will make NASA Sustainability Base a unique window to the future on Earth. Level: Beginning/Intermediate | |
Sea Change Moments: In Your Life, Your Brand, the WorldWhat "sea change moments" have inspired you, your brand, or the world? Sea change moments are democratic and ubiquitous. They happen to founders, new hires and everybody in between; on the street, in biotech labs and certified organic fields, in boardrooms and on Twitter; in the stillness of the night and in the roar of the crowd. What unites them all is that somebody recognized and seized the moment. It was honored, nurtured, explored, leveraged, or funded into existence. And after that, nothing was ever the same. In this session, Lauralee Alben will introduce you to FathomingSM, a proprietary technique used to explore the physical, cognitive, emotional, and spiritual levels of experiences. You'll interact with the Sea Change Design ProcessSM, which has helped inspire organizations like Procter & Gamble, Apple Computer, and the Monterey Bay Aquarium to become "sea change brands", brands that generate positive, profound, and sustainable transformations in the world. Level: All | |
Sustainable SourcingCorporate buyers today are looking to their vendor partners in defining criteria for sourcing sustainable and overall “greening” of the supply chain. Pictura Graphics has demonstrated their ability to assist customers with the transformation of various projects and products from traditional sourcing methods to more sustainable solutions. Pictura’s certification as a Sustainable Green Printer, coupled with its sustainable business practices, help companies address sustainable alternatives into purchasing decisions. Join Pictura Graphic’s panel discussion with companies such as Autodesk, Specialized Bicycles, DuPont, etc. to understand how to begin “walking the talk” with respect to incorporating sustainable business practices and products into your supply chain. Level: All | |
The Power in Sustainable Brand PartnershipWorking together as a network of value partners, brands can create individual strength, leadership, and impact to be proud of. In this inspiring closing session, hear from three brand leaders how partnering for good has lead to better business. And finally, we offer a reflection of the sustainable brands community and the sea changes taking place in your lives and your brands, and at some of the sea changes in the world you imagine your brands might create. |
| Thursday, June 4th 8:30 am - 12:30 pm | Design Green: Greener Products, Innovative Marketing, Better BusinessCome to this workshop and learn from the master how to develop and sell greener products that consumers want. The real secret to winning at the Green Marketing game is to start by developing truly greener products in the first place. Oftentimes, that means more than a tweak so a product will more energy efficient, recyclable or even compostable. It means first “eco-innovating”— developing innovative new product concepts or business models that create a win-win for manufacturer or service provider and consumer—better products, affordable and credible. Then one needs good green marketing—marketing that is transparent, engaging, and educates the consumer without a hint of greenwash. To help you understand the finer points of both eco-innovation and green marketing, we have enlisted the nation’s foremost expert on both topics, Jacquelyn A. Ottman. Ottman is the author of Green Marketing: Opportunity for Innovation, 2nd edition (now going into its third edition), and in her 20 years of exclusive experience in green marketing, she’s consulted to nearly every star in the green marketing world including Energy Star, Nike, 3M, IBM, and GE. This session will be highly interactive, fun, and engaging. Every participant will receive a handout of all key points, and will be able to address many of their own green marketing and eco-innovation challenges. |
| Thursday, June 4th 8:30 am - 12:30 pm | Envisioning a Future for Sustainable Brands: A Scenario WorkshopAs the global financial crisis evolves, will sustainability remain both a priority and a growth opportunity or will it be displaced by urgent issues and short-term fixes? On the other side of the crisis, will sustainability be “playing catch up” or will it emerge as an even more fundamental imperative, serving to rapidly accelerate opportunities for those organizations that continued to invest in sustainable assets and capabilities? Although we can’t predict the future we can imagine and prepare for the different paths that might unfold. Join Monitor’s Global Business Network for an interactive scenario workshop on the future of sustainable brands. A world leader in the development and evolution of scenario planning, GBN helps companies, governments and nonprofits to adapt and grow in an increasingly uncertain and volatile world. In this half-day session, led by senior practitioner Olaf Groth, a leader of Monitor/GBN’s West coast sustainability practice, you will use scenario tools to identify key uncertainties in the business environment, develop rapid fire scenarios, and then explore implications for sustainable brands in the coming decade. |
| Thursday, June 4th 8:30 am - 12:30 pm | Futureproof Your business: Understanding business strategy in the face of ecological limitsClimate Change, water scarcity, food prices… What in the world is going on? How do all of these trends relate to one another? How might these trends shape the future for your company, industry and the markets you sell into? Trends from biodiversity loss to fisheries collapse are all symptoms of “ecological overshoot”, the fact that humanity uses more than the planet can provide. In fact, Ecological Footprint analysis reveals that we currently use resources 40% faster than nature regenerates them, which is already profoundly impacting companies, customers, prices, and markets. Please join us for a highly interactive workshop where we will present a framework for understanding these trends, and using a highly interactive process, explore future scenarios and their implications for you and your company. You will leave the workshop with greater insight into how to position your company for success. |
| Thursday, June 4th 8:30 am - 12:30 pm | Inspiring Sustainability in Skeptical AudiencesAre you struggling with a lack of enthusiasm or support for your sustainability projects? In this invigorating, hands-on workshop you will finally learn how to rally even the most difficult stakeholders toward your cause. Instructor John Marshall Roberts, author of a new book on the subject, will lead you step-by-step through the Transformational Design(tm) process, a new communication design framework built upon seminar research of psychologist Claire W. Graves. A seamless blend of systems theory, psychology, and common sense, this new paradigm will give you unprecedented insight into how to win over the cynical mind. Topics covered will include: * The four faces of environmental cynicism and how to engage them * How to frame sustainability messages to create a sense of personal urgency in skeptical listeners * How to leverage authenticity for enhanced trust and inspirational potency * The art of 'scaled messaging' for reaching complex audiences, and more! If you are truly ready to take your sustainability leadership to the next level, this workshop is for you. With these cutting-edge communication tools at your fingertips, you will be able to overcome mental resistance in any audience, and systematically transform your good intentions into sustainable, real-world results. |
| Thursday, June 4th 8:30 am - 12:30 pm | Preserving Brand Equity when Acquiring a Sustainable BusinessConsumers support brands they trust. Trust can be eroded when sustainable brands sell. How can acquirers preserve the goodwill they’ve just bought? Sustainable businesses often feel between a rock and a hard place: they want to scale, and need capital or strategic partners to do so, but they don’t want to lose control of their mission. How can sustainable businesses preserve authenticity without independence? Hear from investors and entrepreneurs at different stages of the sustainable business life cycle as they discuss their experiences growing and investing in sustainable businesses so their sustainability is built to last. Proposed Panelists Include: - Gigi Lee Chang, CEO of Plum Organics, talks about her recent sale to venture-backed Nest Collective. - Joe Glorfield, GP of TBL Capital, talks about recent investments in Numi Organic Tea and Clean Fish. - Adam Lowry, Co Founder of Method, talks about preparing for future liquidity. |
| Thursday, June 4th 8:30 am - 12:30 pm | The frog design Approach to Sustainable DesignThe topic of sustainable or green design is of increasing urgency to companies involved in product development. In the last year we have seen a tipping point of public interest and concern over global climate change, fueled by massive media interest. Companies which are not addressing it risk both legislative as well as brand and sales impacts. Recent surveys have shown that key customer segments are willing to pay more in order to buy greener products. This seminar will address the fundamental issues of sustainable design and introduce a broad range of frameworks and concepts for tackling the often fundamental changes that are required in how a company approaches design and manufacturing. Drawing from a wide range of sources and case studies as well as frogs own experience we will discuss the key issues framing sustainable design, how it can be evangelized and initiated in an organization, and how it impacts on choices of product planning, production partners, brand and marketing. The seminar will combine presentations with hands-on activities done in break-out groups, where possible using the participants own products, organizations and experiences as sources of challenges and opportunities. |
| Thursday, June 4th 1:30 - 5:30 pm |
Best Leadership Practices in Cross-sector PartneringThe purpose of this session is to explore experientially personal and interpersonal learning processes that enable collective leadership development in the context of cross-sector partnering. It will be primarily based on my experience in designing and co-leading programs to enhance true partnering and collective leadership capacity across sectors in developing and industrialized countries. Multi-sector collaboration offers unique challenges and opportunities for leaders to accelerate their own development, while contributing to societal learning and addressing some of the world's most intractable problems‚ such as hunger, poverty, and healthcare for all, and depletion of natural resources. Both presented materials and notes will be shared with the participants and the whole community. |
| Thursday, June 4th 1:30 - 5:30 pm |
Brand New World: Using your Brand to Create your Future.Einstein’s belief that “ The significant problems we face cannot be solved with the same level of thinking we used when we created them” – is well known, but not well integrated into most businesses. Creating a sustainable future will require new thinking and new ideas. This workshop combines key elements of the creative process with brand strategy, and demonstrates how companies can use their core strengths, ethics, character and current brand equity to build a bridge that will drive the behavior required to create a viable future. Traditional definitions of brands constrain behavior and stultify innovation. The brands that flourish in the future will be co-created with everyone in the organization, and they will expand potential rather than diminish it. We will discuss a process and principles that will help you co-create your brand with your internal audience – inspiring the innovation necessary to deliver on its full potential. We live in a world where traditional competitive advantages are no longer sustainable. Superior quality, lower price, faster to market, newer technologies, better service and distribution are benefits that competitors can mimic and leapfrog faster than ever, and alone, they are simply not reason enough for your brand to matter to customers in the long run. This workshop is a first in using the creative process, the principles of sustainability and corporate citizenship to influence brand value and brand differentiation. In this session we will explore: • Using Brand Archeology to identify your core strengths and uniqueness • How to write a brand promise that is relevant now and in the future • How to create a unique brand promise by embedding corporate citizenship • How to master the steps in the creative process and apply it to your brand strategy • How to use your brand promise to inspire the behavior necessary to deliver on it However you think about your brand now, you will leave this workshop thinking about its power and potential in a new way – one that will lead to a Brand New World. |
| Thursday, June 4th 1:30 - 5:30 pm | Detangling Environmental Attributes, Specifications and Certifications for Green Product Design and BrandingThis workshop kiks off with getting to know your consumer segment, guiding participant through answering the following questions: - Who is your green customer? - What are they looking for? - What do different segments want? - How you manage differing needs This module is followed by helping you to understand your key impacts: - What are the key environmental issues - What are the relevant environmental impacts of your products - How do different attributes deliver environmental benefits - How do Lifecycle Assessments (LCA) help you make better environmental decisions - What are the limitations of LCA? Next you’ll move into understanding attributes, specifications and certifications: - Exploring attributes in detail - Deciding if an attribute is relevant to your products - Major purchasing specifications by B2! customer segment - Major growth areas by consumer segment Followed by modules on defining a certification strategy, green messaging, and finally implementation. |
| Thursday, June 4th 1:30 - 5:30 pm | Measuring Your Social FootprintThis workshop will begin with a brief summary of corporate sustainability management (CSM), measurement and reporting – what it is, and leading concepts, tools, and measurement methods. It will then introduce the Social Footprint Method, a compelling new approach to CSM that arguably takes sustainability reporting to the next level and operationalizes the triple bottom line.
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| Thursday, June 4th 1:30 - 5:30 pm | New Media for SustainabilitySupporting the theory of exploding consumer adoption of social media, research shows an astounding 93 percent of Americans who use social media expect their favorite brands to have a presence, too. However, creating a Facebook page or adding a widget is not going to cut it among today’s tech-savvy consumers, or satisfy the skeptical stance of sustainability marketing efforts. Like any other communications efforts, a social media presence must have the right mix of strategy, messaging and audience in order to be a success. In this session, we’ll explore the findings of the 2008 Business in Social Media Study, explain how the successful use of social media is firmly rooted in sound business objectives and marketing communication strategy and share highlights from successful environmentally-focused social media campaigns. |
| Thursday, June 4th 1:30 - 5:30 pm | The NextPlays Lab: Designing Your Sustainable Business Strategy for the Short and Long TermThere are sound commercial reasons why businesses shouldn't just leave it to the "big boys" to behave in environmentally and socially responsible ways. Every company needs to differentiate itself from its competitors, and sustainability offers opportunities to do just that in new and exciting ways. It's not just about doing the right thing. It's also about stimulating innovation and using that to access previously unavailable market spaces. Sustainability is a real business opportunity, and leveraged correctly it can help you achieve real top line gains, reduce risks and increase vital intangibles such as reputation and brand. Moxie Design Group, the leading Innovation Design consultancy in New Zealand who counts Coca-cola as one of its core clients, has developed a strategy game called NextPlays which uses a series of scenario cards to help companies think widely about the possibilities before them and work out where they're going. Managing sustainable business change boils down to a simple equation: the right action, at the right place, gets the best result. In this hands on workshop you'll "play" NextPlays and come away inspired and equipped with new ideas for growing your own sustainable business future. |
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