| Keynote and Panel Overviews |
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"Sustainable Business Defined" Panelists: John Ikerd, Professor Emeritus of Agricultural Economics and leading expert on Sustainable Economics, author of Sustainable Capitalism and Small Farms are Real Farms; Bob Willard, leading expert on corporate sustainability and retired IBM Canada executive. Author of The Next Sustainability Wave and The Sustainability Advantage; Paul Linzmeyer, former President of Bay Towel and current business activist; Marge Anderson, Associate Director Energy Center of Wisconsin; Panelists discussed what we mean when we talk about sustainable business and provided easy-to-understand explanations that speak to our need to be responsible and profitable.  "The Common Sense Approach to Sustainable Business"Keynote speaker: John Ikerd, Professor Emeritus of Agricultural Economics and leading expert on Sustainable Economics, author of Sustainable Capitalism and Small Farms are Real Farms. John discussed how businesses are confronted with the challenges of sustainability today because they have drifted away from the historic principles of "good business". Noted business gurus fo the past, such as Taylor, Drucker, and Deming, have cautioned that businesses must be good for their workers, their customers, and for society as a whole, if they were to be good for their stockholders over time. Businesses have always been susceptible to the lure of quick profits but it's only within the past few decades that short run profits have taken precedence over the long run integrity and viability of the business. Businesses htat deceive their customers, exploit their workers, impose costs on society by degrading the environment and depleting the resources of nature, quite simpley are not sustainable over time. This isn't a quiestion of strategy; it's a matter of common sense. The Challenge of business sustainable today is a challenge to return to the core principles fo ecological, social, and economic integrity that have always characterized "good business". Creating a sustainable business is mainly a matter of common sense.  “The Business Case of Sustainability”Keynote Speaker: Bob Willard, leading expert on corporate sustainability and retired IBM Canada executive, author of The Sustainability Advantage and The Next Sustainability Wave, repositioned smart sustainability strategies as a means to achieving existing corporate and municipal ends, rather than as a separate priority to worry about. Bob outlined a compelling business case to convince hard-nosed executives that they can increase the value of the company by integrating sustainability strategies throughout their organizations. He will identified market forces that could jeopardize an organization’s reputational value if they fail to be more environmentally and socially responsible, and quantified the potential financial benefits of committing to sustainability strategies and behaviors. “How Networks Lead to Sustainable Action Plans” Moderators: Mary Rehwald, Coordinator of the Green Team Network of Early Adopters of Sustainability in the Chequamegon Bay and Nan Fey, member of the Madison Sustainability Planning Team Panelists: Karl van Lith, Jeanne Hoffman, Steve Hoecker, and Rick Dowd Mary Rehwald and Nan Fey facilitated a panel with two members from each of their networks on how their networks developed, and why networking is vital to success in a region. As the City’s Training Manager, Karl can Lith has trained 140 Madison City employees in the Natural Step. As the City’s Facilities and Sustainability Manager, Jeanne Hoffman runs the new Sustainability Office for Madison. As Director of the Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center, Steve Hoecker is leading the Center towards a zero-net energy use through wind energy and LEED-EB designation for the Center building. As a professor, Rick Dowd participates in the green team at Northland College that is undergoing a major campus-wide energy assessment by Johnson Controls. Each member of the panel works inside his or her organization and takes an active role in the regional network to share sustainability successes and challenges.  "Elephants in the Board Room: Stampede to Crisis"Keynote speaker: Kelly Cain, Professor UW-River Falls and Director of St. Croix Valley Institute for Sustainable Development. Kelly combined elephant scale data and trend anaysis of the global ecologic and socio-economic conditions we face, in contrast with the elephant scale choices we need to make in personal, professional, and civic life, but especially from a business perspective. The dilemma comes not in desire nor ability to identify and pursue short term profitable solutions, but in identifying profitable solutions that are holistic and compatible with a systems thinking approach to a sustainable community development agenda...for that is what will put you at the front of the herd over the long haul. “Mayor’s Panel: Messages from Eco-Municipalities around Wisconsin” Panelists; Don Richards-Mayor of River Falls; Larry Nelson-Mayor of Waukesha; Andrew Statz-Madison Mayor’s Office, and Bayfield Mayor Larry Macdonald representing Mayors of Chequamegon Bay This panel highlighted the different approaches used by the cities of River Falls, Waukesha, Madison, Ashland, Washburn and Bayfield to help their staff and residents be proud of their eco-municipality.  “Hopeful Messages from a Global Perspective”Keynote Speaker: Jerry Hembd, UW-Superior What kind of globalization do we want? What does a fair and sustainable future look like? While it is easy to catalog the challenges posed to sustainability by the global economy, there are also countervailing efforts – ranging from local to global – that give rise to hope and optimism. Jerry provided a look at some of these and their implications for how we govern ourselves, how we do business, how we think about fairness and justice, and how we live. “Wal-Mart: Sustainability 360” Speaker: Lisa B. Nelson Wal-Mart’s mission to save people money so they can live better goes hand-in-hand with its efforts to build a more sustainable company. By bringing sustainability into every part of its business, Wal-Mart is moving toward its goal to be supplied 100 percent by renewable energy, create zero waste and sell environmentally friendly products. Using a collaborative approach called “Sustainability 360,” Wal-Mart is working with its suppliers, associates, non-governmental organizations, academics, government leaders and thought leaders to integrate sustainability throughout its supply chain. This enables Wal-Mart to bring its customers – everywhere in the world – affordable products that are ethically sourced, high quality and environmentally friendly.
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