Description:

The 2009 Net Impact Conference will focus on the changemakers, innovators and problem solvers who are helping to advance sustainable global enterprise. Join us in beautiful Ithaca, New York to explore your individual and organziational role in the sustainability discussion. Through panel discussions, case studies, keynotes, and special events, the 2009 Net Impact Conference will challenge participants to examine the organizational processes, strategies, and capabilities that enable sustainable value creation and inspire them to find their place in the sustainability discussion.

Join us November 13 - 14 in Ithaca, NY at The Johnson School at Cornell University to

• Hear from CSR Leaders like keynote Jeffrey Immelt, CEO of GE
• Engage in panel discussions on topics ranging from Base of the Pyramid Strategies to Environmental Sustainability Consulting
• Participate in fun and thought-provoking networking opportunities with organizations and individuals committed to positive social and environmental change
• Explore the beautiful gorges, wineries and town of Ithaca, New York
• Gain a new appreciation of your role as an individual business changemaker

Considered one of the premier events for students and professionals interested in socially and environmentally responsible business, the annual Net Impact Conference is designed to mobilize participants to put their ideals into action.

Schedule

Registration and informal welcome events will begin the evening of Thursday, November 12. The Net Impact Conference will begin on the morning of Friday, November 13 and end on the evening of Saturday, November 14. 

Ithaca is a beautiful town located in the Finger Lakes region of Upstate, New York. Arrive earlier on Thursday or stay through Sunday to experience the hiking trails, wineries, local culture and food of this "gorges" location.

Check back soon for the comprehensive conference schedule.

Please see the 2008 Conference Website for a sample schedule.

Speakers

Net Impact speakers come from the public and private sectors and a wide range of industries. Please be sure to bookmark this page as new speakers will be added as they are confirmed.

Keynote Speakers

Jeffrey Immelt, CEO of GE

Jeffrey R. Immelt is the ninth chairman of GE, a post he has held since September 7, 2001. Mr. Immelt has held several global leadership positions since coming to GE in 1982, including roles in GE's Plastics, Appliance, and Medical businesses. In 1989 he became an officer of GE and joined the GE Capital Board in 1997. In 2000, Mr. Immelt was appointed president and chief executive officer. Mr. Immelt has been named one of the "World's Best CEOs" three times by Barron's, and since he began serving as chief executive officer, GE has been named "America's Most Admired Company" in a poll conducted by Fortune magazine and one of "The World's Most Respected Companies" in polls by Barron's and the Financial Times. Mr. Immelt is also a member of The Business Council, and he is on the board of the New York Federal Reserve Bank. Mr. Immelt earned a B.A. degree in applied mathematics from Dartmouth College in 1978 and an M.B.A. from Harvard University in 1982. He and his wife Andrea have one daughter.

Seth Goldman, President and TeaEO, Honest Tea

Seth Goldman is President and TeaEO of Honest Tea, the best-selling brand of bottled tea in the natural foods industry. For the past two years the company has been ranked on Inc. magazine’s list of the 500 fastest-growing private companies in the United States. Honest Tea was the first company to market a fully organic bottled tea (1999) as well the first Fair Trade bottled tea (2003).  Today the entire product line is certified organic and the company has established innovative partnerships with a Native American community, a South African community, City Year, the American Institute for Cancer Research, Share Our Strength, Timberland and the Ford Escape Hybrid.

Before launching Honest Tea, Seth was Vice President of Calvert Social Investment Fund, director of an AmeriCorps and deputy press secretary for Senator Lloyd Bentsen of Texas. He worked for a year in China (1987-1988) and a year and a half in the former Soviet Union (1989-1990).  He is a graduate of Harvard College (1987) and the Yale School of Management (1995). Seth is an advisor to First Peoples Worldwide, Net Impact and the Somerset Elementary School Educational Foundation, the public school his three boys attend near Honest Tea’s offices in Bethesda, Maryland.

Jeff Furman, Legal Counsel, Ben & Jerry's

Jeff Furman has been with Ben & Jerry's since it began.  He helped write the first business plan, served as legal counsel and on their Board of Directors for more than twenty years. He continues as a Foundation Trustee and on the Ben & Jerry’s Board established after the Unilever acquisition. In Ithaca he co-founded a Dispute Resolution Center and a Micro-Enterprise Project. He hopes to bring 5,000 people to Detroit for the 2010 U.S. Social Forum.

Featured Speakers

John Perkins, Author, Economist, Dream Change

New York Times Bestselling Author John Perkins's classic exposé, Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, spent over 70 weeks on the New York Times bestseller lists and is published in more than 30 languages. His follow-up New York Times bestseller, The Secret History of the American Empire, provides a plan for creating a better world. He is founder and board member of Dream Change and The Pachamama Alliance, nonprofit organizations devoted to establishing a sustainable, just, and peaceful world, has lectured at universities on four continents, and is the author of five books on indigenous cultures.

Adam Werbach, Global CEO, Saatchi & Saatchi S.

Adam is regarded as one of the world’s premier experts in sustainability. At age 23, he was elected as the youngest president ever of the Sierra Club, the oldest and largest environmental organization in the United States. In 1998, he founded sustainability agency, Act Now, to engage the corporate and media world in social, environmental, cultural and economic change. After ten successful years, Act Now merged with global ideas company Saatchi & Saatchi to form Saatchi & Saatchi S, the world’s largest sustainability agency.

Adam has always been an advocate for change, as exemplified by his 2004 speech, "Is Environmentalism Dead?" which sent shockwaves through the environmental movement. He declared that he would no longer call himself an environmentalist, as the movement was unprepared to solve the underlying social and economic issues of climate change. Soon after, Wal-Mart engaged Act Now to lead the involvement of its 1.9 million Wal-Mart associates in the Personal Sustainability Project (“PSP”).

Adam returned to the Commonwealth Club in April 2008 to receive its 21st Century Visionary Award and deliver his follow-up address to “Is Environmentalism Dead?,” entitled “The Birth of Blue,” which envisions a billion-person strong, consumer-based movement for sustainability.

Speak at the Net Impact Conference

To be considered as a speaker at this year's conference, please fill out the 2009 Speaker Interest Form.

Please click here for Registration.