The Conference Board

 


The Conference Board KnowlEdge Series™

Join a high-level conversation with fellow industry leaders and experts from The Conference Board to address emerging business issues identified by our members. Each KnowlEdge Series is composed of three or four half-hour programs that build on each other. The interactive, web-based format ensures ease of access. Supplemental materials and online availability keep the discussion going long after the series ends. Provocative and proactive, the KnowlEdge Series informs and deepens your company’s internal dialogue on the most pressing issues of the day.

 

Carbon Shift: How Putting a Price on Carbon will Affect Corporate Value and Reshape the Competitive Landscape

Dates: November 12 and 19; 11:00 am EST (16.00 UK, 17.00 CET)

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If you are interested in learning more about this program, contact Customer Service at 212-339-0345

Business Issues: An increasing number of jurisdictions in the US, Europe and elsewhere around the world are taking steps to limit greenhouse gas emissions by putting a price on carbon. As the Copenhagen negotiations for a global climate treaty approach, join us to assess how these changes may affect economies overall and business in particular. What do you need to understand about these changes and how can your company better prepare for what lies ahead?

The Knowledge Series is targeted at a cross-functional audience: Corporate Planning, Risk Management, Strategic Workforce Planning, HR, Finance and Procurement, Environmental Affairs and Citizenship, Public Affairs and Corporate Social Responsibility.

Panelists: David Vidal, Director, Center for Corporate Citizenship & Sustainability, The Conference Board and Robin Aram, Council Director, European Council on Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability, The Conference Board

Part 1: (30 min) How Real? How Soon? Where Carbon Pricing Efforts Stand (Thursday, November 12, 2009, 11 am EST)
Key Points to be covered Webcast Content/Speakers
  • US, EU and other carbon control policy trends
  • Key carbon planning assumptions for companies
  • Distinguishing general and sector-specific issues

Guest: Melissa A. Lavinson, Director, Federal Environmental Affairs and Corporate Responsibility, PG&E Corporation

Efforts to cut carbon emissions that are a byproduct of so many industrial and business processes and modern living itself are accelerating at the global, national and regional levels. What is the status and magnitude of the efforts to set a price on carbon that are a part of this trend? How should companies prepare for the change to come, no matter how the coming global climate change talks in Copenhagen turn out.



Part 2: (60 min.) Carbon Pricing and its Effects on Corporate Value and the Competitive Landscape (Thursday, November 19, 2009, 11 am EST)
Key Points to be covered Webcast Content/Speakers
  • How carbon sensitivity changes business-as-usual
  • The potential for radical shifts in markets and valuations
  • Understanding new sources of competitive advantage in a low-carbon world

Guest: Cindy Ortega, Senior Vice President, Energy and Environmental Services Division, MGM MIRAGE

As the rules addressing the presence of carbon in business activity develop and change, so too will the value of brands, lines of business and entire industries. Abandoning an economic diet rich in carbon and adopting a carbon-lean or ’green’ economic regimen will change the basis for competition, innovation and growth both within and across national economies. What will be the new sources of advantage and disadvantage in the low-carbon era that has begun?


David Vidal, Director, Center for Corporate Citizenship & Sustainability
David Vidal is responsible for research and program development in citizenship, sustainability and in corporate responsibility, corporate philanthropy, and corporate community involvement at The Conference Board. He joined The Conference Board in 1997 as Director of Research, Global Corporate Citizenship. Previously, Vidal was Vice President at the Council on Foreign Relations, assistant vice president at Continental Insurance and Vice President of its Continental Corporation Foundation, and Director of Public Affairs at the New York City Partnership, a CEO-led civic, housing and education group. As a special assistant in the US Department of State and the Agency for International Development, and later as a Washington-based consultant, Vidal served in staff and advisory capacities in both the Carter and Reagan administrations, dealing with refugee, migration, and trade and development issues.

Robin Aram, Council Director, European Council on Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability, The Conference Board
Robin Aram is a former Vice President External Relations and Policy for Shell International where his responsibilities included guardianship of the Shell Business Principles; relations with international organizations including inter-governmental bodies and NGOs; and policies and programs on social performance and investment. Before joining Shell he was a UK government official in the Environment and Trade and Industry Departments, and the Cabinet Office Economic Secretariat. After gaining his doctorate at Sussex University he began his career as an academic in the UK and Africa working on the control of tropical diseases. Until 2005 he was a board member of the Ethics Resource Center and Chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce Commission on Business in Society and Vice Chair of the Conference Board Global Council on Business Conduct.

Melissa A. Lavinson, Director, Federal Environmental Affairs and Corporate Responsibility, PG&E Corporation
Melissa Lavinson joined PG&E Corporation’s Corporate Environmental and Federal Affairs organization in 2003 from National Energy and Gas Transmission, Inc., where she was responsible for developing and coordinating public policy positions and political strategies for NEGT’s External Affairs Department. Prior to joining NEGT, Melissa was a Senior Associate at MRW & Associates in Oakland, California, a consulting firm providing financial, economic, environmental, and market analysis to competitive energy suppliers, generators, large consumers, and utilities. She began her career with ICF Consulting, where she compiled greenhouse gas emissions inventories and worked on other climate-related matters for the U.S. EPA, U.S. DOE, World Bank and IPCC.

Cindy Ortega, Senior Vice President, Energy and Environmental Services Division, MGM MIRAGE
Cindy Ortega is Senior Vice President of the Energy and Environmental Services Division of MGM MIRAGE. She oversees the development and implementation of strategies for environmental responsibility and awareness throughout the company. These include natural resource conservation, sustainable new construction, and environmentally sensitive company operations. Cindy is also responsible for the oversight and achievement of LEED certification for the $8.5 billion dollar CityCenter Project in the heart of the Las Vegas Strip. Three of the developments at CityCenter have been awarded LEED Gold certifications, with four remaining projects anticipated to receive LEED Gold or Silver certifications. Cindy has worked for MGM MIRAGE for 18 years. Prior to her current position she was Vice President/CFO for Corporate Services. Cindy is recognized for her leadership and expertise on energy issues and testifies routinely before the Nevada State Legislature. She speaks before industry and professional associations and serves on various advisory panels.