There are signs that changes in legislation, government-funded programs and public attitudes related to sustainability will begin to have a profound effect on the competitive landscape and business operations in the rapidly approaching future. While most companies have incorporated sustainability into their business models to some degree, few have been willing to make it the core driver of their strategy. Will making changes at the margin be enough to keep you competitive in the future? How are companies thinking about the potential for a drastically different business reality in the near future and what are the implications?

The Business Issue: If today you had to rethink your corporate strategy because of realignment by consumers, markets and policymakers in favor of sustainability, are you ready? What are the risks and opportunities inherent in accepting this challenge or delaying?

• What is the likelihood of a significant shift toward sustainability that will reshape the competitive landscape in fundamental ways?
• Would your current operating system stand up to these transformative changes?
• What are the risks and opportunities inherent in accepting or delaying a strategic reordering?
• How are companies that have incorporated sustainability into the core of their operating system faring compared to their peers?

Series Host

	David J. Vidal Senior Fellow, Initiative on Sustainability David J. Vidal is senior fellow, The Conference Board Initiative on Sustainability. Since joining The Conference Board in 1997, he has initiated and been responsible for research and program development in corporate citiz... Full Bio
	Gail D. Fosler Senior Advisor Gail D. Fosler is a senior advisor and past president of The Conference Board. She advises The Conference Board on economic and research issues and leads its partnership with the Business Council. She is a member of The Conference Board’s Gl... Full Bio

Accepting the Challenge: Is it Time to Embrace Sustainability as the New Operating System? (Part 1)

PART 1: A Green Competitive Landscape: Winners and Losers

24 June, 2009 | (01 hr)

What are the underlying facts and trends driving the sustainability dialogue today? What is the significance for business, particularly those with no apparent link to energy or climate? How are risks and opportunities changing, if they are?

Key Points to be covered:

• What sustainability means for business
• How the rules of the playing field are being redesigned
• The post-crisis landscape for sustainability

Speakers

Helle Bank Jorgensen Partner PriceWaterhouse Coopers Helle Jorgensen serves as the Sustainability Advisory Leader in the US and on PwC's Global Sustainability Leadership Council. She has recently relocated to the United States from Europe where she has worked with Sustainability for nearly 20 years,... Full Bio

Accepting the Challenge: Is it Time to Embrace Sustainability as the New Operating System? (Part 2)

PART 2: Business Models and Sustainability

25 June, 2009 | (01 hr)

What is the difference between a conventional business strategy and one incorporating sustainability as its basic operating principle? How are companies adapting their business models from conventional to sustainability-centered? What pivotal assumptions should be made about the economic role of carbon, its impact on changing energy systems, and on new world patterns of consumption?

Key Points to be covered:

• How competition changes in a low carbon economy
• Viewing sustainability as cost, an investment, or an externality
• Winning and losing business models in a sustainable enterprise world

Speakers

Dawn Rittenhouse Director, Sustainable Development DuPont Company Ms. Rittenhouse is director of Sustainable Development for the DuPont Company. Ms. Rittenhouse joined DuPont in 1980 and has held positions in Technical Service, Sales, Marketing, and Product Management within the Packaging and Industrial Polymers... Full Bio

Accepting the Challenge: Is it Time to Embrace Sustainability as the New Operating System? (Part 3)

PART 3: Achieving Growth Through Innovation for Sustainability

30 June, 2009 | (01 hr)

How are companies adapting and fine tuning basic operating systems to ensure a role for sustainability as a driver of innovation? How do we develop a growth platform that aligns us today with the sources of future value creation? How do innovation, sustainability and future global growth patterns intersect?

Key Points to be covered:

• Where growth, innovation and sustainability intersect
• Investment trends in sustainability
• Projections on future growth fields and regions through sustainability

Speakers

Peter Cartwright Executive Director of Environment, Health and Safety Dow Corning Peter Cartwright joined Dow Corning in 1990. As global Science and Technology director for Core Products from 2004 to 2006, Peter led the business in improvements to its portfolio decision-making and commercialization processes, as well as establi... Full Bio