Business Beyond Tomorrow: a conversation-starter
A Vancouver municipal councillor involved in that city’s ambitious goal to become the world’s greenest by 2020 is the keynote speaker at this year’s Business Beyond Tomorrow conference.
Andrea Reimer is coming to Concordia for the March 18 conference on sustainable business. This year, the conference’s seventh, the theme is City-Wide Initiatives. No doubt she’ll mention the fact Vancouver’s action plan recently won a 2012 Sustainable Communities Award from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.
“A lot of the sustainability initiatives are taking place at the municipal level,” says Isabella Matteo, undergraduate president of Concordia’s John Molson Sustainable Business Group (JSG) and third-year management student.
The second keynote speaker is Ilan Elbaz, sustainable development manager at the Jewish General Hospital. Matteo says students will be able to relate to his experiences applying sustainable practices in an institution.
The two keynote talks bookend conversations about food, transportation, waste, and impact investing, which are investments made in consideration of social and environmental impacts as well as financial returns.
Business Beyond Tomorrow brings together students with sustainability and corporate leaders to explore themes based on the triple bottom line of sustainable business: people, planet and profit. Companies that have proven businesses can be profitable and sustainable, such as Communauto, will be participating.
The JSG has joined forces with student groups at McGill University’s Desautels Faculty of Management and HEC Montreal. The latter will be hosting the Sustainability Challenge, a related case competition, the day prior to the conference. Business Beyond Tomorrow, expected to draw about 250 people, takes place in the BMO Amphitheatre in the John Molson School of Business Building.
The conference marks the first day of Concordia’s sustainability week. Each day, a different environmental, economic or social issue will be addressed under the banner What Sustains You?
Matteo says the conference is a great opportunity for students to learn about sustainable business in an interactive fashion.
“It’s about starting a conversation,” she says. “The classroom is just the beginning.”
When: Sunday, March 18, 2012, from11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Where: BMO Amphitheatre, Room MB 1.210, John Molson School of Business (1450 Guy St.), Sir George Williams Campus
Cost: Students: conference only $15, conference with cocktail reception: $20
Those wishing to attend should register online.
Related links:
• Business Beyond Tomorrow
• Registration site
• Business Beyond Tomorrow on Facebook
• Andrea Reimer
• Ilan Elbaz