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Corporate Sustainability

Ministerial Dialogue on Sustainability

Wednesday, March 12, 1:30 - 3:00

Global and domestic environmental challenges abound, ranging from the need to effectively manage both local and trans-boundary air and water quality issues, to ensuring the sustainable development of natural resources. Ministers from around the world presented how they are addressing these and other important issues.

Miro Cernetig, Columnist, The Vancouver Sun, Vancouver, BC, Canada (Moderator)
Colin Hansen, Minister of Economic Development, Province of British Columbia, Victoria, BC, Canada
Jim Rondeau, Minister of Science, Technology, Energy and Mines, and Minister of Competitiveness, Training and Trade, Province of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
Gianluca Salvatori, Minister of Science & Technology, Province of Trento, Italy
Mitja Bricelj, State Secretary, Ministry of the Environment and Spatial Planning, Government of the Republic of Slovenia
John Gerretsen, Minister of the Environment, Government of Ontario, Toronto, ON, Canada

Dialogue: Business - A Force for Good

Thursday, March 13, 10:30 - 12:00

'Tomorrow's Global Company: challenges and choices' is the agenda setting inquiry report written by a team of business and civil society leaders from East and West. The report describes how it might be possible to steer a more sustainable and profitable course. This Dialogue discussed the opportunities, roles and responsibilities of global companies in today's society, framed by the Tomorrow's Company report. It looked at how businesses can redefine success, live values and create new frameworks, and in so doing 'expand the space' in which they operate.

Developed in partnership with Tomorrow's Company.

Tony Manwaring, Chief Executive, Tomorrow's Company, London, United Kingdom (Dialogue Host)
John Manzoni, President and Chief Executive, Talisman Energy Inc., Calgary, AB, Canada
David Runnalls, President, International Institute for Sustainable Development, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
Gary Lawrence, Urban Strategies Leader, ARUP, Seattle, WA, USA
Kevin Moss, Head of Corporate Social Responsibility, North America, BT Americas Inc., Reston, VA, USA
Sandeep Dadlani, Associate Vice President, Retail, CPG & Logistics, Infosys Technologies Ltd., Atlanta, GA, USA

Special Session: NGO Corporate Collaborative Models: Emerging Trends

Friday, March 14, 8:30 - 10:00

Increasingly, private corporations are partnering with nongovernmental organizations to achieve environmental results and realize other business objectives. Well designed and executed partnerships can influence corporate behavior throughout particular sectors while producing environmental results. This session presented how such partnerships are initiated and how they can be managed to achieve win-win benefits for the environment and for participating corporations.

Jim Burpee, Executive Vice President, Corporate Development, Ontario Power Generation, Toronto, ON, Canada (Moderator)
David Yarnold, Executive Vice President, Environmental Defense, New York, NY, USA
Helen Howes, Vice President, Corporate Environment, Health and Safety, Exelon Corporation, Philadelphia, PA, USA

Advancing Good Practice in Aboriginal Mining Relations

Wednesday, March 12, 10:30 - 12:00

Is it possible to bring a new mineral deposit into production in Canada today without the support of local Aboriginal communities? Would a company want to? A panel of practitioners discussed key issues in mining and Aboriginal relations - how successful companies are working with Aboriginal communities as essential partners in resource development and how Aboriginal communities are looking to partner with industry.

Sponsored by: The Mining Association of Canada

Pierre Gratton, Vice President, Sustainable Development and Public Affairs, Mining Association of Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada (Moderator)
George Greene, Chair, Stratos Inc., Ottawa, ON, Canada
Don Thompson, General Manager of Regulatory and External Affairs, Syncrude, Fort McMurray, AB, Canada
Judy Whiteduck, Director, Economic Partnerships, Assembly of First Nations, Ottawa, ON, Canada
David Parker, Director, Corporate Affairs and Sustainability, Teck Cominco Limited, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Don Bubar, President & CEO, Avalon Ventures Ltd., Toronto, ON, Canada

Sustainability in the Electronics Sector

Thursday, March 13, 8:30 - 10:00

Computer and electronics companies have started to aggressively implement sustainability strategies to reduce their industry's environmental impact. Leading corporations presented what they are doing to recycle electronics, phase out hazardous substances, and increase energy efficiency across the product lifecycle.

Sponsored by:

Andrew Horsman, Vice President, The Delphi Group, Ottawa, ON, Canada (Moderator)
Edan Dionne, Director, Corporate Environmental Affairs, IBM Corporation, Somers, NY, USA
Marcy Scott Lynn, Director of Corporate Social Responsibility, Sun Microsystems, Santa Clara, CA, USA
Tod Arbogast, Director, Sustainable Business, Dell, Round Rock, TX, USA

Supply Chain Management Innovations: Working Effectively with External Suppliers

Wednesday, March 12, 10:30 - 12:00

Businesses are realizing that greening the supply chain is a strategic, bottom-line issue. This session illustrated how corporations are using supply chain management to reduce their environmental impacts.

Coro Strandberg, Advisor, Sustainability Purchasing Network; Principal, Strandberg Consulting, Vancouver, BC, Canada (Moderator)
Claus Conzelmann, Vice President for Safety, Health and Environment, Nestlé, Vevey, Switzerland
Mary Ellen Mika, Manager, Energy and Environment, Supply Chain, Steelcase Inc., Grand Rapids, MI, USA
Paul Strege, Sustainable Innovations Manager, SC Johnson, Racine, WI, USA
Sherilyn Brodersen, Ethical Sourcing Manager, Global Supply Chain Department, Cadbury Schweppes plc, Parsippany, NJ, USA

From Compliance to Competitive Advantage

Thursday, March 13, 1:30 - 3:00

A range of external factors play an ever increasing influence on companies to incorporate environmental and social issues fully into strategic decision-making processes. The degree of importance companies attach to environmental issues is based on perceptions of external threats and opportunities. Compliance is a primary concern for companies however some companies are starting to identify the existence of opportunities for achieving competitive advantage through progressive environmental performance. Panelists provided their perspectives on the major emerging influences on corporate activity.

Michael Gerbis, CEO, The Delphi Group, Ottawa, ON, Canada (Moderator)
Claude Ouimet, Senior Vice President, General Manager, InterfaceFLOR, Newnan, GA, USA
Christina Koh, Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications and Sustainability, DHL Express Global, Bonn, Germany
Andrea Moffat, Director of Corporate Programs, Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies, Boston, MA, USA
Lyn Brown, Vice President, Corporate Relations and Social Responsibility, Catalyst Paper Corporation, Richmond, BC, Canada

Successfully Integrating Sustainability into Business Processes

Wednesday, March 12, 3:30 - 5:00

Developed in partnership with Stratos Inc.

Companies manage sustainability issues for different business reasons. These vary by the nature of the business, the issues faced, a range of external and internal drivers and corporate culture. For leading sustainability companies around the world, how they integrate sustainability matters. A panel of senior sustainability practitioners, drawn from a range of business sectors, presented their experience and demonstrated how their companies are making progress in sustainability integration. Each panel member addressed how sustainability is built into a critical business process - strategic and business planning, product development, risk management, project management or human resources management.

George Greene, Chair, Stratos Inc., Ottawa, ON, Canada (Moderator)
Sue Lowell, Director of Sustainability, Strategy, and Integration, Suncor, Calgary, AB, Canada
Michael Long, Environmental Engineer, Shell Exploration & Production Company, Denver, CO, USA
Marc Duchesne, Director of Corporate Responsibility and Environment, Bell Canada, Montreal, QC, Canada

Sustainability and the Global Cement Industry

Thursday, March 13, 3:30 - 5:00

Cement manufacturing is a truly global industry which creates products that are, quite literally, the foundation of modern society's infrastructure. Because the manufacturing process has impacts on both local and global environments and communities, contributing roughly 5% to global anthropogenic CO2 emissions, the sector is an important one for CO2 emission mitigation strategies. This frank and engaging discussion about the global cement industry and its contributions to sustainable development also discussed its impacts on communities and environments and the emerging global solutions aimed at improving those impacts.

Sponsored by: Cement Association of Canada

Pierre Boucher, President & CEO, Cement Association of Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada (Moderator)
Luc Robitaille, Corporate Director, Environment, St. Lawrence Cement, Mont Royal, QC, Canada
Alan Kreisberg, President, Lafarge North America, Western Region Cement Division; Chairman, Cement Association of Canada; Calgary, AB, Canada
Raymond Cole, Professor and Director, UBC School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Michael Russill, President & CEO, World Wildlife Fund Canada, Toronto, ON, Canada
Joerg Nixdorf, Vice President, Cement Operations, Lehigh - Hanson Canada Ltd.; Vancouver, BC, Canada

Olympic Events: Catalysts for Sustainability

Thursday, March 13th, 1.30-3.00

Global mega-events such as the Vancouver 2010 Olympics can be powerful tools to advance sustainability. However, as project entities they are short term and finite in nature. This panel presented the opportunities and challenges of using a sporting event to advance innovation and foster more sustainable practices and behaviours.

Sponsored by: Province of British Columbia

Gordon Campbell, Premier, Province of British Columbia, Victoria, BC, Canada
Barry Penner, Minister of Environment, Province of British Columbia, Victoria, BC, Canada (Moderator)
John Furlong, Chief Executive Officer, Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC), Vancouver, BC, Canada
Robert C. Johnson, President and Chief Executive Officer, Purolator, Mississauga, ON, Canada
Michael Brossard, Senior Vice-President, Marketing, Rona, Boucherville, QC, Canada
Kathryn Molloy, Executive Director, Sierra Club of BC, Victoria, BC, Canada

Pundits Panel

Friday, March 14, 8:30 - 10:00

How is corporate sustainability reported and judged by the media? Representatives of mainstream media explained how they understand, evaluate and report on corporate sustainability performance.

Christopher Henderson, Chairman, The Delphi Group; President, Lumos Energy, Ottawa, ON, Canada (Moderator)
Adam Aston, Editor, Business Week, New York, NY, USA
Miro Cernetig, Columnist, The Vancouver Sun, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Peter Foster, Columnist, National Post, Toronto, ON, Canada
Toby Heaps, President and Editor, Corporate Knights, Toronto, ON, Canada