Dog days doins

The month of August is named after the Roman emperor, Caesar Augustus, who was once portrayed in a made-for-TV movie by Peter O’Toole who just announced he was retiring from moviemaking at age 80, after a fifty-year career that began spectacularly in 1962 with Lawrence of Arabia. If you have never watched Lawrence, drop everything and do so now.

Foremost forums upcoming

• World Water Week (August 26 – 31; Stockholm). Event aims to bring together “the leading minds in water and development,” including leaders from government, business, academia and NGOs, to focus on “new thinking and positive action toward water-related challenges and their impact on the world’s environment, health, climate, economic and poverty reduction agendas.” Event comprises more than 100 events including seminars convened by numerous NGOs, scientific workshops, field visits, plenary sessions, and side events, all highlighting an annual overarching theme. Read more.

• Women in Green Forum (August 28 – 29; Santa Monica). Event mission is “to highlight women’s impact on the environmental arena and provide opportunities for women to learn about careers in sustainability.” Topic areas of interest are technology enhancing sustainability; cities as accelerators; smart grid meets smart buildings; fostering a company culture to drive sustainable action; and ecotourism. Read more.

Noteworthy conferences beginning agenda planning this month

• World Affairs Councils of America will begin developing the agenda for its National Conference scheduled for November 7 – 9, 2012 in Washington, DC. Conference is self-described as attracting “some of the most well-regarded national and international personalities and policymakers.” Topics include policy in the areas of economics, energy, climate, and food supplies. Read more.

• Dow Jones and Company will begin agenda development for its Global Compliance Symposium being held April 2 – 3, 2013 in Washington, DC. Symposium focuses on improving risk and compliance processes within organizations by aiming to offer “an in-depth and multi-faceted learning experience that encourages the sharing of best practices for navigating an increasingly complex and daunting global corporate landscape.” Representative topics include: Preparing employees against corruption; managing the risks associated with third parties; combining high performance with high integrity; and working with complicated regulations. Read more.

• Wall Street Journal will begin solidifying the agenda for its ECO:nomics Conference taking place March 20 – 22, 2013 in Santa Barbara. Conference offers “a CEO-level view of the rapidly developing relationship between the environment and the bottom line.” Invitation-only event examines the business opportunities and risks that lie within the regulations and new sustainability technologies resulting from global conservation. Representative topics include: Extreme innovations; the natural gas bonanza; solar and wind after Solyndra; and the connection between sustainability and private equity.