May: What’s Coming

“The merry, merry month of May” is a line from a soft-shoe ditty written in 1884 by one Ed Haley. Thank you, Mr. Haley, and in tribute we offer these six outstanding forums taking place in the merry, merry days ahead.

Foremost forums upcoming

• Responsible Business Summit Europe (May 8 – 9; London). Event aspires to provide “one-stop shopping for CSR professionals – the only conference that they need to attend to learn about the sustainability and CSR challenges facing European businesses over the coming year.” Representative topics include: How to embed ethics in your company; how to pursue CSR in a down economy; and how companies can mitigate climate risk. Read more.

• Business Future of the Americas Conference (May 14 – 15; Mexico City). Conference aims to provide a forum for Latin American leaders in the areas of trade policy, politics, and business to examine corporate strategies and international trade opportunities. Representative topics include: IT as a competitiveness detonator; diversity and the bottom line; and common problems and common solutions in education. Read more.

• London Business School Global Leadership Summit (May 21; London). Summit focuses on innovation, transformation, and change in global organizations. Representative topics include: Innovation as a business driver; globally responsible leaders; and putting people back into strategy. Read more.

• Business for the Environment (B4E) Global Summit (May 22 – 23; Berlin). Summit is self-described as “the world’s leading international conference for dialogue and business-driven action for the environment.” Event focuses on “the most urgent environmental challenges facing the world today,” examining such sustainability-related topics as resource efficiency, renewable energies, new business models and climate policy and strategies. Read more.

• Green Week (May 22 – 25; Brussels). Event is self-described as “the biggest annual conference on European environment policy” and presents “a unique opportunity for debate and exchanges of experience and best practices.” Program addresses such topics as EU waters and policy implementation; emerging pollutants; and water-related policy developments on adaption to climate change. Read more.

• Global Summit of Women (May 31 – June 2; Athens). Event is described as having been “conceived as the nexus at which all sectors – public, private and nonprofit—would come together under the common vision of dramatically expanding women’s economic opportunities globally through exchanges of working solutions and creative strategies forged by women leaders in different parts of the world.” The Summit program examines issues relevant to increasing women’s economic power internationally, and affirms an advocacy role in championing women leaders from developing countries and their role in helping to build local and regional economies. Read more.

Noteworthy conferences beginning agenda planning this month

• The Energy and Resources Institute will begin agenda development for its Delhi Sustainable Development Summit being held January 31 – February 2, 2013 in New Delhi. DSDS is self-described as “an international undertaking that provides a platform for the exchange of knowledge on all aspects of sustainable development.” Program further examines global sustainability by addressing such topics as technology and enabling policies; emerging issues of climate change; and dimensions of burden sharing. Read more.

• Kiel Institute for the World Economy will begin solidifying the agenda for its Global Economic Symposium scheduled for October 16 – 17, 2012 in Rio de Janeiro. Event is described as bringing together “leaders from the world’s policy-making, business, academic and civic communities to find new ways of tackling major global economic problems.” Program addresses such topics as balancing risk taking and financial regulation; content and limits of corporate social responsibility; and the future of global financial governance. Read more.

• Kellogg School of Management will begin developing the agenda for its Innovating Social Change Conference taking place November 3, 2012. Conference aims to “challenge and inspire attendees to discover their unique potential to lead the next generation of social impact” by featuring “visionaries who are reshaping the way the world views and values social impact, innovators who are leveraging the potential of business to bring about wide scale social change, and leaders who are inspiring the development of new models and new talent to fuel the movement.” Representative topics include: Models enabling lasting change; untapped markets for social and financial return; and leadership in the next generation of social impact. Read more.