November leadership forums, ongoing and upcoming

November’s here and Thanksgiving is just around the corner. Looking forward to that homey holiday, here are a few terrific upcoming events for which you can give mucho thanks!

Foremost forums upcoming in November

• Financial Times’ Innovate Summit (November 10 – 11; London). Summit focuses on trends and developments in process and product innovation, global product development, and new business models for innovation. Event addresses such topics as instilling innovation values and practices within an organization; the skill sets and tools required for a successful chief innovation officer; and making the business case for innovation to key decision makers. Read more.

• Wall Street Journal’s CEO Council Annual Meeting (November 15 – 16; Washington, DC).  Meeting is an exclusive gathering of chief executives of global businesses personally invited by WSJ editors to join the body and meet annually in Washington, DC with a goal to “develop a tangible, ranked list of priorities in the areas that are most important to the strength of business and the economy.” Attendees hear policy experts share insights in specific topic areas, which for 2010 will include: Next Steps for Healthcare; Energy and the Environment; The Future of Global Finance; Creating Sustainable Jobs; and Restoring Confidence in Business. Read more.

• World Economic Forum Summit on the Global Agenda (November 29 – December 1; Dubai). Event is self-described as a “gathering of the world’s most influential thinkers—leaders from academia, business, government and society.” The summit is designed as an annual meeting of participants in the WEF’s Global Agenda Councils, member companies and individuals who meet in smaller groups throughout the year to discuss “the foremost topics in the global arena.” Read more.

• United Nations Climate Change Conference—COP 16/CMP 6 (November 29 – December 10; Cancun). Attendees convene in assembly format to discuss a range of climate change issues. The conference agenda, which typically includes several hundred sessions and speakers, is comprised of sessions of the Convention’s Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice and Subsidiary Body for Implementation, as well as bilateral and multilateral meetings dealing with assorted climate change issues. Read more.

Noteworthy conferences beginning agenda planning this month

• Financial Times will begin agenda development for its Investing in a Sustainable Future Conference scheduled for March 9, 2011 in New York. Event aims to provide representatives from the investment and business communities with an opportunity to “explore how corporate social responsibility (CSR) influences investment decisions and how companies at the forefront of implementing these initiatives demonstrate a concrete connection to shareholder value.” Program focuses on “the latest CSR issues and how they impact the bottom line” and addresses such topics in corporate sustainability as stakeholder communication; transparency in the supply chain; the evolution of sustainable investing; and managing risk though CSR. Read more.

• Harvard Business School will begin developing the agenda for its Social Enterprise Conference, scheduled for March 5 – 6, 2011 in Boston. The event is self-described as “a forum for exploring the synergies between for-profit, non-profit, and public sector approaches to addressing critical social issues. Agenda examines philanthropic initiatives taken to solve global problems and strategies for implementing and maintaining corporate sustainability and corporate social responsibility in business operations. Read more.

• Social Venture Network (SVN) will begin solidifying the agenda for its Spring Conference scheduled for April 7 – 10, 2011 in Stevenson, WA. The conference convenes members and invited guests to “discuss ways in which [members] can collaborate to produce sustainable economic opportunities—locally, nationally, and globally.” Event programs feature six to eight plenary sessions and panels, as well as five to six breakout sessions. Most sessions follow an interactive format.  Read more.

• November marks the beginning of agenda planning for the Tallberg Foundation’s Tallberg Forum, scheduled for June 29 – July 3, 2011 in Sigtuna, Sweden. Forum is self-described as “an innovative global forum characterized by an atmosphere of openness, honesty, warmth, and creativity…[and] is viewed as a natural extension of a highly respected Swedish tradition of internationalism, progress, intellectual curiosity, mediation, and sustainability.” Event addresses such topics as the nature of corporate social responsibility; democracy, human rights, and the rule of law; and emerging issues in globalization, sustainability, democracy, and prosperity. Read more.