Environment & Business; Energy Efficiency & Leadership

Three important events are coming up in Singapore and South East Asia  - the B4E – Business for the Environment  - conference in Jakarta 27-29 April, featuring, among others, Nobel Peace Prize winner Al Gore of “The Inconvenient Truth” fame; the National Energy Efficiency Conference, organised by the National Environment Agency in Singapore on 23-25 May; and the World Leadership Conference  in Singapore 11-15 July.

B4E Global Summit 2011

Shangri-La Hotel Jakarta, Indonesia

27 – 29 April 2011

B4E, Business for the Environment, is the world’s leading international conference for dialogue and business-driven action for the environment. Held in partnership with WWF and Global Initiatives, the Summit offers collaborative solutions to address the most urgent environmental and climate issues facing the world today.

Leaders from business, NGOs, international agencies and governments gather to discuss green investments, clean technologies and  sustainable growth strategies. At the B4E Summit, delegates share and explore transformative solutions to tackle climate change and to protect and restore biodiversity and ecosystems. Partnerships are formed and commitments are made to accelerate the shift towards a more sustainable, low-carbon future.

A keynote speaker is Al Gore, probably the world’s most influential voice on climate change, an advisor to leaders in Congress and heads of state throughout the world. He is also the Chairman of the Alliance for Climate Protection.

Since his earliest days in the U.S. Congress 30 years ago, Al Gore has been the leading advocate for confronting the threat of global warming. His pioneering efforts were outlined in his best-selling book Earth in the Balance: Ecology and the Human Spirit (1992). His newest book, Our Choice: A Plan to Solve the Climate Crisis, gathers in one place all of the most effective solutions that are available now and that, together, will help solve the climate crisis.

Another speaker is Georg Kell, the Executive Director of the United Nations Global Compact, the world’s largest voluntary corporate responsibility initiative with more than 6,000 participants in over 130 countries. Spanning more than two decades, his career with the United Nations began in 1987 at the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in Geneva. In 1997, Mr. Kell joined the Office of the UN Secretary-General in New York, where he spearheaded the development of new strategies to enhance private sector engagement with the work of the United Nations.

As one of the Global Compact’s key architects, he has led the initiative since its launch in 2000, building the most widely recognized global business platform on human rights, labour, environment, and anti-corruption. Prior to joining the UN System, Mr. Kell worked as a researcher at the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany and as a financial analyst evaluating multinational companies’ investment portfolios in Asia and Africa. A native of Germany, he holds advanced degrees in economics and engineering from the Technical University of Berlin.

Global Initiatives

Global Initiatives is an international media company promoting positive social change and sustainable global development through high-level conferences, television and the internet. Facilitating the sharing of knowledge, experience the best practices, we address some of the greatest challenges facing the world today. Highlighting global issues such as the environment, corporate citizenship, and the development of emerging markets, Global Initiatives encourages partnership, inspiration and creating a better future.

WWF

WWF is one of the world’s largest and most respected independent conservation organizations, with almost 5 million supporters and a global network active in over 100 countries. WWF’s mission is to stop the degradation of the earth’s natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature, by conserving the world’s biological diversity, ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable, and promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption.

For full details on the conference, speakers, registration etc, go to the website.

Source: www.b4esummit.com

National Energy Efficiency Conference 24/25 May 2011

At time of going to press, more information on the conference programme was not available to release. Please go to the National Environment Agency (NEA) for more information www.nea.gov.sg and www.e2singapore.gov.sg

World Leadership Conference, Singapore     11-15 July 2011

Ready for Rio? Our young leaders have begun.

Young leaders passionate about environmental issues and experts on climate change gather at this conference to take actions for a sustainable future.

The World Leadership Conference (WLC) 2011 serves to empower young leaders aged 16-­35 from the Asia-­Pacific region to think about what they can do to build a sustainable future for the environment. This July, these young leaders, together with leading experts on climate change and organizations dedicated to environmental sustainability, will engage in high-­level interactions ahead of the Rio+20 Summit.

WLC 2011 will be held in Singapore and serves as a build up to the decadal summit for the region. Luminaries such as Lord Nicholas Stern, author of the Stern Executive Secretary, Achim Steiner, Executive Director of UNEP, and Ted Turner, Founder of CNN and Philanthropist will be expected to grace the conference with their presence as distinguished speakers.

Supported by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and endorsed by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), the conference will function as a consultation for the region as official inputs towards the Rio + 20 Summit due in 2012, and revisit the ideology of sustainable development, what it truly means and provide direction forward for both the public and private sector in this area.

Speaking about this youth-­led initiative by the Environmental Challenge Orgnisation (Singapore), also known as ECO Singapore, who are the organisers of the conference, Wilson Ang, President, says the Rio+20 Summit may be geographically far for young people from the Asia-­Pacific to attend. So, the document being crafted at the WLC 2011 will speak for them at Rio, presenting their views to the rest of the world.

With eyes on the Rio+20 Summit, the WLC 2011 is the platform for international cooperation, learning, and action towards a sustainable future for emerging leaders.

For more information on the World Leadership Conference, go to the web site.

Source: www.worldleadershipconference.org