Share this
Twitter
Myspace
Digg
Del.icio.us
Reddit
Slashdot
Furl
Yahoo
Technorati
Newsvine
Facebook
Export PDF
Print
E-mail
Tags
Green Ventures Conference Tuesday in Madison
BY MARGARET McHUGH
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
When sustainability expert Bob Willard opens the Green Ventures Conference Tuesday, he will appear before a crowd of hundreds on a Morris County college campus.
And he'll reach them without ever leaving Toronto.
Many of the expected 400 conference attendees will take the train to Fairleigh Dickinson University. They'll eat mostly vegetarian meals on biodegradable plates or china. And when it's all over, recycling and composting will take care much of the waste.
Organizers of the event, dubbed "Jumpstarting the New Green Economy,'' are trying to keep true to the cause.
"We're working hard to make the conference as green as possible,'' said Jonathan Cloud, director of FDU's Sustainable Business Incubator, which is sponsoring the three-day event. The Sustainable Business Incubator helps nurture start-ups with an eco-friendly vision to help them become commercially viable.
The Jumpstart conference features workshops to help people transition into green careers, create new business models and promote sustainable communities.
"We hope to communicate both the urgency of the challenges we face — from climate change, species extinction, unsustainable communities, businesses and agriculture, and so on — and the enormous opportunities we see for new ventures, economic transformation, restoring our environment, and achieving sustainable prosperity within in all sectors of our society," Cloud said.
Conference attendees can choose from more than 20 panels discussing topics such as sustainable food and construction, socially responsible investing and green government programs and policy.
This year's event includes the state's first green job fair. The Green Jobseekers Networking and Entrepreneurial Opportunities Fair, on Thursday between 6 and 8 p.m., provides a forum for jobseekers to meet representatives from engineering firms, contracting companies, renewable energy companies, government agencies, major non-profits and recruiters. It is free and open to the public.
"The goal of the Green Jobs session is to inspire people to shape and participate in new ventures and partnerships that are driving the new green economy," Cloud said. "It's a resource for anyone seeking to develop projects, discuss solutions and launch new initiatives."
"Saving the world and making a profit is not an 'either/or' proposition," said Willard, an author and expert on the business value of corporate sustainability strategies. "Socially and environmentally responsible practices accelerate business success by avoiding risks and adding to the bottom line.''
Willard will address the conference via a live videoconference from Toronto. Carol McClelland, founder and executive director of Green Career Central, a virtual career center, also will speak to the crowd by videoconference from California on Thursday night.
Besides Willard and McClelland, attendees will hear from David Grant, president of the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation and Miriam Hawley, a business coach.
"This conference offers us a unique opportunity to make the connections that matter," Grant said. "Whether we are working on a corporate or university campus, or at a nonprofit or government agency, we all have a role to play in creating a more sustainable world.''
"We are in the early stages of a new industrial revolution and just beginning to see the first wave of green industries emerging from the green movement,'' McClelland said. As the green economy evolves, more and more green job opportunities will become available."
The conference will be held at FDU's Madison/Florham Park campus off Madison Avenue. The price is $325 at the door, but discounts are available for students and those with government, academic, or nonprofit credentials, organizers said. More information is available at jumpstartgreen.org.
On Tuesday, the public can attend a free Green Expo that showcases dozens of businesses, nonprofits and agencies dedicated to sustainability, including: Rutgers' EcoComplex, Sun Farm Network, Covanta, NJ Economic Development Authority, Joy Organics, and Sustainable Jersey.
