SANTA MONICA—January 5, 2010—A stellar group of regional business
leaders in sustainability will round out the Sustainable
Industries Economic Forum—which makes its first stop in Santa Monica on January 14th.
Seeking to “re-inspire” the inspired, the forum features two highly
anticipated presentations from Paul Hawken and Arianna Huffington, and a panel
of local sustainability experts discussing the infinite, multi-sector economic
potential of sustainable industries. It begins at 8:30 a.m. at the Sheraton Delfina.
The panel comprises some of Southern California’s leading sustainability
professionals: Andy Cohen, Executive Director for Gensler; Shelley Billik, Vice
President, Environmental Initiatives for Warner Bros. Entertainment; John
Babcock, Partner, Rustic Canyon Partners; Carmen Rad, Founder and President,
CR&A Custom Apparel; and panel moderator Lewis Perkins, Sustainable
Strategist, New House LLC.
The panelists will be joined by keynote speaker, and
world-renowned environmentalist Paul Hawken. Hawken, CEO
of Pax Engineering Group and author of "Ecology of Commerce" and
"Natural Capitalism," will address the opportunities created by a triple-bottom-line approach
(people, planet, profit) and the frank economic realities of the current
business climate. Hawken is a well-known entrepreneur with a deep
understanding of business management and hands-on experience making a
sustainable business model profitable.
Arianna Huffington, co-founder and editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post and co-host
of "Left, Right & Center," public radio's popular political
roundtable program, will give a presentation and serve as moderator for a
question-and-answer session with Hawken.
The Sustainable Industries Economic Forum
is a series, which started five years ago with events in Portland
and Seattle,
hosted by Sustainable Industries,
the nation’s business
source for leaders of the new economy. Those events have become wildly
successful, allowing Sustainable Industries
to expand and add Santa Monica
to this year’s series.
Business leaders across the country recognize that being
committed to sustainability and corporate responsibility is not a passing
trend, but rather a fundamental component of successful business. A 2008 survey
by The
Economist found that “most executives (57%) say the
benefits of pursuing sustainable practices outweigh the
costs…Specifically, sustainable practices can help reduce costs
(particularly energy expenditure), open up new markets and improve the
company’s reputation.”
“In a down economy it is easy to ask the question
‘is sustainability still relevant’?” says Brian Back,
Founding Editor & Publisher of Sustainable
Industries. “Many people think it’s the first thing that
goes, but in reality most cutting-edge companies see it as their way out of the
downturn.”
About Sustainable
Industries
Sustainable Industries is an
independent, award-winning business magazine, Web site, event and media company
serving top-of-the-pyramid sustainable business leaders on the West Coast and
beyond. With offices in San Francisco, Portland and Seattle,
Sustainable Industries connects
the dots between the environmental and social components of the region’s
economy, just as it connects the dots between leading sectors, to raise the
stakes in a working definition of sustainable industries. For more information,
visit www.sustainableindustries.com.
Contacts
Laura Christiansen, Sustainable Industries, laura@sustainableindustries.
(970) 471-6587
Kathleen Warren, Parsons Public Relations, kathleen@parsonspr.com O: (206)
789-5668 / M: (206) 778-6695
