Peter Senge
SENIOR LECTURER, Organization Studies, MIT Sloan

Dr. John R. Ehrenfeld
FORMER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, International Society for Industrial Ecology

Jim Hanna
DIRECTOR OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT, Starbucks

This session will bring together key voices--including farmers, industry, public policy, and academics—from across the US dairy supply chain. Participants will take part in a facilitated, interactive dialogue with the audience about innovative approaches to fostering sustainability in a competitive sector, and will be asked to address both the successes and real challenges of re-thinking sustainability and constructing a future for the New England dairy sector. It will be a space to celebrate progress, and consider the roadmap ahead.

Tim Griffin
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University

Ross Thurber
VERMONT DAIRY FARMER, Organic Valley

Hilde Steffey
PROGRAM DIRECTOR, FarmAid

Asta Schutte
RESEARCH ASSISTANT, Tufts University; Agricultural Resource Training Coordinator, New Entry Sustainable Farming Project

Lynee Bohan
VICE PRESIDENT OF PUBLIC RELATIONS AND GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS, HP Hood LLC

As firms respond to stakeholder concerns about sustainability, they often find that their greatest environmental and socioeconomic impacts are in parts of their value chain outside their direct control. Distant decisions about farming practices, factory labor conditions, and household consumer behavior can create substantial risks and opportunities for businesses in the middle of the chain. Smart companies interested in securing supply, reducing costs, staying ahead of regulation, and enhancing brand and reputation must develop new capabilities: to "see" the larger value-creating systems they are part of creating and understand value chain impacts; to collaboratively engage value chain partners in mutual learning and continuous improvement, especially those who hold different mental models and goals; and to build shared visions of healthy and sustainable value chains and strategically support pre-competitive efforts at systemic change. Without intentional strategies for building diverse leadership networks based on these core capabilities, transformative strategic intentions will never crystallize and get translated into new practices and results.

Randy Kirchain
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, MIT Department of Materials Science and Engineering

Climate Interactive developed the C-ROADS simulation to be used with international climate negotiations. The United States Department of State has used the C-ROADS simulator to understand the climate impacts of various country-level proposals and to share that understanding with other parties to the UNFCCC (for example, Deputy Special Envoy Jonathan Pershing presented C-ROADS analysis at the April '09 UNFCCC meeting in Bonn). Participants in this sessions will be split into groups to simulate an actual international climate negotiation. The session will span two breakout time slots and will be run by Professor John Sterman, a developer of the C-ROADS simulation and the author of the book Business Dynamics: Systems Thinking and Modeling for a Complex World.

John Sterman
DIRECTOR, MIT System Dynamics Group

Oftentimes when working with other parties disputes arise. These can result from different goals, interests or even styles of dealing with other parties. In this session attendees will negotiate with one another on economic and environmental issues to understand their own dispute resolution styles, how to develop creative solutions, and how to think about tradeoffs. The session will be led by Professor Larry Susskind, a thought leader in the field of negotiation and mediation.

Larry Susskind
FORD PROFESSOR OF URBAN & ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING, MIT Department of Urban Studies and Planning; Director of the Public Disputes Program & Visiting Professor, Harvard Law School

System dynamics is a methodology for studying and managing complex feedback systems, such as one finds in business and other social systems. In fact it has been used to address practically every sort of feedback system. While the word system has been applied to all sorts of situations, feedback is the differentiating descriptor here. Feedback refers to the situation of X affecting Y and Y in turn affecting X perhaps through a chain of causes and effects. One cannot study the link between X and Y and, independently, the link between Y and X and predict how the system will behave. Only the study of the whole system as a feedback system will lead to correct results. (Source: System Dynamics Society) In this session we will give you an overview of systems dynamics, the methodology to use it and discuss some key examples of how system dynamics can improve decision-making around environmental and social issues.

John Lyneis
JOHN LYNEIS, PhD candidate in System Dynamics Group, MIT Sloan School of Management

Kook-Hyun Moon
PRESIDENT, New Paradigm Institute

Gary Hirshberg
CE-YO, Stonyfield Farm

Karin Ireton
DIRECTOR OF SUSTAINABILITY MANAGEMENT, Standard Bank

As more people learn about resource use and waste streams from media like "The Story of Stuff" and Cradle-to-Cradle, they will demand more environmentally friendly goods that use recycled materials and can be broken down to create new inputs for new goods. How does this happen on the ground? What level of coordination among different entities is required to make this happen? In this session we will begin to explore these questions with top-notch firms who are right in the middle of answering these questions.

Scott Chase
REGIONAL & MAJOR ACCOUNT RESOURCE MANAGER, Casella

Randi Mail
RECYCLING DIRECTOR, City of Cambridge

Jim Hanna
DIRECTOR OF ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS, Starbucks

John Lively
DIRECTOR OF ENVIRONMENT AND MATERIAL SCIENCE, Preserve

This session will focus on how to improve working conditions and labor standards in global supply chains. Based upon Richard Locke’s research on the supply chains of Nike, HP, Coca Cola and other global corporations, this session will explore how best one can combine corporate profitability and just labor standards. The connection between different aspects of sustainability (labor justice, environmental stewardship, waste reduction, etc.) will also be discussed.

Richard Locke
DEPUTY DEAN AND ALVIN J. SITEMAN PROFESSOR OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP, MIT Sloan School of Management

How are we developing green and sustainable buildings today? What are the financing and design challenges and how can we integrate them into successful developments? Hear from developers, lenders, and leaders on the public and private side about how development is moving forward while meeting the current challenges of incorporating sustainability in a financially strained world. Ask questions about the future of sustainability in the built environment, and hear where new opportunities may be arising in this field.

Brian (Tony) Ciochetti
CHAIRMAN AND DIRECTOR, MIT Center for Real Estate

James Boyle
PRESIDENT AND CEO, Sustainability Roundtable, Inc.

Deborah Morse
DIRECTOR OF REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT, Boston Housing Authority

Scott Wisdom
ASSOCIATE RELATIONSHIP MANAGER, U.S. Bank's Commercial Real Estate Group

John E. Fernández
PROFESSOR, MIT Department of Architecture

Jim Hunt
CHIEF OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND ENERGY SERVICES, City of Boston

Scot Horst
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT FOR LEED, U.S. Green Building Council

Jacob Knowles
DIRECTOR OF SUSTAINABLE DESIGN, Bard, Rao & Athanas Consulting Engineers LLC

The Fair Trade foods and beverage category is now fairly well-established and represents over $1 billion in retail sales in the U.S. and is growing at about 20% annually. It has been embraced by small, mission-driven firms, iconic Fortune 500 brands, activists, faith-based groups, and every variety of retailer. It is unusual in the sustainability/CSR movement because its main tool is a certification and labeling system that is focused on the social welfare of the most vulnerable participants in a supply chain.

Rodney North | Equal Exchange

Many companies are embarking on internal sustainability initiatives ranging from operational improvements such as energy efficiency and waste reduction to changes in product design such as environmentally-friendly packaging and use of recyclable and non-toxic materials. Some companies have woven their sustainability initiatives into their customer-facing message. When does it make sense to market sustainability efforts beyond internal stakeholders such as investors and employees? When does it make sense to hold back that information? How do you ensure that customers do not perceive your marketing messaging as greenwashing? How can customers differentiate between greenwashing and green marketing? This session will focus on what marketers need to know about disclosing sustainability efforts to the general public.

Michael Hopkins
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, MIT Sloan Management Review

Jim Black
VICE CHAIRMAN, Greenguard Environment Institute (GEI)

David Wilcox
FOUNDER, ReachScale

Mike Sullivan
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, IBM Big Green Innovations

Sustainability may seem like a straightforward concept, but the concept of a sustainable world within the context of our current reality is hard to wrap our minds around. At times the problem is not how to overcome obstacles that prevent a more sustainable way of living, but imagining what a sustainable world will look like in the first place. We will need truly innovative solutions to shift our habitual dependence on old ways of Industrial Age life.

One approach to breakthrough innovations is open source systems. For example, free software distributed and continuously developed by online communities, information and data organized by a collective group, or competitions in which ideas and solutions are crowdsourced from the public. How can open source systems be used to solve the hard yet unavoidable problems we face in preserving our planet? More importantly, how can the open source approach lead to innovative solutions in sustainability and new ways of 21st Century life?

Eric von Hippel
PROFESSOR OF TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION, MIT Sloan School of Management

Robert Laubacher
RESEARCH ASSOCIATE, MIT Sloan School of Management

Leveraging individual behavior to address sustainability concerns is potentially the fastest and cheapest way to create lasting societal change. Case studies, particularly in the energy sector, have shown that by complementing technological, political and economic action with behavioral theory, organizations can create in deeper systemic transformations. To achieve this change, harnessing the power of individual action is crucial, but developing and distributing effective messaging to motivate action can be a daunting challenge. The interactions between individuals, messages, and media are many, complex, and in high competition for everyone's attention. Therefore, the drivers and motivators of any audience provides the fundamental building blocks of successful behavior change strategy.

This workshop will introduce participants to some of the primary drivers and motivators behind people's actions. Through a combination of small-group activities and larger discussions, the following questions will be addressed.
- How can behavior change strategy improve sustainability communications?
- What tools exist to understand and influence behavior change?
- How does behavior change fit into the larger picture of sustainable development?

Rebecca Dahl
GRADUATE STUDENT IN STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP TOWARDS SUSTAINABILITY, Blekinge Institute of Technology

Steve Marshall
GRADUATE STUDENT IN STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP TOWARDS SUSTAINABILITY, Blekinge Institute of Technology

Adam Siegel
SUSTAINABILITY CONSULTANT, Cause Consulting

Some say local is the new green. From a pure supply chain perspective, that may be true. However, local means much more, from community development and civic engagement to job creation and environmental stewardship. This panel consists of Cambridge/Somerville community stakeholders including a local business owner, a local politician, a local community organizer, and a local media representative. This discussion will address what it means to be local, why we should be local, and how local communities can promote sustainability.

Christina Ingersoll
MBA CANDIDATE, MIT Sloan School of Management

David Day
ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR, Boston's Weekly Dig

Rebekah Gewirtz
WARD 6 ALDERMAN, City of Somerville

Joe Grafton
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, Somerville Local First

Michael Kanter
CO-OWNER AND CHIEF VISIONARY OFFICER, Cambridge Naturals

Many investors today are demanding much more from their investments than just financial return. Investors have become increasingly interested in maximizing social good without sacrificing portfolio diversification or financial performance. Investment strategies range from screening out companies that engage in questionable practices to proactively investing in companies that consistently promote environmental stewardship, social justice, and good corporate governance. According to Ceres, a national network of investors and environmental groups, long-term investors see sustainability performance as an indicator of strong management and long-term strategy for future growth. In other words, many investors are starting to see social investments as good business opportunities.

How do players in the social investment space effectively engage with key stakeholders such as sustainable companies, investors, competitors, social and environmental groups, local communities, and others benefiting from the investments? How do you increase transparency to ensure that the social investments are truly making a difference for all key stakeholders? In this session, we will explore these questions and have a discussion on how we, as a society, might prioritize our investments to maximize both positive social impact and financial return.

Karin Chamberlain
INDEX MANAGER, FTSE KLD Indexes (division of RiskMetrics Group)

Kirk Hourdajian
PROJECT MANAGER OF CORPORATE PARTNERSHIPS, Environmental Defense Fund

Alla Jezmir
PRINCIPAL, Green Portfolio, Calvert Foundation

Miguel Granier
FOUNDER/DIRECTOR, Invested Development

Mindy Lubber
PRESIDENT, Ceres