Global Environmental Society and "Green" drinks in Zurich 22 August 2011

The Global Environmental Society is a new network with the environment, new technologies and innovation as its foci. GES is the first environmental community that approaches business and consumers alike. 

It offers its members not only the chance to link with like-minded people, but also an online magazine with the latest articles about the environment and innovation, a green guide for the sustainable use of resources, a platform for business & ideas and an event guide.  

Join the community now, come to the Green Drinks or other events and participate in spreading the new green lifestyle.  

Next Green Drinks: 22 August in the Hiltl Lounge or if the weather is nice out on the terrace in the heart of Zurich and experience vegetarian food and/or delicious drinks.

GES / Global Environmental Society is the first Zurich representative of the original, internationally reknowned Green Drinks and organizes and hosts the gatherings in Zurich.

Green Drinks a great way of catching up with people you know and making new contacts. Everyone invites someone else along, so there's always a different crowd, making Green Drinks an organic, self-organizing network for new business, old friends and environmental networking. The event is usually held in the Hiltl Lounge, Sihlstrasse 28, 8001 Zürich.

The non-profit network tackles the vicious circle of inaction among consumers, the industry and politics through proactive environmental management. It therefore runs educational campaigns and offers a platform to encourage knowledge and idea exchange among scientists, universities, industries, environmental groups, politicians and non-government organizations. It supports environmental events and launches its own projects which contribute to the conservation of the environment and of natural resources. The GES-Network aims to harmonize and unite global growth markets, the industry sector and the global community for a productive coexistence in a clean and healthy environment. All donations collected over the GES-Site are directly used for such projects.

If you are not already a  member, why not join today!
Membership is free and keeps you informed about relevant environmental issues, eco-trends and green events, while letting you make new contacts. It promotes ecological efficiency and system thinking by encouraging dialogue among consumers, the industry and business sectors, science and politics.

There is no entrance fee for Green Drinks, but space is limited so secure your place by registering as soon as possible under   www.GlobalEnvironmentalSociety.net, or send us an e-mail to: team (at) globalenvironmentalsociety.net.

The event is open to all GES members and friends and you are welcome to bring guests along too, but these will also need to register.

 

Do you have the skills for success in sustainable business?

Green economy is here to stay

 

Switzerland is expected to create 53,000 jobs by 2020 in the green economy according to the Swiss newspaper LeMatin.ch. The green economy sector, generating a turnover of 29 billion Swiss francs (23 billion Euros), has enjoyed "an annual growth of 6.3% since 2001, double the overall growth in Switzerland" during this period (3.2%), according to a study by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

At this rate, "in 2020, we can count on 53,000 additional jobs related to the environment (...) for a turnover could reach 57 billion Swiss francs," said the study, entitled "Environmental Markets in Switzerland, prospects for the economy and employment." Some environmental markets have actually "experienced a boom in recent years," the statement said, citing in particular the area of green building. The records show an annual growth of 47%. The renewable energy sector for its part, increased annually by 13% and the organic food industry by 6%. 

Are you ready?

This growth in the green economy will require the rapid development of sustainable business skills in all professional fields. We know from our research that many companies are not ready for this and that there is a search for talent and experienced professionals in the market.

That is why Business School Lausanne (BSL) and the Institute for Economy and the Environment at the University of St. Gallen have created a joint executive program leading to a Diploma in Advanced Studies in Sustainable Business, which is officially endorsed by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), a CEO-led, global association of some 200 companies dealing exclusively with business and sustainable development.

Specifically, the aim is to prepare future leaders in business for success in developing sustainability, with training in the best current knowledge in the global and business sustainability fields. This includes developing change management skills and offering project experience with corporate sustainability projects. The program approaches the topic of sustainability from its impact across business functions and, at a broader level, the strategic implications on business in general and the global challenges facing our planet today and in the coming decades.

The English-language program is a project-based, one-year, part-time program that runs over 13 weekends. The program starts coming September, with two intakes per year in September and February. Enrollment for the September 2011 sessions is now underway. 

The program welcomes professionals with a university degree or equivalent and at least three years of professional experience at a management level or a minimum of six years of work experience.

The program is designed in a unique format, with projects being brought in directly from business and dealing with multi-stakeholder environments and learning in action, in the field. More than 50% of the program taught outside the classroom, involving multiple stakeholders in addition to the program faculty. Locations include the University of St. Gallen and the Business School of Lausanne (Chavannes-près-Renens), as well as at off-site locations out-of-doors, in nature, in companies, with project teams on site as well as working with NGOs.

The Program Director, Dr. Madelon Evers, leads the academic direction of the joint program. “At the core of the learning is everything about sustainability as well as developing management skills to actually succeed in leading change. When people become competent in sustainable management and confident that they can depend on other’s strengths to transform their companies, good things can start to happen” Madelon Evers says. “The challenge will be to develop leaders that can change the rules, adapt strategy and operations to embrace sustainability in a responsible way.”

This new program in Sustainable Business has been launched by two of the co-founders of the World Business School Council for Sustainable Business (WBSCSB) and complements the aims of this global business school council. The WBSCSB gathers concerned thought leaders from the international business community, academia, international organizations and NGOs, and works with existing organizations and networks to make change happen.

For more information, contact 

Business School Lausanne

Route de la Maladière 21 – PO Box 73

1022 Chavannes - Switzerland 
T +41 21 619 0606

www.bsl-lausanne.ch

Towards a Green Economy: groudbreaking report 2011 out today!

Towards a Green Economy: are we really headed that way?

Derek Eaton, an economist and programme officer at the United Nations Environmental Programme is in Brussels today presenting his answers to this question. In a long awaited, groundbreaking report, he is setting out new "Pathways to Sustainable Development and Poverty Eradication" that every entrepreneur and aspiring sustainable business should take note of.

As I watched the stress and saw care Derek has taken with his team to put this monumental project together over the past year, and I'd like to honor UNEP in this blog by sharing with our community about the report -- a must if you want to be ahead of the game on how to build a sustainable business!

As Achim Steiner, UNEP Executive Director writes,
"Nearly 20 years after the Earth Summit, nations are again on the Road to Rio, but in a world very different and very changed from that of 1992.
Then we were just glimpsing some of the challenges emerging across the planet from climate change and the loss of species to desertification and land degradation. Today many of those seemingly far off concerns are becoming a reality with sobering implications for not only achieving the
UN’s Millennium Development Goals, but challenging the very opportunity for close to seven billion people − rising to nine billion by 2050 − to be able to thrive, let alone survive."

The report points out that a sustainable future "will only be possible if the environmental and social pillars of sustainable development are given equal footing with the economic one: where the often invisible engines of sustainability, from forests to freshwaters, are also given equal if not
greater weight in development and economic planning."

The report makes the "economic and social case for investing two per cent of global GDP in greening ten central sectors of the economy in order to shift development and unleash public and private capital flows onto a low-carbon, resource-efficient path."

The outcome could "catalyze economic activity of at least a comparable size to business as usual, but with a reduced risk of the crises and shocks increasingly inherent in the existing model. New ideas are by their very nature disruptive, but far less disruptive than a world running low on drinking water and productive land, set against the backdrop of climate change, extreme weather events and rising natural resource scarcities."

The concept of a green economy is powerful because, according to the authors, "one political perspective over another. It is relevant to all economies, be they state or more market-led. Neither is it a replacement for sustainable development. Rather, it is a way of realizing that development at the national, regional and global levels and in ways that resonate with and amplify the implementation of Agenda 21."

Looking at the world today, we can see that a transition to a green economy is already underway, but that there are many challenges to keep going on this path. If we beyond 2012, we will desperately need a far more intelligent management of the natural and human capital of this planet, as this is what, according to Steiner, "finally shapes the wealth creation and direction of this world."

You can read the full report online or download parts of the report on the Green Economy site:

http://www.unep.org/GreenEconomy/Default.aspx?alias=www.unep.org/greeneconomy/v2

The Green Economy Report was produced in close partnership with the International Labour Organization (ILO).