B4E Business for the Environment - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The B4E Business for the Environment Summit (commonly abbreviated as B4E or B4E Summit
B4E Business for the Environment
The B4E Business for the Environment Summit is the leading international platform for dialogue and partnership solutions for the environment...

) is the leading international platform for dialogue and partnership solutions for the environment. The B4E summits bring together world leaders, CEOs, senior executives and industry experts to share ideas and solutions for the most urgent environmental challenges facing the world today.

The acceleration and delivery of such transformative solutions will require a higher level of collaboration between business, government and NGOs than ever seen before. B4E aims to facilitate such collaboration through networking, informed discussion and the creation of innovative partnerships for change.

Issues addressed at the summits include energy, natural resource security, climate change, water management and biodiversity conservation, among others.
Since its inception in 2007, B4E has provided leaders from around the world a unique opportunity to shape game-changing solutions and influence the global agenda, leading toward a greener, more sustainable future.

Past speakers at previous Summits include international luminaries like Ban Ki-moon

Ban Ki-moon

Ban Ki-moon is the eighth and current Secretary-General of the United Nations, after succeeding Kofi Annan in 2007. Before going on to be Secretary-General, Ban was a career diplomat in South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in the United Nations. He entered diplomatic service the year he...

, Al Gore

Al Gore

Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....

, Helen Clark

Helen Clark

Helen Elizabeth Clark, ONZ is a New Zealand political figure who was the 37th Prime Minister of New Zealand for three consecutive terms from 1999 to 2008...

and Goran Persson

Göran Persson

Hans Göran Persson was the Prime Minister of Sweden from 1996 to 2006 and the leader of the Swedish Social Democratic Party from 1996 to 2007. Conceding defeat in the September 2006 general election, he announced that he would resign as party leader, and Mona Sahlin was elected to succeed him as...

, the current Presidents of South Korea, Indonesia and Guyana, business leaders such as Nam Yong

LG Electronics

LG Electronics is a global electronics and telecommunications company headquartered in Yeouido, Seoul, South Korea. The company operates its business through five divisions: mobile communications, home entertainment, home appliance, air conditioning and business solution...

, Ben Verwaayen

Ben Verwaayen

Bernardus Johannes Maria "Ben" Verwaayen is a Dutch businessman. On September 2, 2008 the Alcatel-Lucent board of directors appointed Verwaayen as the company’s Chief Executive Officer, succeeding Patricia Russo.-Early life:...

, Jochen Zeitz

Jochen Zeitz

Born on April 6, 1963 in Mannheim, Germany, Jochen Zeitz is the CEO of the Sport & Lifestyle Group of PPR and Executive Chairman of PUMA SE after serving 18 years as Chairman and CEO at PUMA....

, Sir Richard Branson

Richard Branson

Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson is an English business magnate, best known for his Virgin Group of more than 400 companies....

, Barbara Kux and renowned experts like David Suzuki

David Suzuki

David Suzuki, CC, OBC is a Canadian academic, science broadcaster and environmental activist. Suzuki earned a Ph.D in zoology from the University of Chicago in 1961, and was a professor in the genetics department of the University of British Columbia from 1963 until his retirement in 2001...

, Janine Benyus

Janine Benyus

Janine M. Benyus is an American natural sciences writer, innovation consultant, and author.-Life:Benyus graduated summa cum laude from Rutgers University with degrees in natural resource management and english literature/writing. Benyus teaches interpretive writing, lectures at the University of...

and Amory Lovins

Amory Lovins

Amory Bloch Lovins is an American environmental scientist and writer, Chairman and Chief Scientist of the Rocky Mountain Institute. He has worked in the field of energy policy and related areas for four decades...

representing civil society. The Summits also involve international NGOs and agencies like WWF

World Wide Fund for Nature

The World Wide Fund for Nature is an international non-governmental organization working on issues regarding the conservation, research and restoration of the environment, formerly named the World Wildlife Fund, which remains its official name in Canada and the United States...

, Greenpeace

Greenpeace

Greenpeace is a non-governmental environmental organization with offices in over forty countries and with an international coordinating body in Amsterdam, The Netherlands...

, the Rocky Mountain Institute

Rocky Mountain Institute

Rocky Mountain Institute is an organization in the United States dedicated to research, publication, consulting, and lecturing in the general field of sustainability, with a special focus on profitable innovations for energy and resource efficiency. RMI was established in 1982 and has grown into a...

, the World Food Programme

World Food Programme

The World Food Programme is the food aid branch of the United Nations, and the world's largest humanitarian organization addressing hunger worldwide. WFP provides food, on average, to 90 million people per year, 58 million of whom are children...

and UNDP

United Nations Development Programme

The United Nations Development Programme is the United Nations' global development network. It advocates for change and connects countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. UNDP operates in 177 countries, working with nations on their own solutions to...

in its inclusive dialogues.

Official outcome declarations from the Summit discussions reflect commitments from stakeholders on the need to embrace innovative solutions for environmental issues and are used to provide input to the UN Climate Change Conferences and Rio+

United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development

In 2012 the United Nations will convene the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, also known as Rio 2012 or Rio+20, hosted by Brazil in Rio de Janeiro, as a 20-year follow-up to the historic 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development that was held in the same city...

History

Past B4E Summits were convened for the last five years in Singapore, Paris, Copenhagen during the COP 15, Seoul, Mexico City, Cancún during the COP 16 and Jakarta in partnership with the United Nations

United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

, WWF, Global Initiatives and host Governments where the summits took place.

B4E Global Summit 2007 & 2008 Singapore

The first and second B4E Summits were held in Singapore. The guest of honour at the event was Singapore’s then-Minister for National Development, Mah Bow Tan, and distinguished speakers included Achim Steiner

Achim Steiner

Achim Steiner is a German expert in environmental politics. From 2001 to 2006 he was Director General of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources...

, Georg Kell, David Suzuki

David Suzuki

, H.E. Maumoon Abdul Gayoom

Maumoon Abdul Gayoom

Maumoon Abdul Gayoom was President of the Maldives from 1978 to 2008. After serving as Minister of Transport, he was nominated as President by the Majlis of the Maldives and succeeded Ibrahim Nasir on November 11, 1978. He eventually became the longest-ruling head of government in Asia...

, Adam Werbach

Adam Werbach

Adam Werbach is an environmental activist who was elected as the youngest-ever national president of the Sierra Club in 1996 when he was 23 years old. He is the author of Strategy for Sustainability: A Business Manifesto, published by Harvard Business Press, and named one of the top business books...

and Zhang Yue.

B4E Global Summit 2009 Paris

Titled “The Green Imperative: Leadership, Innovation and Technology”, B4E Global Summit 2009 took place in Paris, France.
Notable speakers at the 2009 summit included Joseph Alcamo , Pavan Sukdev and H.R.H Prince El Hassan bin Talal, as well as repeated appearances by Achim Steiner

Achim Steiner

Achim Steiner is a German expert in environmental politics. From 2001 to 2006 he was Director General of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources...

and Georg Kell.

B4E Global Summit 2010 Seoul

The B4E Global Summit returned to the Asian continent in 2010, and was held in Seoul, Republic of Korea. With addresses and presentations from Lee Myung-bak

Lee Myung-bak

Lee Myung-bak is the President of South Korea. Prior to his presidency, he was the CEO of Hyundai Engineering and Construction and the mayor of Seoul. He is married to Kim Yoon-ok and has three daughters and one son. His older brother is Lee Sang-deuk, a South Korean politician. He attends the...

, Al Gore

Al Gore

, Ban Ki-moon

Ban Ki-moon

, James Leape

World Wide Fund for Nature

and numerous other dignitaries, international attention from the media, policy makers and industry was drawn to the event.

B4E Climate Summit 2010 Cancún

The Climate Summit at Cancún saw a greater and growing partnership between the Summit and international organisations such as WWF

World Wide Fund for Nature

and various UN agencies. The outcome statements were favourably viewed upon by industry and non-governmental observers as a feasible avenue for business, government and civil society to gather and discuss business-led targets and solutions for climate change.

B4E Global Summit 2011 Jakarta

Recently concluded in Jakarta, Indonesia, the Global Summit in 2011 took ownership of its location in Jakarta to shift focus to forestry and agriculture, in conjunction with the UN International Year of Forests

International Year of Forests

The year 2011 was declared the International Year of Forests by the United Nations to raise awareness and strengthen the sustainable management, conservation and sustainable development of all types of forests for the benefit of current and future generations....

. A steering committee of business, governmental and civil representatives was formed and gathered first in January to engineer focused discussion panels for the actual Summit in April. The Jakarta Summit included notable speakers such as Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono

Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono

Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono AC , is an Indonesian politician and retired Army general officer who has been President of Indonesia since 2004....

, Helen Clark

Helen Clark

Helen Elizabeth Clark, ONZ is a New Zealand political figure who was the 37th Prime Minister of New Zealand for three consecutive terms from 1999 to 2008...

and Andrew Steer

World Bank

The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...

.

The summit once again featured a recurring Youth Dialogue component to encourage students to engage in local environmental projects, with a separate workshop conducted by National Geographic wildlife presenter Hayden Turner

Hayden Turner

Hayden Turner born 16 January 1966 in Sydney, Australia, is a television and cable TV presenter.-Life:Hayden Turner is a Wildlife Television Presenter, now a global household name through his work for the National Geographic Channel and TV...

B4E Climate Summit 2011 London

The upcoming B4E Climate Summit 2011 will be held in London, UK this September. This time around, the Summit has been themed “Reaching for Zero: Strategies and innovations towards a zero environmental footprint”, and thought leaders from industry, government and NGOs will assemble to share their innovations and solutions for achieving zero-based targets. Discussions are expected to focus on the bold new technologies and transformative business models that leading companies have already established, as well as the necessary support and infrastructure needed to accelerate and achieve the vision of a zero footprint future. The outcome of the Summit discussions will provide valuable input to COP 17, Rio+ and other global processes.

Organisation

The B4E Summits are convened by Global Initiatives headquartered in Singapore. Global Initiatives promotes partnership solutions to global challenges through film, international events and media projects. By sharing knowledge and best practices, and calling on all stakeholders to take action, they address some of the greatest challenges facing the world. Their initiatives are about partnership, inspiration and creating a better future.

Responsible Business is a television series produced by Global Initiatives and showcases leading global corporations that, in partnership with government, NGOs and other international organizations, are developing business-driven solutions to some of the greatest challenges facing our world today. The series has been broadcast on CNBC networks.

Videos

External links

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