2009 Net Impact Conference will Convene Leaders to Advance Sustainable Global Enterprise

(3BLMedia/theCSRfeed) (San Francisco, CA) – Net Impact, a global network of professionals and students using business to improve the world, will present its 2009 conference in Ithaca, NY, Advancing Sustainable Global Enterprise: Changemakers, Innovators, and Problem Solvers. Hosted by and organized in partnership with the Johnson School at Cornell University, the conference will bring together leaders behind the sustainable global enterprise movement, including sustainability and corporate responsibility practitioners, social entrepreneurs, and nonprofit executives.

More than 2,000 professional and graduate student attendees will have the opportunity to learn from visionary keynote and featured speakers, including:  

• Jeffrey Immelt, CEO, GE 

• Seth Goldman, President & TeaEO, Honest Tea

• Lisa Lorimer, Founder, Vermont Bread Company

• Jeff Furman, Board of Directors, Ben & Jerry's and Ben & Jerry's Foundation

• Yogesh Chander Deveshwar, Chairman and CEO of ITC Limited

• Kevin McGovern, Chairman, The Water Initiative

• Rebecca Onie, Founder & CEO, Project HEALTH

• Gillian Caldwell, Campaign Director, 1Sky

  The two-day gathering will feature over 300 speakers and 100 sessions including keynotes, panel discussions, workshops, and networking opportunities.    “For nearly 20 years, the Net Impact Conference, known for its unmatched energy, has inspired a new generation of business leaders that are equipped to effectively problem-solve, innovate, and drive groundbreaking change in their careers,” said Liz Maw, Executive Director, Net Impact. “This year’s conference will challenge attendees to explore their role in the movement towards a more sustainable and equitable future.”   Participants can expect to meet industry leaders and explore panels across several different topic areas such as energy and environment, corporate social responsibility, international and community development, social entrepreneurship and innovation, and social impact finance.   “We are pleased to be hosting the 2009 Net Impact Conference,” said Dr. Mark Milstein, Director, Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise at the Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University. “Hosting the conference highlights the Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise’s work, the Johnson School’s intellectual leadership, and Cornell’s commitment to graduating students who can address social and environmental issues through innovation and entrepreneurship.”   Read more about the conference, speakers, and sessions at www.netimpact.org/conference, and contact Brenda Kiefer for information about attending the conference as a member of the media at press@netimpact.org. Sponsors for this year’s event include:   Leadership: SC Johnson   Executive: Coca-Cola, Dell, ExxonMobil, FedEx, GE, Herman Miller, Microsoft Corporation, Starbucks Coffee Company   Associate: Accenture, Altria, Booz Allen Hamilton, Campbell Soup Company, Intel, KPMG, Nestle Waters North America, Sodexo   Supporting: Adobe, Autodesk, Brown-Forman Corporation, The Dow Chemical Company, Ernst & Young, Gap Inc., McKesson Corporation, PG&E, Target, The Walt Disney Company   Local: Dow Corning Corporation, EnerNOC, National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance, OSRAM, Washington Gas   Premium Media: 3BL Media, Development Crossing, TriplePundit, Videonote   Full Media: Centre for Sustainability and Excellence, CSRWire, Governance and Accountability Institute, Microfinance Insights/Beyond Profit, NextBillion.net   About Net Impact Net Impact is a global organization of students and professionals using business to improve the world. The organization offers a portfolio of programs and initiatives to educate, equip, and inspire over 15,000 members to make a positive impact through business. Spanning six continents, Net Impact’s membership is one of the most influential networks of students and professionals in existence today, and includes current and emerging leaders in corporate social responsibility, social entrepreneurship, nonprofit management, international development, and environmental sustainability. The Net Impact network includes more than 240 chapters in cities throughout the world and a small central office in San Francisco. Learn more at www.netimpact.org.  

The annual Net Impact Conference is the world’s largest event of its kind and has established itself as an important forum for student, business, academic, and nonprofit leaders to network and learn from each other. Past speakershave included the CEOs of Starbucks, DuPont, Coca-Cola, and Patagonia; leaders of nonprofit organizations like YouthAIDS, Room to Read, Children’s Defense Fund, Acumen Fund, and Teach For America; as well as civic leaders such as Al Gore. For more information, please visit www.netimpact.org/conference.  

About the Johnson School Founded in 1946, the Johnson School is Cornell University's graduate school of management. Consistently ranked as one of the top graduate schools of business, the Johnson School builds upon Cornell's depth and breadth of distinguished research and teaching, and its vast, worldwide network of alumni, faculty, and colleagues. The school's "performance learning" approach offers students defined frameworks and analytical tools, combined with expert feedback to solve real problems in real organizations. Deliberately small and extremely selective, the Johnson School maintains an intense, collaborative community, where students develop teamwork and networking skills that foster innovation and deliver results. Programs include one- and two-year MBA degrees, an Executive MBA and the Cornell-Queen's Executive MBA, which offers interactive videoconferencing sessions across the U.S. and Canada. For more about the Johnson School please visit: www.johnson.cornell.edu.    About the Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise The Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise at Cornell University’s Johnson Graduate School of Management frames the world’s social and environmental challenges as unmet market needs that can be addressed most appropriately through business innovation and entrepreneurship. The Center’s research and teaching programs develop novel approaches for private enterprises to achieve financial success by creatively addressing problems, such as climate change, ecosystem degradation, and poverty.  http://www.johnson.cornell.edu/sge.   CONTACT:

Brenda Kiefer Net Impact 415-495-4230 bkiefer@netimpact.org

Nicola Pytell Johnson School of Management 607-255-3494 nwp2@cornell.edu

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