More than 2,000 MBA students, sustainability practitioners, social entrepreneurs and nonprofit leaders will descend upon the Johnson School of Management campus at Cornell University next week for the 2009 Net Impact Conference. Net Impact is an international nonprofit organization that seeks to encourage MBA students to use their business knowledge and training to advance social and environmental responsibility. Its annual conference, held at a different business school each year, highlights achievements and challenges in the sustainable global enterprise movement.
This year’s conference, scheduled for November 13th and 14th, will feature several prominent business leaders as speakers, including GE CEO Jeff Immelt and Seth Goldman, president and TeaEO of Honest Tea.
Immelt, together with Cornell President David Skorton, will deliver the keynote address, “Driving Innovation & Economic Renewal in a Global Context.” They will discuss the innovation taking place as organizations seek to reposition themselves to succeed in the new green economy. The address, which will take place at 9 a.m. on the 13th, will be Webcast live here.
That Net Impact chose to partner with the Johnson School for this year’s conference is a reflection on the school and its students’ commitment to sustainability. In particular, Johnson is home to the Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise, established in 2003, which is dedicated to helping create a new breed of managers who can ensure that the private sector plays a leading role in solving the world’s most critical social and environmental issues.
The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania hosted the 2008 Net Impact Conference. A host school for the 2010 conference has not yet been announced.
To learn more about this year’s event, click here.
