Encouraging Comments

Hey everyone,

Before detailing my day and telling you what I'm up to tomorrow, I'd like to encourage everyone to comment on my posts. I would love to be able to take your questions into the sessions tomorrow, and the conference really promotes it. We've even been told that people who submit their blogs to the media guy for this trip win an opportunity to introduce Judith McHale, Under Secretary, Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs on Thursday (some of the runners up get to have lunch with her). It's very fancy. So feel free to comment! (And here's a picture of the astronomical clock)

And now, today.
Today was more or less the environmental day, starting with remarks from Vaclav Cilek of the Czech Academy of Science and Joel Rubin of the National Security Network. Vaclav talked about a whole range of issues, from perceptions of climate change in Central Europe, to food security around the world. Joel talked about some of the issues surrounding climate change (economics, politics, ethics, etc.) and some of the responses and potential responses to the rise in temperature.

This is where I got to thinking about geoengineering. Once considered fringe science, Geoengineering has recently taken a move toward the legitimate, with a 2009 report from the Royal Society and several well-attended conferences. So, after the talk, I asked Joel about whether geoengineering was considered to be an "on the table" option, or if it was still completely outside the realm of possibility (I was particularly interested as he had mentioned military responses several times). And... he didn't know what I was talking about. Boo. Oh well.

The next session was smaller, and everyone had six choices. I, being the good pseudo-business and the environment student that I am, went for "Creating Businesses that are Profitable and Environmentally Sustainable." The speakers were Vojtech Kotechy of Friends of Earth, and Jana Ledvinova of the Resource Alliance. After a fairly general introduction (what is sustainability on a personal level, etc), we had around an hour for questions. I got the first one, and picked up on something that Vojtech had said about FSC. I asked how small and medium sized businesses can be encouraged to pursue the high standards of certifications like ISO, FSC, and LEED, if the costs of pursuing the actual certifications are prohibitive, and how those businesses can be held accountable/recognized for their good work if they can't afford the actual certifications.

Apparently in Central Europe, environmental standards are set by the government, and then certification companies perform verification. More certification companies in the market has driven down the price, but not the standards (as they are government controlled). It wasn't quite what I was looking for in terms of an answer, since many of the largest and most credible certification schemes are multi-national, but it did lead to a group discussion about B-Corps, GRI, and (shout out!) Green Plus. Made me smile. One of the other things that the discussion made me realize was that there really are far fewer options for business leaders who want to be sustainable in Central Europe - it's not being incorporated into MBA programs as it's starting to be in the states, and there aren't many resources built up around that. Very interesting.

After lunch, we had a session on social entrepreneurship. It was pretty good, and the woman leading it - Susie Lawrence - was very charismatic. She didn't really touch on any of the challenges associated with social ventures, but she did have some good case studies. I think that secretly she wanted us all to go out and start our own social ventures tonight. She was just that enthusiastic.

The last thing on the agenda today was the group project meeting (after this conference, there will be $90,000 total and $10,000 per project available for trans-Atlantic projects). I'm in the -wait for it- Developing Environmentally Sustainable and Socially Responsible Businesses group. Pretty predictable, I know. I'll have more to report on that in the next few days, as we're really still in the brainstorming session.

Overall, I'm pretty happy with the conference. Logistically it's a dream, and I've really enjoyed talking to some of the other conference participants about these issues.

Tomorrow (Comment or Email if you have any questions that I can pass along!)

Why Security Matters - James P. Rubin (Atlantic Partnership President)
Threats Influencing the Trans-Atlantic Area - Andor Sandor (Former Chief of Defense Intelligence for the Czech Republic)
Environmental Literacy: Education for Sustainable Development - Jana Dlouha, Charles University, and Blazena Huskova, Foundation Jizerske Hory
Technology, Social Media, and Creative Messaging for Social Change
30 Mosques in 30 Days: An American Ramadan Roadtrip Adventure - Aman Ali and Bassam Tariq

Have a good night everyone! (It's 10:00 here)