CSR Event

NAEM's 2013 Corporate Sustainability Management Conference

Today NAEM announced the preliminary agenda for its upcoming Corporate Sustainability Management conference in Arlington, Va. on April 17-18.

The annual symposium for environment, health and safety (EHS) and sustainability leaders will feature a keynote presentation by Patrick Doherty of the New America Foundation, and peer-led sessions on integrating the concepts of sustainability into business management systems.

“Our members are responsible for taking sustainability from aspiration to operation,” said NAEM Executive Director Carol Singer Neuvelt. “This event is the best opportunity for corporate EHS and sustainability leaders to hear how their peers are tackling these challenges and to benefit from the lessons they are learning along the way.”

The conference will also include an emphasis on external reporting, through a pre-conference dialogue with the Global Initiative for Sustainability Ratings (GISR) on April 17. Attendees will receive an update on GISR’s work to create a set of standards for sustainability ratings agencies, and the opportunity to provide feedback to those who are shaping these guidelines.

“The GISR is emerging as an influential voice in the conversation about the role and value of environment, social and governance ratings,” Ms. Neuvelt said. “We hope all conference attendees will view this meeting as a chance to help improve the external reporting process going forward.”

NAEM’s preliminary agenda includes the following sessions:

• Keynote Presentation: Patrick Doherty, Director of the Smart Strategy Initiative at the New America Foundation, will talk about the role of corporations in driving the United States’ sustainability leadership.
  
  
• Benchmarking Different Approaches to Corporate Sustainability Management: A staple of NAEM’s sustainability management conference, this session will provide attendees with an opportunity to benchmark different approaches to sustainability management. Sustainability leaders from three unique corporate structures will discuss the benefits, challenges and opportunities of these different models.

• Using Materiality Assessments to Focus Your Sustainability Priorities: Materiality is increasingly being used by companies to focus in on their most critical sustainability issues. This session will offer attendees insights into how to use a materiality assessment to ensure their sustainability efforts align with their greater corporate goals and priorities.

• Leveraging Developments in Green Chemistry to Improve Your Brand and Drive Business Value: Companies are challenged to remove toxics and all materials of concern from their products and supply chains. Recent development in green chemistry offer new ways to meet this challenge. Learn about the latest developments in green chemistry and how they can position companies for better supply chain transparency.

• Breakout Discussions: Topics for these interactive discussions will include:
• Next generation sustainability goal setting: Where to go after you reached the first summit?
• Developing a strategy to manage Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) requests for sustainability data
• Taking your sustainability reporting to the next level