CSR Press Release

SAN FRANCISCO September 19, 2002 – The Business for Social Responsibility (BSR) Annual Conference, to be held November 5-8 in Miami, Florida, promises to facilitate socially responsible business collaboration and highlight environmentally sustainable business practices through discussion and by example.

In preparation for this year’s conference, which is expected to draw more than 1,000 business leaders from around the world, BSR is working on a Green Meeting initiative with sponsors, vendors and participants to conserve energy and resources and offset the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with conference activity.

“We want to demonstrate to Conference participants how to stage a meeting in a way that minimizes environmental harm,” said Robert F. Dunn, CEO, Business for Social Responsibility. “We also hope throughout the Conference to help participants better understand how they can protect the environment and enhance profits by making good decisions about design, production, energy consumption, transportation, building facilities, packaging and recycling.”

This year’s Green Meeting measures include:
» Offsetting transportation and facility-use impacts on the environment by investing in activities that will eliminate an equal or greater amount of carbon emissions through the Better World Club’s “Climate Cool” program.
» Adopting environment-friendly conference planning techniques, such as purchasing recycled post-consumer waste materials and using e-mail correspondence instead of paper mailings whenever possible.
» Ensuring that services and products used at the hotel – from bed sheets to dinnerware – are integrated into recycle or reuse programs.

Environmental sustainability is also an important topic of the conference, alongside accountability and governance, community investment, human rights, and other issues in CSR. Specific sessions focusing on the environment this year include:
» Return on Environmental Responsibility
» Conservation and Commerce: New Business Models for Preserving Biodiversity
» Paths to Sustainable Product Transportation
» Product Stewardship for Hi-Tech Waste
» Two Keys to Climate Change: Corporate Strategy and Commitment
» Post-Johannesburg: Just and Sustainable?

For more information on creating a sustainable conference, visit www.bsr.org/greenmeeting. For more information about the 2002 Annual Conference, visit www.bsr.org/conference or contact Michael Schilling at 415.537.0890 x178 or mschilling@bsr.org.

About BSR
Business for Social Responsibility (BSR) is a global organization that helps member companies achieve commercial success in ways that respect ethical values, people, communities and the environment. For more information, visit www.bsr.org.

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