SAN FRANCISCO "“ (June 1, 2007) "“ The Cal State East Bay Small Business Development Center (SBDC), in partnership with the U.S. Small Business Administration, presents the Economic Summit 2007. The first of four sessions of the Summit will take place on Monday, June 11, from 12:30pm "“ 8:00pm at the de Young Museum in San Francisco. The session, entitled "Entrepreneurship and Sustainability" will focus on how organizations can improve competitive positioning, reduce costs, and increase profits while becoming more environmentally and socially responsible.

Presenters include Gavin Power, UN Global Compact; Bob Adams, IDEO; Dennis Boyle, IDEO, Kellie McElhaney, Center for Responsible Business (Haas School of Business); and Dave Stangis, Intel.
"Small businesses are leading the charge in the transition to environmentally and socially responsible business models across the U.S.," says Raj George, Director, Cal State East Bay SBDC. "We hope that through our session businesses, both small and large, will come away with new strategies for implementing sustainable practices and revenue growth."

The following three sessions scheduled for fall 2007 in Bay Area and Silicon Valley locations are entitled "Accessing Capital," "Contracting Opportunities," and "Technology and Innovation". Each meeting will include keynote presentations and breakout sessions hosted by panel members relevant to the meeting theme.

The Summit is supported by such luminaries as Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, U. S. Senator Dianne Feinstein, U. S. Senator Barbara Boxer, and unites over 1500 attendees including business leaders, entrepreneurs, and representatives from the media, academic community, and government agencies.

"The Cal State East Bay SBDC's focus is to develop and employ programs and services that support small business growth and sustainable economic development," said George. "Economic Summit 2007 brings together a rich roster of dynamic companies and leaders in a series of workshops and interactive panel discussions that focus on key global, regional, and industry issues."

For up to date information on Economic Summit 2007, please visit www.economicsummit2007.org.

About Economic Summit 2007

Economic Summit 2007, presented by the Cal State East Bay Small Business Development Center (SBDC), brings together a new and exciting generation of companies and leaders who are changing the global economic landscape. Over the course of four Sessions throughout the year, 1500 attendees take part in workshops and interactive panel discussions that focus on critical global, regional and industry issues. Summit participants include business leaders, entrepreneurs, government representatives, media, and the academic community. Economic Summit 2007 is presented in partnership with the United Nations Global Compact, IDEO, Citibank, Pacific Gas & Electric Company, Microsoft Corporation, and Fast Company Magazine. www.economicsummit2007.org

About Cal State East Bay Small Business Development Center

The Cal State East Bay Small Business Development Center (SBDC), a new partnership between California State University, East Bay, the Northern California SBDC Regional Network and the U. S. Small Business Administration, offers classes, consulting services and business planning resources for entrepreneurs and small business owners. The Cal State East Bay SBDC is focused on developing and implementing programs and services that support innovation, entrepreneurship, sustainability, growth, and social impact.

The Cal State East Bay Small Business Development Center (SBDC) has worked with over 720 clients to-date, resulting in an economic impact of at least $23,199,689 in increased sales, $14,121,689 in contracts awarded, $3,438,000 in financing secured, 23 new businesses started, and 237 new jobs created. www.eastbaysbdc.org

About the United Nations Global Compact

Launched in 2000, the UN Global Compact brings business together with UN agencies, labor, civil society and governments to advance ten universal principles in the areas of human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption. Through the power of collective action, the Global Compact seeks to mainstream these ten principles in business activities around the world and to catalyze actions in support of broader UN goals. With over 3000 participating companies and hundreds of other stakeholders from more than 100 countries, it is the world’s largest voluntary corporate citizenship initiative. www.unglobalcompact.org.

United Nations Global Compact

United Nations Global Compact

As the world's largest corporate sustainability initiative, the United Nations Global Compact is a call to companies everywhere to align their operations and strategies with Ten Principles in the areas of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption. Our ambition is to accelerate and scale the global collective impact of business by upholding the Ten Principles and delivering the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through accountable companies and ecosystems that enable change. With the UN Global Compact, committed companies achieve sustainable value by delivering measurable impact to the world’s most pressing challenges. 

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