SAN FRANCISCO - Representatives from leading global companies working in the field of corporate social responsibility (CSR) will assemble November 1-4, in San Francisco, California. They will discuss the role and contributions of business when it comes to issues ranging from corporate governance to environmental supply chain management.

Company representatives, who will be also be joined by governmental and civil society participants, may now all register to attend this year's Business for Social Responsibility (BSR) Conference on-line at: www.bsr.org/conference.

For more than a decade, every BSR conference has been about taking stock and moving ahead. This year, CSR has reached a strategic inflection point. With that in mind, the BSR 2005 Annual Conference will focus its attention on content that will revisit some of the assumptions underpinning general trends and practices in CSR. We think that the time is right to reconsider some of the standard approaches and activities that have developed over the past ten years.

By asking the community that assembles at the Conference this year to consider whether it is doing the right things, for the right reasons, and in the right ways, we hope to spark new thinking about core assumptions and the activities that flow from them. We know that this will help those at the Conference both to strengthen the impact of their efforts and to strengthen the case for it inside companies, among investors, and with external stakeholders.

Questioning assumptions is important, but not without proven methods to assess results. To that end, the theme also focuses attention on changing frameworks - in companies, in stakeholder institutions, and across a variety of relationships. In addition, there is a need to move from a model that relies on best practices, to one that maximizes the impact and scalability of solutions inside supportive frameworks, be that inside a single company, through partnerships with others, or in the broader societal framework.
This year's Conference promises to build upon last year's tremendous success that garnered much interest and was featured on PBS's 'The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer.' The event will host over 1,000 of the world's leading CSR experts and practitioners from more than 30 different countries. The three-day event offers a unique opportunity to network, explore and share innovative strategies and practical methods for integrating CSR into a company's operations and management systems in ways that help identify and manage risks - and do so in meaningful and rewarding ways.
With on-line registration for the BSR Annual Conference now open, early registrants will receive a discounted fee through July 23, 2005. Additional discounts are available to BSR members.
For up-to-date details on sessions, agenda and speakers, and to register online, visit the BSR Annual Conference website at www.bsr.org/conference.

About BSR

Founded in 1992, Business for Social Responsibility provides advisory and information services to its member companies, the broader global business community and other key CSR stakeholders. For more information, visit www.bsr.org.

BSR

BSR

Since 1992, Business for Social Responsibility (BSR) has been providing socially responsible business solutions to many of the world's leading corporations. Headquartered in San Francisco, with offices in Europe and China, BSR is a nonprofit business association that serves its 250 member companies and other Global 1000 enterprises. Through advisory services, convenings and research, BSR works with corporations and concerned stakeholders of all types to create a more just and sustainable global economy. For more information, visit www.bsr.org.

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