This year, Burning Man hosted one of the gurus of Green Business, Joel Makower to speak about his area of expertise: sustainable business, clean technology and a green marketplace. Burning Man is no capitalist haunt, so it is extraordinary to have this guy in the mix! But the theme this year at the festival in the desert was “Green Man” with the following explanation from organizers:
Pretending that environmental problems don’t exist, or just running away from them, won’t solve them, but we think turning potential solutions into mind-blowing art has a chance to make an impact. . . . This theme also provides us the opportunity to bring these issues into the limelight, making them a part of our community’s ongoing dialog, and fostering environmental awareness in our day-to-day thinking, decisions and actions.
In a later post, Joel outlines some of the corporate events taking place in the near future to discuss how businesses are going green, staying green and finding ways to keep their business from losing money in the process. Here’s the overview:
- Sustainable Life Media is hosting Sustainable Brands ‘07 in New Orleans, Sept. 26-28, the maiden event for this new company. Billed as an opportunity to “learn from the leaders,” it features presentations from Aveda, BP, GE, Wal-mart, and others. “We’re in the middle of a perfect storm of forces that has caused today’s interest in green to catch fire with a much broader audience than in the past,” SLM president KoAnn Skrzyniarz told me recently. “Among other things, we are a more aware and empowered population this time around thanks to the Internet. When you see ‘tree huggers’ on the one hand, and the evangelical community on the other, unite on a topic such as the environment, there’s no turning back.”
- On October 3, PRWeek is hosting Target Green: Collaborating for Change, in Washington, D.C. The one-day conference “features speakers from corporations, government agencies, NGOs, and the media, discussing how various stakeholders are driving a holistic approach to a green future,” according to the organizers. Presenters include representatives from Canon, Clear Channel, General Motors, and Procter & Gamble, among others.
- London will be the venue for a Green Marketing Forum on November 28-30. That event features “14 incisive case studies,” offering insight “from early adopters [about] what works and what doesn’t.” Featured companies include Barclaycard, BMW, Intel, Marks & Spencer, Philips Lighting, and Virgin Trains.
- Last but not least, Good and Green, to be held in Chicago on November 29-30, presented by PME Enterprises, a veteran of marketing and branding events for the Madison Avenue crowd. “I would like to believe that most big advertising agencies are ahead of the curve on marketplace trends and on what will impact their client’s brands and best interests,” says PME president Nan McCann. “I would like to believe they eagerly seek to become educated before these topics become mainstream so their clients are prepared to maximize opportunities in the marketplace. But that just hasn’t been my experience. It is their clients, the brands, who lead the way. When it comes to green, once again brands are driving Madison Avenue to catch up and get informed.”
Anyone out there participating in these conferences? Any strides being made in the A/V and production areas of the events? We look forward to hearing results from these sessions and what’s next for marketing and events in the green arena!
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