On May 19-21, 2009, Fairleigh Dickinson University, Madison, New Jersey, will be the host for the conference, Jumpstart the New Green Economy. If you haven’t registered, it is not too late. The cost to attend these 3 days is a mere $295 (until May 18) and $325 at the door with discounts being given for students, academia and non-profits. In addition, there are options for partaking in just a few of the days if you can spare the time for the entire conference. (The register button is at the bottom of the column to the right on the home page.) For a complete list of the program events, see here.
Simply looking for a green job or green products? The Green Job Fair and Expo are free to the public.
This is the second conference of the Sustainable Business Incubator. Last year’s conference, Growing the Next Generation of Green Ventures, had over 200 people attend. I met some very interesting people at the conference who I still network with today.
Personally, I think this Conference should be billed as the best business value in town. Want to know why? Keeping reading about all this Conference has to offer. Realize I am only highlighting key components of the Conference. Think five course meal at a 5 star restaurant with a huge buffet of desserts.
Just because you don’t live in the tri-state area, doesn’t mean you can’t participate in the Conference. All panels discussions are being taped and will be uploaded to the site after the Conference.
Green Expo
On Tuesday, the Conference will have a Green Expo with 65 exhibitors which is free to the public. Thinking of taking your business green? Want to learn more who is green in the Garden State? Come visit the Expo for a myriad of different exhibitors. The Expo is open from 6-8pm.
Keynote Speakers
Tuesday night, Bill Willard, Author and Business Sustainability Champion, will present “the Business Case of Sustainability” from Toronto, and on Wednesday morning, Miriam Hawley, CEO of Enlignment®, Inc., a business coaching and consulting company, will be presenting “Opening a Sufficiency Conversation: The Foundation for Sustainability.” Thursday morning, David Grant, President and CEO of the Dodge Foundation, will present “Beyond the Current Economic Growth Paradigm – Expanding Sustainable Prosperity.”
Panel Discussions
The meat of the conference is on Wednesday and Thursday, where there will be panel discussions on different sustainable business and community topics. There are numerous discussions. Listed below is small smattering of the discussions:
- Green Jobs. Where are they?
- Green Media
- Green Chemistry
- Sustainable Communities
- Sustainable Local Food Systems
- Business Case for Going Green
- Selling Green
- Electrifying the Transportation System
- Optimizing Performance in Existing Green Buildings
- Small Business: How to be Green and Stay Alive
- Socially Responsible Investing
On Wednesday, panel discussions starting at 10 am and 2 pm. On Thursday, they are offered at 10 am. I wish I could be in three different places at once since there are so many panel discussions that I would like to cover for Green Talk as well as for my own green growth. Panels discussions are lead by experts in their own field coupled with panelists that have lived and breathed being green in their particular field. For more information about the panelists, see their biographies on the website.
The beauty of these discussion is attendees of the conference will be able to be active participants in all the discussions. Just think. Not only will you be hearing form the experts, you can ask questions and be an integral part of the discussions.
On Thursday afternoon, you are in for a treat. Starting at 2pm, the following Action-Learning Workshops are being conducted :
- Transition New Jersey
- Neighborhood Green Incubators
- Transitioning to Green™ Careers
- GreenTech Angel Network
- Sustainable Leadership Forum
- Community Clean Energy Aggregation
- Creating New Business Models and Enterprises
- Enough Already! A Sufficiency Dialogue for Creating a Sustainable World
- All The Trained Workers You Need: What Service-Learning Can Provide NJ’s Green Businesses and Industries
Some of the leaders of the workshops I know personally and can tell you are definitely in for a learning experience.
Invention2Venture
This Conference has something for everyone. On Wednesday, there is the Invention2Venture conference, which is geared towards young and student entrepreneurs. Learn about financing green ventures and green intellectual property. Also, you can attend a lunch panel on green ventures from green business entrepreneurs.
Green Jobseekers
Looking to change your job to a new greener future? Attend the Green Jobseekers Networking and Entrepreneurial Opportunities Fair on Thursday between 5:45 and 8pm. It is a free public event.
Audio of Panel Discussions
For those of you who can not attend, all panels discussions will be taped so that you can hear the conference in the comfort of your own home. A few days after the conference, the audio will be uploaded to the website. I urge you to go if you can because the networking opportunities will be outstanding.
I complained to Jonathan a couple of weeks ago that I could not spare 3 days for a conference. I am so expo’ed out with over 35 podcasts waiting to get published and piles of products to review. To be honest, I could not understand why any conference should be that long. Jonathan, in his usual patient, calm self, replied most people asked if the conference could be longer.
After reviewing the extensive list of the panel discussions, workshops, expos, and networking oppurtunities, I feel a little sheepish to say the least. I too wish this conference could be longer. Jumpstart the New Green Economy is absolutely the best place to be this week if you wish to become more sustainable or take your business or community to the next level. Green is the Garden State at our very own Fairleigh Dickinson. Hope to see you there.
Similar Posts:
- April’s NYC Go Green Expo is the Place to Be.
- Advancing Diversity in the New Green Energy Economy: How to take advantage of the green gold rush in California
- Ford Spotlights Future Societal Changes at Go Further Conference
- Urban Sustainable Cities: The Challenges and Priorities
- Conservation in Education. GP Hosted Panel Discusses How Biz Help
[…] Consumer Perspective. Side note, I actually met one of the authors of this publication at the Jumpstart the new Green Economy conference. A must read for anyone trying to get a foot hold into the green market […]