Three Leadership Groups Join Forces at 2nd Annual Sustainability Solutions Festival
GreenBiz Group, The Sustainability Consortium and ASU Walton Sustainability Solutions Initiatives hosting series of events in Phoenix
OAKLAND, Calif., September 10, 2014 /3BL Media/– Following the success of the inaugural festival last February, three leading sustainability organizations are bringing their events back together for the 2015 Sustainability Solutions Festival in Phoenix.
The three organizations — GreenBiz Group, The Sustainability Consortium (TSC) and The Walton Sustainability Solutions Initiatives, a unit of the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability at Arizona State University — are pooling their networks, expertise and audiences at the festival, a weeklong series of events held at various locations throughout Phoenix, February 16-22. The festival is anchored by the annual GreenBiz Forum, February 17-19, with more than 600 sustainable business executives attending from around the world.
The Sustainability Solutions Festival, produced by the Walton Initiatives, features a variety of activities and events for audiences of all ages, including a film festival and meetings of The Sustainability Consortium, whose members include businesses, NGOs, academic and civil society organizations working collaboratively to drive sustainable consumer products. The consortium is jointly administered by ASU and the University of Arkansas.
“The Sustainability Solutions Festival provides an opportunity for students, professionals and community members to participate in innovative and inspiring programs that show how to align the interests of business, society and the environment,” said Joel Makower, chairman and executive editor of GreenBiz Group, and host of the GreenBiz Forum. “It is rapidly becoming one of nation’s most important gathering of ideas and talent showing the way to a prosperous, secure and sustainable world.”
“The Sustainability Consortium is based upon collaboration and an understanding that it takes everyone working together to drive change – the business community, NGOs, academic and civic organizations, and individuals,” said Sheila Bonini, chief executive officer of TSC. “In the same way, The Sustainability Solutions Festival brings together many audiences with a shared commitment to the environment, offering programs that are both inspiring and pragmatic.”
The 2014 festival engaged more than 8,400 people across 11 events, all focused on the theme, "It's time to find a better way." This year’s theme, “(re)imagine,” challenges attendees to envision a better future through a deeper understanding of how each person, community and organization can drive change at a global scale.
“As an institution that holds sustainability as a core value, Arizona State University is pleased to welcome esteemed business leaders who are focused on finding solutions that benefit their organizations, their communities and our planet,” said Michael M. Crow, ASU president. “In only its second year, the Sustainability Solutions Festival has distinguished itself as a vital convening that explores transformative social, environmental and economic collaborations and celebrates their impact on our world.”
The seventh annual GreenBiz Forum, the leading gathering of corporate sustainability executives, will take place at the JW Marriott Camelback Inn. The event is framed by GreenBiz Group's “State of Green Business” report, an annual accounting on how, and how well, companies are addressing the world’s biggest environmental challenges. For more information about forum, visit http://grn.bz/GBF2015.
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ABOUT GREENBIZ GROUP
GreenBiz Group’s mission is to define and accelerate the business of sustainability. It does this through a wide range of products and services, including its acclaimed website GreenBiz.com and e-newsletters, GreenBuzz and VERGE; webcasts on topics of importance to sustainability and energy executives; research reports, including the annual State of Green Business; the GreenBiz Executive Network, a membership-based, peer-to-peer learning forum for sustainability executives; and conferences: GreenBiz Forum and VERGE.
ABOUT THE SUSTAINABILITY CONSORTIUM
The Sustainability Consortium® (TSC®) is a global organization operating at the dynamic intersection of science and business to drive consumer product sustainability, with diverse participants working collaboratively to build a scientific foundation that advances innovation. TSC develops transparent methodologies, tools and strategies for a new generation of products and supply networks that address environmental, social and economic imperatives. Based in science and focused on impact, TSC advocates for a credible, scalable and transparent process and system. The Sustainability Consortium is comprised of more than 90 members, including NGOs, civil society and corporations from all corners of business.
The Sustainability Consortium is jointly administered by Arizona State University and the University of Arkansas, with additional operations at Wageningen University in the Netherlands and Nanjing University in China.
ABOUT THE ROB AND MELANI WALTON SUSTAINABILITY SOLUTIONS INITIATIVES
The Rob and Melani Walton Sustainability Solutions Initiatives are the result of an investment in Arizona State University’s Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability by the Walton Family Foundation. Within the Walton Sustainability Solutions Initiatives, diverse teams of faculty, students, entrepreneurs, researchers, and innovators collaborate to deliver sustainability solutions throughout the globe, provide education opportunities for future and current sustainability leaders, and engage audiences of all ages to take action and celebrate sustainability solutions. For more information visit http://www.sustainabilitysolutions.asu.edu.
ABOUT ASU JULIE ANN WRIGLEY GLOBAL INSTITUTE OF SUSTAINABILITY
The Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability is the hub of Arizona State University’s sustainability initiatives. The Institute advances research, education, and business practices for an urbanizing world. Its School of Sustainability, the first of its kind in the U.S., offers transdisciplinary degree programs to create practical solutions for environmental, economic, and social challenges. For more information, visit http://www.sustainability.asu.edu.
