The Greening of Industry Network | GIN2005-1 Conference April 2005

Critical Issues in Sustainable Development
Agenda for Research and Action

An International Conference of the Greening of Industry Network
April 28-29, 2005
University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands

This year the Greening of Industry Network will host a series of conferences, convening the Network at different times and places throughout 2005. The first of the Series, GIN2005-1, will be held April 28-29, 2005 at the home of GIN-Europe, CSTM at the University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands.

Go to GIN2005-1 Conference Summary Report

Conference Theme
Over the past decade sustainable development has been a central element in many conferences, books, Ph.D. theses, public policies, and corporate strategies. Yet, the question is, What has it brought us? Do we now understand what changes are necessary to realize sustainable development? Are we any closer to realizing these changes or developing strategies for them? Which actors, partnerships, and strategies are the most successful, and why? Or are the only tangible results new jobs for researchers and consultants? Time to take stock.

Crucial questions that need to be addressed include:

To what extent has business changed its practices around the world? Has CSR become common practice or merely a buzzword? How do we detect and measure that?
To what extent have governments been able to incorporate the concept of sustainable development into their policies? Are they driving business toward more sustainable strategies?
Have NGOs become partners in crime? Can they combine dialogue with protest and action without losing their credibility and independence?
Have the different actors built the competencies needed for their changing roles?

This conference will contribute to the design of an international survey and research project on sustainability trends, assessment, and needs that we plan to conduct later this year. One goal of this conference is developing a clear understanding of the current state of the debate on sustainable development and the issues that need to be addressed in the survey project.

You are invited to submit brief proposals of 200-300 words regarding your contribution to the debate. Proposals are optional. Contributions to the conference series will be considered for GIN publications, e.g., a special issue of the Wiley journal Business Strategy and the Environment.

Program: see Draft Program
The conference starts on Thursday afternoon, April 28, with an open meeting to set the challenge, followed by a reception. On Friday, April 29, there will be a plenary challenge panel and breakout sessions. Rather than having formal paper presentations, the dominant mode of the GIN2005-1 conference will be dialogue. Oral presentations must be kept very brief, with one or two transparencies, if any at all, sticking to the main points of results and questions that will contribute to a discussion of the central issues and plans for next steps. Aim to get the session participants focusing on you and what you are saying, not looking at text on a screen. Make a brief presentation to provoke discussion and create some results out of your session.

We will take stock of the results of working on sustainable development for over a decade. We have asked our presenters to focus on two questions based on their experience:
1. What is the main message that comes out of your work with regard to sustainable development, and what elements of sustainable development do we now understand better or more fully?
2. What is the main challenge that you see? Based on your experience, what is a critical element of sustainable development that is still poorly developed or understood?

We will focus on what the findings mean for the GIN Sustainability Survey research project that we are constructing based on the conference. Presentations will be brief, with 10 minutes maximum per person, as we aim for dialogue. Once again this year, with thanks to G Winter, we offer these Dialogue Guidelines. Further program information will be posted regularly: Program.

April 30 is a national holiday in the Netherlands, Queen's Day. We encourage you to join the many festivities that day. A national holiday that began in 1948 to honor the birth of the late Queen Mother Juliana (the current queen, Beatrix, was born in January but kindly kept her mother's warmer birth date), this year will coincide with Beatrix's silver jubilee celebration.

Location -- Travel & Hotel -- Please see April 20 updates!
The conference will be held at the home of GIN-Europe, CSTM at the University of Twente, in Enschede. CSTM, the Centrum voor Schone Technologie en Milieubeleid www.utwente.nl/cstm/, was established in 1988 to conduct environmental research. Its mandate mirrors the entrepreneurial goals of the University of Twente: to conduct and apply innovative research for the benefit of society. CSTM specializes in governance, emphasizing sustainable development, environmental quality, and technological innovation. The University of Twente is two hours by direct train from Schiphol Airport (Amsterdam). A block of rooms at a convenient hotel has been set aside for conference delegates. Travel & Hotel. Please see April 20 updates!

Registration
Please register in advance. Space at the GIN2005-1 conference is limited, and GIN Members have priority.

Note that you may register for the conference and JOIN GIN! in one step in order to obtain the member rate. Registration costs:

Current GIN Members: 95 Euro
Non-members: 145 Euro

Best value: Package price for the conference and GIN Membership together:

Professional from OECD country: 190 Euro
Professional from non-OECD country: 165 Euro
Full time student, OECD: 165 Euro
Full time student, non-OECD: 145 Euro [Currency conversion]

The conference registration fee includes coffee/beverages during the conference, the reception on Thursday, and lunch on Friday. Participants are responsible for their own costs of travel and accommodations, which are not included in the registration fee.

GIN Membership runs for 12 months and includes access to GIN conference proceedings, reduced rates and priority notice for GIN events, and a subscription to the journal Business Strategy and the Environment (Wiley) for the current year.

CLICK HERE for Registration Instructions.

Payments may be made by credit card in advance or at the door. After you register, we will email you a form to use for credit card payments. Please register in advance by emailing your completed registration form to us.

Proposals
Send your proposal (optional) of 200-300 words by email attachment by April 8. Please include "GIN2005-1 Proposal" in the subject line of your message. If submitting a proposal, you must also send us a completed registration form.

The conference chair is Theo de Bruijn, GIN-Europe Coordinator, University of Twente.

Since 1991
The GIN conferences, 22 events in 12 countries around the world since 1991, comprise a unique experience and record of bringing people and the issues together for a big perspective on sustainable development, forging productive connections among research, policy, and practice.

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Critical Issues in Sustainable Development
Agenda for Research and Action

An International Conference of the Greening of Industry Network
April 28-29, 2005
University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands

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