The B4E Business for the Environment Summit (commonly abbreviated as B4E or B4E Summit) is the leading international platform for dialogue and partnership solutions for the environment. The B4E summits bring together world leaders, CEOs, senior executives and industry experts to share ideas and solutions for the most urgent environmental challenges facing the world today.
The acceleration and delivery of such transformative solutions will require a higher level of collaboration between business, government and NGOs than ever seen before. B4E aims to facilitate such collaboration through networking, informed discussion and the creation of innovative partnerships for change.
Issues addressed at the summits include energy, natural resource security, climate change, water management and biodiversity conservation, among others. Since its inception in 2007, B4E has provided leaders from around the world a unique opportunity to shape game-changing solutions and influence the global agenda, leading toward a greener, more sustainable future.
Past speakers at previous Summits include international luminaries like Ban Ki-moon, Al Gore, Helen Clark and Goran Persson, the current Presidents of South Korea, Indonesia and Guyana, business leaders such as Nam Yong, Ben Verwaayen, Jochen Zeitz, Sir Richard Branson, Barbara Kux and renowned experts like David Suzuki, Janine Benyus and Amory Lovins representing civil society. The Summits also involve international NGOs and agencies like WWF, Greenpeace, the Rocky Mountain Institute, the World Food Programme and UNDP in its inclusive dialogues.
Official outcome declarations from the Summit discussions reflect commitments from stakeholders on the need to embrace innovative solutions for environmental issues and are used to provide input to the UN Climate Change Conferences and Rio+.
Contents |
Past B4E Summits were convened for the last five years in Singapore, Paris, Copenhagen during the COP 15, Seoul, Mexico City, Cancún during the COP 16 and Jakarta in partnership with the United Nations, WWF, Global Initiatives and host Governments where the summits took place.
The first and second B4E Summits were held in Singapore. The guest of honour at the event was Singapore’s then-Minister for National Development, Mah Bow Tan, and distinguished speakers included Achim Steiner, Georg Kell, David Suzuki, H.E. Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, Adam Werbach and Zhang Yue.[1]
Titled “The Green Imperative: Leadership, Innovation and Technology”, B4E Global Summit 2009 took place in Paris, France. Notable speakers at the 2009 summit included Joseph Alcamo[2] , Pavan Sukdev and H.R.H Prince El Hassan bin Talal, as well as repeated appearances by Achim Steiner and Georg Kell.
The B4E Global Summit returned to the Asian continent in 2010, and was held in Seoul, Republic of Korea. With addresses and presentations from Lee Myung-bak, Al Gore, Ban Ki-moon, James Leape and numerous other dignitaries, international attention from the media, policy makers and industry was drawn to the event.[3][4]
The Climate Summit at Cancún saw a greater and growing partnership between the Summit and international organisations such as WWF and various UN agencies.[5] The outcome statements were favourably viewed upon by industry and non-governmental observers as a feasible avenue for business, government and civil society to gather and discuss business-led targets and solutions for climate change.[6][7]
Recently concluded in Jakarta, Indonesia, the Global Summit in 2011 took ownership of its location in Jakarta to shift focus to forestry and agriculture, in conjunction with the UN International Year of Forests. A steering committee of business, governmental and civil representatives was formed and gathered first in January to engineer focused discussion panels for the actual Summit in April. The Jakarta Summit included notable speakers such as Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono[8] , Helen Clark[9] and Andrew Steer.
The summit once again featured a recurring Youth Dialogue component to encourage students to engage in local environmental projects, with a separate workshop conducted by National Geographic wildlife presenter Hayden Turner.[10]
The upcoming B4E Climate Summit 2011 will be held in London, UK this September. This time around, the Summit has been themed “Reaching for Zero: Strategies and innovations towards a zero environmental footprint”, and thought leaders from industry, government and NGOs will assemble to share their innovations and solutions for achieving zero-based targets. Discussions are expected to focus on the bold new technologies and transformative business models that leading companies have already established, as well as the necessary support and infrastructure needed to accelerate and achieve the vision of a zero footprint future. The outcome of the Summit discussions will provide valuable input to COP 17, Rio+ and other global processes.
The B4E Summits are convened by Global Initiatives headquartered in Singapore. Global Initiatives promotes partnership solutions to global challenges through film, international events and media projects. By sharing knowledge and best practices, and calling on all stakeholders to take action, they address some of the greatest challenges facing the world. Their initiatives are about partnership, inspiration and creating a better future.
Responsible Business is a television series produced by Global Initiatives and showcases leading global corporations that, in partnership with government, NGOs and other international organizations, are developing business-driven solutions to some of the greatest challenges facing our world today. The series has been broadcast on CNBC networks.[11]