“Growing the Next Generation of Green Ventures,” a one-day conference and expo for emerging green businesses, will be held on Friday, May 2, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Lenfell Hall and Hartman Lounge, Hennessy Hall (Mansion), College at Florham. This will be followed by a Networking Reception and Green Enterprise Showcase in the Orangerie, College at Florham Library.

The Sustainable Business Incubator at FDU’s Institute for Sustainable Enterprise (ISE) and the Rothman Institute of Entrepreneurial Studies, in association with New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance (NCIIA) and other organizations, are hosting the conference, which focuses on the opportunities and challenges of sustainable business and technology entrepreneurship.

Adam Zellner, policy director for Gov. Jon Corzine, and formerly deputy commissioner for policy and legislative affairs for the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), executive director of the New Jersey Highlands Council and executive director of the New Jersey Office of Smart Growth, will provide the luncheon address, “New Jersey’s Response to Global Warming and the Emerging Green Technology Revolution.” Govi Rao, chairman and chief executive officer of Lighting Science Group Corp., and formerly vice president and general manager of the Philips Solid State Lighting business in North America, will give the closing keynote speech, “Making Money and Saving the World.”

A full day of panels and round-table discussions will cover business opportunities in renewable energy, clean-water technology, biofuels, alternative transportation, green-building and construction technologies, waste management, industrial transformation, sustainable and urban agriculture, carbon sequestration, green investing and sustainability education. Additional topics may be added, based on registration interest.

The workshops will cover business-plan development, sales and marketing, strategic alliances, angel funding, venture-capital financing, bank financing, the Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer Research (SBIR/SBTTR) Programs and other government funding.

The format of the conference allows a broad network of entrepreneurs, venture investors and professionals to engage with students and faculty from a number of colleges and universities.

“We know that we face enormous challenges in New Jersey, as in the rest of the world, and that it is up to us to show leadership in business, in state policy and in the transformation of our economy and our communities in order to achieve a sustainable future,” said conference organizer Jonathan Cloud, ISE entrepreneur-in-residence and director, Sustainable Business Incubator (Flor). This process, as PSEG President Ralph Izzo describes it, requires an “all-hands-on-deck” approach.

“Each company, industry, municipality and individual has a role to play in altering what is clearly an unsustainable course for the planet,” Cloud said.

Conference fees include continental breakfast, lunch, conference materials and attendance at a reception following the event. Pricing is as follows: students $15; faculty $25; nonprofit attendees $35; and general public $75. Visit the conference agenda and registration site at http://www.invention2venture.org/greenventures08 .

To participate and for sponsorship opportunities, including exhibitor space, call 908-306-9075 or e-mail jcloud@fdu.edu. Cost for exhibitors and sponsors is as follows: exhibitors $150 (includes table and two attendees); corporate sponsors $250–$2,500 (includes table, two to six attendees, banners and advertisements).

April/May 2008

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Flor =
College at Florham, Madison, N.J.

Metro =
Metropolitan Campus, Teaneck, N.J.

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