Second Annual Green Venture Conference Scheduled for May

The second annual Green Venture Conference, “Jumpstarting the New Green Economy,” will be held from Tuesday to Thursday, May 19 to 21, at the College at Florham.

The two-and-a-half-day conference is packed with information on green entrepreneurship, innovation, corporate sustainability, financing green ventures, government programs and policies, the current state of green business, green building, renewable energy and green-collar jobs. The group sessions, panels and workshops will address today’s most pressing topics related to sustainable business and the economy such as green-business certification, scaling-up clean energy, sustainable communities, selling green, sustainable chemistry, sustainable local food systems, greening the health care industry and many others.

The conference features three keynote speakers. Bob Willard, faculty member, Sustainable Enterprise Academy and Sustainability Education Academy, Schulich School of Business, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and author of The Sustainable Advantage, will speak about “The Business Case for Sustainability” at 7 p.m. on May 19 in Dreyfuss Theater, Dreyfuss Building. Miriam Hawley, chief executive officer of Enlightenment® Inc., will talk about “Enough Already! A Sufficiency Dialogue for Creating a Sustainable World” at 9:30 a.m. on May 20 in Dreyfuss Theater, Dreyfuss Building. Upendra Chivukula, deputy speaker of the New Jersey Legislative Assembly, will discuss “Legislative Initiatives” at 12:30 p.m. on May 21 in the Gym, Ferguson Recreation Center.

There will be action-learning workshops as well as a Green Jobs Fair and an Entrepreneurial Opportunities Fair (http://inside.fdu.edu/prpt/jumpgreen.html), a Green Expo and an awards dinner. College at Florham faculty and staff who will serve as panelists or lead workshops include James Barrood, executive director, Rothman Institute of Entrepreneurial Studies; Ethné Swartz, entrepreneurship and chair, marketing/entrepreneurship; Jonathan Cloud, entrepreneur-in-residence, Sustainable Business Incubator; and Jeana Wirtenberg, director of external relations/services, Institute for Sustainable Enterprise.

Hosted by the Silberman College of Business’ Sustainable Business Incubator in association with New Jersey Institute of Technology and the Morris County Chapter of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), the conference aims to assess and support the transition to a sustainable economy. The intent is to launch new companies that will help to grow an economy that is socially, environmentally and economically sustainable.

The conference will begin at 5 p.m. on May 19 with registration, the Green Expo featuring exhibitors and a networking reception.

Visit the conference Web site for the full schedule or to register: http://www.greenventuresconference.org .

For full conference access, the cost is $295 in advance or $325 at the door. Significant discounts are available for students and those with government, academic or nonprofit credentials. For complete rates, visit the site’s registration page.