BSR18: A New Blueprint for Business

By Aron Cramer, President and CEO, BSR

The world is changing at a rapid pace.

The business agenda is changing, and the sustainability agenda needs to change with it. At the BSR Conference 2018 in New York City November 6-8, we will be presenting “A New Blueprint for Business,” defining a path that enables business to thrive in societies that prosper.

With you, we hope to design a vision of 21st-century prosperity. Over the next several months, we will continue to work with our member companies and many other partners to shape this new agenda.  At the Conference, we will share this thinking, inspire debate, and present leaders who are redefining what it takes to build a truly sustainable business that is resilient in the context of profound change.

Join us in New York to explore what this new agenda means for your company and your role. Issues that have long been part of the remit of sustainability professionals are changing and becoming more and more central to business strategy.

Since the last BSR Conference in Huntington Beach, we have seen new concerns over privacy, sexual harassment, and human rights make headlines and rock business models. This year’s Conference will illuminate the ways that familiar issues are taking on new importance and presenting new questions.  We will also explore solutions to emerging issues, like the future of work and climate resilience, that will come to define sustainability leadership in the years to come. BSR18 will present new approaches that are redefining the way sustainability is practiced inside companies—whether through the sustainability team or, as is increasingly the case, by other functions and business leaders.

We will also immerse ourselves in new ways of doing business. Business models are changing fast, and financial and reporting models are in the midst of what may be transformative change. Sustainability features more and more in product innovation, and new companies are emerging each week with sustainability at their core. And, of course, new technologies and communication tools are radically reshaping the ways companies can understand and engage with their ever-shifting array of stakeholders.

And we will help you answer the profoundly important question of what exactly business’s role is in a time of transformational change. What should the business voice be when issues surrounding race, gender, migration, and refugees roil the communities around us? What is the role of the CEO in expressing her voice on topics like climate change? How can business appropriately influence policy frameworks to ensure that the social contract adapts to 21st-century realities?

No business can stand aside while these crucial questions are being debated. We will identify ways that companies can make sense of this environment, contribute to prosperous and fair societies, and make their employees proud.

We are excited to be preparing an event that will show how the sustainability agenda is changing and adapting to our new reality. What’s more, we will present ideas about how you and your company can stay ahead of a shifting universe.

The values held by the sustainability community—respect for all people, stewardship of natural resources, and transparency—have never been more important. And in a changing environment, values are more essential than ever. By applying these core principles to a new reality, we will chart a course for business at BSR18 that enables forward-looking leadership.

Originally appeared on BSR