Going Green: What’s in it for you?
Experiences of leading Bay Area companies

Thursday October 9th, 2008

5:30 - 8:00 pm: Networking, Panel discussion and Q/A
8:00 - 8:30 pm: Additional networking

The Americania Hotel - 121 7th St, San Francisco
Get directions
 

Long term business performance, stronger brand and enhanced reputation, new market opportunities, increased talent attraction and retention, enabled cost savings, improved compliance, better risk management: a growing number of large & small businesses show leadership by integrating Going Green and Sustainability at the core of their operations. Still, many others are trying to get a better sense of what going green means to their business, what potential value they can get out of embarking on the sustainability journey, and they are looking for clear guidance on steps to take to become “green” and secure the ROI out of such an initiative.
Join us for a panel discussion and a networking time. This lively panel discussion followed by a Q&A session will bring together seasoned experts and professionals to discuss this topic and provide answers to the following questions and more:
 

• Why “go green”?

• What is the true value of sustainability for businesses

• What are the steps to transform your business’ assets, operations and products?

• What are typical issues, risks and obstacles to overcome?

• How to create momentum for sustainability in your organization?

• What tools, methodologies and frameworks are available?

• Should my company report on sustainability? How? To whom? Which topics matter?

Upcoming events: stay tuned…..
This event is the first one in a continuing series of focused conferences highlighting the “hands-on” experience of businesses which decided to “go green”. After this general overview, more specialized events will follow such as: defining your green strategy, green operations, green IT, greenbuilding, green marketing, …

The panel:
Ken Larson, Founder, KL Consulting, Former Director of
                             Corporate Social Responsibility, Hewlett-Packard 
Jean Pommier, VP, Methodology, ILOG                        
Paul Philippe Bertoni, Attorney at Law, Bertoni Law      
Hervé Blondel, General Manager, Best Western Americania -

                              Best Western Carriage Inn - Director of Good Hotel

Moderator:
    Christian Forthomme, President and Founder, RealChange

Ken Larson – Founder, KL Consulting, Former Director of CSR, Hewlett-Packard
Larson worked for Hewlett Packard Company for over 25 years in a variety of roles including Director of Corporate Social Responsibility, California Region Government and Public Affairs Manager, Sacramento Area Public Affairs Manager and various roles in Human Resources including Human Resources Manager for several of HP’s businesses. In these roles he was responsible for ensuring that HP’s business practices added to shareowner value as well as to appropriate, desired social value and environmental sustainability for customers, employees, partners and communities around the world.
Larson has a Master’s of Public Administration from UCLA and a Bachelor of Arts in Urban Affairs from Occidental College. He completed a year of graduate study in social welfare at the University of Stockholm, Sweden.

Jean Pommier, Vice-President Methodology, ILOG
A Vice President with ILOG, Jean joined the software company 21 years ago, a couple of months after its creation and has led all its customer services (consulting, training, customer support). Jean is also in charge of green-related initiatives for ILOG.  Living in California since 1998, he aims at implementing a “personal ecology”, by balancing his professional, family and community involvements with a career in ultra trail running.
He earned an engineering degree at Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts et Métiers, and a master's degree in computer science at University of Nice.

Paul Philippe Bertoni, Attorney at Law, Bertoni-Law
Paul Philippe Bertoni is an immigration and corporate attorney based in San Francisco. Paul is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association and holds degrees from Yale (B.A. in Political Science 1993) and UC Berkeley-Boalt Hall (J.D. 1997).  He is admitted to the New York and New Jersey bars, and may practice immigration law nationwide under federal law. He may also provide corporate law counseling and services consistent with the rules of each applicable state jurisdiction. Paul's prior work experience includes associate positions at large New York City-based law firms focusing on regulatory issues and compliance counseling, and at Environmental Defense Fund in Washington, DC focusing on international environmental policy.  His firm has a green seal of approval from Co-op America and a large client base of "eco-preneurs".

Hervé Blondel, General Manager, Best Western Americania - Best Western Carriage Inn - Good Hotel
Herve Blondel holds a business and computer sciences degree from the  ECCIP, School of Paris Chamber of Commerce and a culinary arts degree from Ecole Ferrandi in Paris.  His first hotel position was in management with Ibis Hotels part of Accor Hotels. Accor Hotels brought him to the United States, where he continued his hotel career with Mandarin Oriental and Nikko Hotels.  He left the sales world to join Joie de Vivre Hospitality as the general manager of the Hotel Carlton.  Under his management the hotel was closed for 5 months for a complete renovation and reopened not only as a beautiful addition to the Joie de Vivre family, but served to be the seed that started the JDV green initiative.  Low flow toilets and shower heads, along with motion detectors in closets were installed.  Herve saw the beginnings of a green hotel and went to the City of San Francisco to pursue green certification.  In February of 2007 the hotel became a certified green business.  Herve did not stop there.  He partnered with Carbonfund.org to make the hotel carbon neutral.  He then was responsible for the installation of solar panels.

He has taken his passion to his new project, the Soma Collection in San Francisco, part of the Joie de Vivre family.  The collection consist of three hotels currently going through renovations.  His goal is to transform these hotels into green business.  Through his on the job experience, Herve has become a key element in the "Greening" of Joie de Vivre Hospitality and has been at the origin of  the JDV Green committee.  From recycling, using green housekeeping products, reducing energy and water consumption and beyond, Joie de Vivre is dedicated to have all its properties as green operations.

Moderator: Christian Forthomme, CEO, Real Change
Christian Forthomme is the CEO and Founder of RealChange, a Silicon Valley global organizational development firm helping its clients change successfully by integrating innovation and sustainability in their strategy and culture. RealChange® serves clients who are committed to triple bottom line success such as Danone, Nature et Découvertes, Veolia, Genentech, The Gates Foundation, EDF or Yves Rocher.
Christian Forthomme is an international entrepreneur, a sustainability consultant, an educator (former director of the MBA in Organizational Leadership at JFK University) and a connector of leaders in Europe and North America. He is an expert on learning expeditions on innovation and sustainability to Silicon Valley.
He holds an MBA from ESSEC in Paris, France, and a Masters Degree in Consciousness Studies from John F. Kennedy University.


Sustainability Committee founding members:
Christian Forthomme, Stephane R. N'Diaye, Olivier Delesalle 
The committee will be pleased to welcome new members, please contact marie@faccsf.com

Registration Information

  $ 20  for Members
 

$ 30  for Non Members

$ 40  At the door

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