Ivey forum to help companies connect sustainability to the bottom line

    TORONTO, Jan. 21 /CNW/ - The Richard Ivey School of Business is holding a
forum to help companies put a dollar value on sustainability initiatives to
connect social and environmental activities to the bottom line. Running on
January 25th at Ivey's ING Leadership Centre in Toronto, the forum will bring
together experts from academia, industry, and government to discuss
state-of-the-art tools for valuing business sustainability.
    Stakeholders are increasingly demanding that business play a role in
addressing environmental and social challenges. While many managers accept
this responsibility, they lack the tools to translate those activities into
dollar values.
    No 'holy grail' exists for valuing sustainability. Many managers,
consultants, and investors have developed tools that work for them, but these
are often inaccessible to a wide audience. As well, many academics have
investigated these best practices, but few studies have given managers the
tools necessary to act - and measure the outcomes.
    The forum will fill that gap as participants discuss ways to tie
sustainability to the bottom line.

    Speakers and their topics:
    --------------------------
    9:00 - 9:45 a.m. - The Relationship between Social and Financial
    Performance: A Research Perspective
    Joshua Margolis, Associate Professor, Harvard Business School

    10:00 - 10:45 a.m. - The Challenges of Valuing Business Sustainability:
    An Executive Perspective
    Claude Ouimet, Senior Vice President and General Manager, InterfaceFLOR
    Canada and Latin America

    10:45 - 11:30 a.m. - The Tools Used to Value Business Sustainability: A
    Systematic Review
    John Peloza, Assistant Professor, Simon Fraser University and Ron
    Yachnin, Principal, Yachnin & Associates

    1:00 - 1:45 p.m. - Non-financial Information for Valuing Business
    Sustainability: An Accounting Perspective
    Alan Willis, President, Alan Willis & Associates

    1:45 - 2:30 p.m. - Valuing Business Sustainability: An Investor's
    Perspective
    Michael Jantzi, President, Jantzi Research Inc.

    2:30 - 3:15 p.m. - Technology, Sustainability, and Firm Performance: A
    Plant-level Perspective
    Rob Klassen, Professor, Ivey Business School

    3:30 - 4:15 p.m. - Trends in the Global Sustainability Landscape: The
    International and Demand Perspective
    Timothy Devinney, Professor, Australian Graduate School of Management

    The forum is being organized through Ivey's Research Centre for Building
Sustainable Value, whose mandate is to provide practitioners and students with
the knowledge, tools and capabilities to manage both private and public
interests effectively. The Research Centre is one of four centres at Ivey that
delve into key issues facing businesses today.

    
    What:  Forum on Valuing Business Sustainability

    Where: Ivey's ING Leadership Centre, Toronto Exchange Tower, 130 King St.
    West (at York)

    When:  January 25th, 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
    

    About the Richard Ivey School of Business, The University of Western
    Ontario

    The Richard Ivey School of Business at The University of Western Ontario
(www.ivey.ca) offers undergraduate (HBA) and graduate degree programs (MBA,
Executive MBA and PhD) in addition to non-degree Executive Development
programs. Ivey has campuses in London (Ontario), Toronto, and Hong Kong. Ivey
recently redesigned its curriculum to focus on Cross-Enterprise Leadership - a
holistic issues-based approach to management education that meets the demands
of today's complex global business world.

For further information:

For further information: Marisa Kanas, Richard Ivey School of Business,
(519) 850-2536, mkanas@ivey.ca; Mary Weil, Richard Ivey School of Business,
(416) 203-0664, mweil@ivey.ca