Just got an invite to an event in July that sounds amazing, www.resource2012.org, and thought it worth noting on the blog for those who can make it.
Nobel prize-winning economist Amartya Sen and film director James Cameron will join President Bill Clinton at Oxford University this summer (12-13 July) for a ground-breaking forum on resource scarcity and volatility– ensuring continued access to food, energy and water as demographics rapidly change. The primarily investor audience will hear about the financial advantages for businesses who seize the opportunities generated by a shift towards greater efficiency.
They will be joined by other leading figures from business, finance, national security, politics and academia, including John Brock, CEO and Chairman of Coca-Cola Enterprises, Peter Brabeck, Chairman of Nestlé, and Jeremy Grantham, Founder of one of the world’s largest investment funds, GMO.
Amory Lovins, named by Time magazine as one of the world’s 100 most influential people, will also be part of the event, alongside the Rt Hon David Miliband MP, former UK Foreign Secretary, David Nabarro, the UN’s Special Representative on Food Security and Nutrition, Sir Terry Leahy, former CEO of Tesco, plus Lord Browne of Madingley, Partner at Riverstone. Other participants include award-winning journalists Jonathan Dimbleby (BBC), James Harding, Editor of the Times, and John Micklethwait, Editor of the Economist.
Business leaders such as Jean-Marc Huet, CFO of Unilever, will explain why they are actively decoupling profitability from resource use. For businesses that are counting on profits coming from emerging economies, demographic changes such as increasing population, growth of a global middle class and rising living standards offer opportunities, but only so long as they increase resource efficiency in those regions.
Participants will also discuss investment in infrastructure and disruptive technological innovations and will look at how a longer-term investment horizon can lead to gaining a competitive advantage.
Re|Source 2012 is a joint initiative hosted by Oxford University and its Smith School of Enterprise and Environment in co-operation with The Rothschild Foundation.
One highlight of the event will be a special presentation at Oxford University’s Ashmolean Museum by James Cameron, the internationally acclaimed film director and explorer. President Bill Clinton will give the closing keynote address.
Sir David King, Co-Director of the event and former chief scientific adviser to the government said: “There is no doubt that our current model of growth is unsustainable – and these pressures are only set to deepen in future years. CEOs and investors must realise now more than ever that profitability need not rely on increased resource use.
“The international financial community has the power to enact huge change to the current global system. Companies need to address these issues head-on and understand that resource efficiency and longer term thinking are potent drivers of shareholder value.”
Re|Source 2012 hopes to spark change by presenting a compelling financial case for solving these issues, exploring viable, commercial and proven solutions towards a sustainable future.
Sir David continued: “The way in which business leaders respond to these issues will shape the competitive landscape over the next 20 years and beyond. Through Re|Source 2012 we are hoping to move away from the scaremongering and negative perceptions of the past and instead generate new ways of thinking about these critical global issues.”
- The world’s population is expected to grow from seven billion people today to nine billion by 2050 - to meet this growth it will need to produce 70 per cent more food – which will place consequential demands on water and energy.
- More than 40 of the world’s top 100 economies are companies.
- Only eight per cent of the world’s fresh water is used by individuals – the rest is used by agriculture and industry.
Re|Source 2012 is hosted by the University of Oxford and its Smith School of Enterprise and Environment, in co-operation with The Rothschild Foundation. It will take place on 12-13 July. For more information please visit www.resource2012.org.
Chris M Skinner
Chris Skinner is best known as an independent commentator on the financial markets through his blog, TheFinanser.com, as author of the bestselling book Digital Bank, and Chair of the European networking forum the Financial Services Club. He has been voted one of the most influential people in banking by The Financial Brand (as well as one of the best blogs), a FinTech Titan (Next Bank), one of the Fintech Leaders you need to follow (City AM, Deluxe and Jax Finance), as well as one of the Top 40 most influential people in financial technology by the Wall Street Journal's Financial News. To learn more click here...
