A New Approach to Net Impact
By Alexandra Tsakeres JGSM '11
Issue date: 11/2/09 Section: Johnson News
If you are anything like me, you have spent the last few months with the following secret thoughts about Net Impact: 1) it kind of sounds like the next Bruce Willis and Denzel Washington action movie; 2) it's a secret cover for a huge Phish reunion. Contributing writer Ben Freeman contended that it might have something to do with puffin hunting. Granted, we are Core-absorbed first-years, but the question still stood. What is the Net Impact Conference? And, why is it such a big deal?
Net Impact is an international nonprofit organization with a mission to educate and equip individuals to use the power of business to create a more socially and environmentally sustainable world. Since 1993, the Net Impact Conference has been hosted by a different MBA Net Impact Chapter each year, including Wharton, Kellogg, IESE, Stanford, and INSEAD. It is the largest conference in the world dedicated to social and environmental responsibility for MBA students and professionals, and on November 13th and 14th it will be held here at Cornell University.
Take that, puffins.
"What we wanted to do was highlight Cornell's unique approach to sustainable business. Our perspective is different-we take a private sector approach rooted in innovation and entrepreneurship versus the more traditional path of environmental management, and the conference is really a way to showcase that to the world," said Ryan Legg. Legg, together with Professor Mark Milstein, is leading the Design Team (pictured above) of the Net Impact Conference. It will be the largest conference Cornell has ever hosted, with 367 volunteers, 350 speakers, 100 panels, 75 exhibiting companies, and over 2,000 total attendees-roughly nine times the size of the incoming class.
And, then there is the content. The most common misconception about Net Impact is that the attendees will be vegan, hemp-wearing, Sierra Club card-carrying tree-huggers, lining up to hear panels on subjects such as granola powered cars. Not quite. It's more like hearing Jeffrey Immelt, the CEO of GE, speak about Innovation and Economic Renewal. Or, listening to JPMorgan discuss Emerging Markets, Deutsche Bank on Energy Investments, J&J's case on Driving Business through Sustainable Products, or the White House discuss policy.
Net Impact is an international nonprofit organization with a mission to educate and equip individuals to use the power of business to create a more socially and environmentally sustainable world. Since 1993, the Net Impact Conference has been hosted by a different MBA Net Impact Chapter each year, including Wharton, Kellogg, IESE, Stanford, and INSEAD. It is the largest conference in the world dedicated to social and environmental responsibility for MBA students and professionals, and on November 13th and 14th it will be held here at Cornell University.
Take that, puffins.
"What we wanted to do was highlight Cornell's unique approach to sustainable business. Our perspective is different-we take a private sector approach rooted in innovation and entrepreneurship versus the more traditional path of environmental management, and the conference is really a way to showcase that to the world," said Ryan Legg. Legg, together with Professor Mark Milstein, is leading the Design Team (pictured above) of the Net Impact Conference. It will be the largest conference Cornell has ever hosted, with 367 volunteers, 350 speakers, 100 panels, 75 exhibiting companies, and over 2,000 total attendees-roughly nine times the size of the incoming class.
And, then there is the content. The most common misconception about Net Impact is that the attendees will be vegan, hemp-wearing, Sierra Club card-carrying tree-huggers, lining up to hear panels on subjects such as granola powered cars. Not quite. It's more like hearing Jeffrey Immelt, the CEO of GE, speak about Innovation and Economic Renewal. Or, listening to JPMorgan discuss Emerging Markets, Deutsche Bank on Energy Investments, J&J's case on Driving Business through Sustainable Products, or the White House discuss policy.
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