Minister of State, Mr Fergus O’Dowd will officially open the SustaiNEXT|EU Global Challenges, Local Solutions green economy summit at Dublin City University on Thursday 11th October at 10:00am. This unique symposium will bring together academia, industry and policymakers in two enriching days of lively discussion and learning on the subject of universal sustainability and how its implementation can positively affect how we live, learn and work.
Robert Lattimer, Senior Fellow, Diversity Studies at the John J Heldrick Center, Rutgers University, New Jersey will deliver the keynote address on Universal Sustainability and the Green Economy. Robert, who has recently published articles including Barack Obama: Race, Diversity and America’s Global Competitiveness and Universal Sustainability: The Economy, Competitiveness 2012 will address universal sustainability as a new economic and social discipline which may hold the key to unlocking the next wave of business innovation and growth.
Speaking in advance of the symposium, Minister O’Dowd welcomed the timeliness of this forum,
“I believe in driving economic change through better sustainable developments and I am delighted to be part of SustaiNEXT EU at DCU. This first-of-its-kind multi-stakeholder sustainability conference in Ireland is a fantastic catalyst in our national conversation around helping business lead in developing Ireland’s Green Economy.”
Dr Pierre McDonagh, academic at DCU Business School and co-organiser of the Summit said,
“It is a sign of the progress on conversations around sustainability that we are now seeing businesses leading as solution providers and being more engaged with their stakeholders, including their critics. Ireland has a lot to learn in this regard. We are now firmly in the era of sustainable communication and sustainable brands.”
Discussions will centre around six key pillars of universal sustainability:
Agriculture/Food (food security; local ecosystems; emerging food technologies)
· Trevor Donnellan, Principal Research Officer, Teagasc
· Padraig Brennan, Senior Business Analyst, Bord Bia
· James Hogan, Project Manager, Green Business Programme
· Matt Breen, Dunreidy Engineering, Ltd
· William Bunbury, CEO, Lisnavagh Timber Project
Transportation (urban public transport; aviation; travel and tourism; global supply chains; individual transport choices and behavior)
· Kristin Quinn, Sustainability Communications Manager, ESB
· Dr Mary Coveney, Head of Health & Safety, Security & Compliance, Dublin Airport Authority
· Una McGrath, Sustainable Transport
· David O’Connor, Lecturer in Transport Planning and Urban Design, Dublin Institute of Technology
Transformative Education (key education challenges of sustainability and sustainable innovations; how education can support and engender sustainability)
· Martin Charter FRSA, Director, the Center for Sustainable Design ® (CfSD), University for Creative Arts (UCA)
· Professor Brian Norton, President, Dublin Institute of Technology
· Dr. Charlotte Holland, Lecturer, School of Education Studies, Dublin City University
· Dr. Carmel Mulcahy, Senior Lecturer & Researcher, Dublin City University
Sustainable Healthcare (from cure to prevention; making healthcare products more efficient; ensuring accessibility to medicines)
· Dr. Emma Waters, Specialty Registrar in Public Health, UK, NHS
· David Wathey, Head of Sustainable Procurement, Department of Health, UK
· Margaret Stokes, EHS Manager, Johnson & Johnson
Green Finance (mobilisation of green finance to support sustainability)
· Paul Harris, Head of Natural Resources Risk Management, Bank of Ireland
· Mark Cummins, DCU Business School
Global Society (re-organising living conditions; restructuring economic sectors’ redefining capitalism; addressing workforce issues; poverty and development; business and work practices; understanding and valuing global and societal diversity; engaging science to develop new technologies)
· Dr. Pierre McDonagh, Group Head Marketing & Senior Lecturer, Dublin City University, and Summit Co-Organizer
· Ann Lee-Jeffs, Founder/CEO of Sustainability Collaborative
· Ronan Furlong, Director of Operations, The Green Way, Senior Development Manager, Commercial Dept, Dublin Airport Authority
· Hans Zomer, Director, Dóchas
· Aoife Connaughton, Sustainability Consultant Business In The Community Ireland (BITCI)