Second Dutch Sustainability Congress
on Socially Responsible Entrepreneurship
3 March 2001, Bussum, Netherlands
Public awareness about the damaging effects of worldwide pollution is on the rise;
concurrently, there is a trend in business and government for policies showing responsibility
to environmental and social needs. Various aspects of socially-responsible entrepreneurship
will be examined in the Netherlands on 13 March 2001 at the Second Sustainability Congress.According to the Congress brochure, socially-responsible entrepreneurship means maintaining
a relationship with the various concerned parties on the basis of transparency and dialogue,
giving answer to justified questions from the society. Socially-responsible enterprises
have to consider not only profit, but also the planet and its peoples.The Congress, organized by the Center for Knowledge Communication (CKC) and the DHV
consultancy group, will be held in Theater and Congress Center 't Spant in Bussum,
not far from Amsterdam.National and international leaders in the field will address the Congress on various aspects
of sustainable entrepreneurship and corporate social responsibility. Speakers represent
business, governmental, and non-governmental organizations. Languages of the day
will be both Dutch and English.H.H.F. Wijffels, chairman of SER, the Social-Economic Board that advises the Dutch
government, will open the morning session. Mr. Wijffels will convey the Cabinet’s
standpoint on sustainable enterepreneurship. A discussion on the responsibility and
the role of government, non-governmental organizations, and the business world will follow.
Discussants are A.G. Koenders, member of the Dutch Parliament (PvdA); A.J.J. Kemps,
Director Amnesty International Nederland; F.J.M.C. Tummers, Chairman Unilever Nederland;
and G. Ybema, State Secretary for the Ministry of Economic Affairs (Netherlands).Ms. K. Sexton, Chief Executive of the Institute for Social and Ethical Accountability, London,
will lecture on important developments in the field of instruments for sustainable enterprises,
such as AA1000, SA8000, GRI.The opening afternoon session, entitled “The Responsibility to Bridge the International
Digital Divide”, will cover the role of Information Communication Technology
in sustainable entrepreneurship and fair trade. Two leaders from the world of ICT and
Internet will give their vision on the “digital divide” between North and South/ “haves”
and “have-nots”, and how to bridge this. They are J.G.P. Baan, chairman of the Noaber
Foundation, the Netherlands, and D. Sabot, co-founder Tripod.com and eZiba.com.
D. Sabot is also Professor Emeritus of Economics at Williams College, Massachusetts, USA.Later in the afternoon two parallel sessions will be held. One will cover the involvement
of business in social programs for poor neighborhoods; the other will deal with initiatives
on national level.Chairman for the day is G.H.J. Keijzers, Professor of Durable Entrepreneurship
at the European Institute for Business Ethics, University of Nyenrode, the Netherlands.Congress participants will also have the opportunity to visit information stands set up
by companies and public authorities already working in sustainable and socially-responsible
management.For more information on the Congress, please see:
http://www.duurzaam-ondernemen.nl/congres/