About the 2015 Summit


Davis CenterEnterprise for a Sustainable World (ESW) and The University of Vermont, in collaboration with the BoP Global Network Labs from around the world, are organizing the second BoP Global Network Summit. The event will be held July 16th and 17th, 2015 at The University of Vermont (UVM) Davis Center in Burlington, Vermont - USA.

The 2015 event will build on the 1st BoP Global Network Summit: "Pushing the Boundaries of BoP" held in 2013 in Cajamar - Brazil (Sponsored by Natura, IBM, Tetra Pak, Novelis, Sebrae and Avina), which brought together corporate innovators, academics, entrepreneurs, community leaders, students, and BoP Global Lab leaders from more than 16 countries.

The 2015 Summit's main objective will be to present and discuss real-life BoP business initiatives being implemented by entrepreneurs and corporate innovators who are driving sustainable innovation from the bottom up. In partnership with the University of Vermont's new Sustainable Entrepreneurship MBA Program (SEMBA), the Summit will seek to engage leading edge examples of bottom-up innovation from around the world, including those right here at home in the U.S.

The 2nd BoP Global Summit has been designed to first provoke, then discuss, and finally, act. Accordingly, each segment starts with the “plenary provocation” to challenge and stimulate creative thinking, followed by breakout sessions geared toward building networks, action agendas and new initiatives.

As a result the BoP Global Network Summit will enable participants to share experiences, to explore emerging BoP opportunities, to delve deeper into key challenges through focused workshops, and to learn from top academics and practitioners in the field. The Summit will also bring together the BoP Global Network Lab leaders representing more than 20 countries from around the world along with experts such as Stuart Hart, Steven Kotler, Anil Gupta, Sanjay Sharma and Ted London.

The event will also provide participants the opportunity to visit Burlington, Vermont, one of America's most beautiful and liveliest small cities and the home to some of the pioneers in sustainable business such as Ben & Jerry's, Keurig Green Mountain (formerly Green Mountain Coffee Roasters), and Seventh Generation.