Enterprise for a Sustainable World (ESW)

Enterprise for a Sustainable World (ESW) is an independent, non-profit organization dedicated to accelerating the transformational change required for enterprises around the world to become truly sustainable—socially, environmentally, and financially. ESW is driving this transformation through its three main pillars:

1 - A consortium of experts from around the world who work directly with companies to develop and nurture the capabilities necessary for sustainable enterprise. ESW provides consulting services and education that facilitate effective clean technology, base of the pyramid, and green leap business initiatives. We focus simultaneously on the development of new strategies (business models, and partnerships) and the removal of internal organizational impediments to change (systems, processes and mindsets) to accelerate “beyond greening” innovation. We also develop the necessary skills needed to launch on-the-ground business experiments to incubate and scale the technologies and markets of tomorrow. More information is available at www.e4sw.org.

2 - A membership-based global network consisting of a vibrant community of academics and practitioners engaged in venture creation, knowledge generation and information dissemination on inclusive and sustainable business focused on the underserved at the base of the income pyramid (BoP). The Network’s mission is innovate profitable business solutions that create economic opportunity for all, while simultaneously preserving and conserving the natural capital that supports all life on Earth. The goal is to stimulate new enterprises that are economically competitive, environmentally sustainable, socially inclusive, and culturally embedded. For more information, see www.bopglobalnetwork.org.

3 – A new center based in India dedicated to increasing the rate and success of Green Leap Innovation, both through corporate initiatives and new venture creation. Emergent has assembled a complete innovation ecosystem to foster the creation of tomorrow's distributed and sustainable infrastructure, including an education and capacity-building platform, field support system, seed fund, technology bank, cluster (social) network, and action research program. Its Accelerator program, aims to create a new model of business and entrepreneurial development appropriate to the challenges we face in the 21st century. More information is available at www.emergentinstitute.com.

ESW Team

For full bios please visit www.e4sw.org

About the University of Vermont

Founded in 1791, the University of Vermont (UVM) is the fifth-oldest university in New England. UVM’s academic program combines faculty-student relationships most commonly found in a small liberal arts college with the resources of a major research institution. The university is home to 9,970 undergraduates, 1,317 graduate students, 454 medical students, and 1,364 full- and part-time faculty. Located in Burlington, Vermont (America's #1 College Town -- Travel + Leisure), UVM's setting on the shores of Lake Champlain, between the Adirondack and the Green Mountain ranges, gives a mountaintop perspective of all that's possible.

UVM’s School of Business Administration educates responsible managers for success in complex, global, multi-stakeholder and sustainable environments. The new Sustainable Entrepreneurship MBA (SEMBA) program prepares students to create profitable and sustainable business opportunities in a world undergoing transformational change. SEMBA is an accelerated one-year program with a Vermont DNA (having opportunities to learn from, and develop relationships with, leaders from a master class of sustainable enterprises, including Ben & Jerry's, Burton Snowboards, Cabot, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters and Seventh Generation), and is Multi-disciplinary (unique curriculum delivered by passionate faculty from our School of Business, Department of Community Development and Applied Economics, and nationally ranked Rubenstein School of Natural Resources in addition to the Gund Institute and Vermont Law School).

The Dudley H. Davis Center, venue of the 2015 BoP Global Summit, is the first student center in the nation to receive U.S. Green Building Council LEED Gold certification.

UVM BoP Global Network Summit Coordination Team:

University of Vermont Business School: Sanjay Sharma, Alec L. Adams, Linda Kruger, John M. Turner and Rustin Nethercott.

University of Vermont SEMBA Program Students: Kianna Bromley, Fatima Milagro Carranza, Heather Kenner, Caitlin Lovegrove, Brittany Nunnink, Brodie O'Brien, Jeff Padgett, David Pescador, Jakob Schenker, Tim Silman, Chas Smith, Ben Tacka, Jill Terrone, Lindsey Waite, Meghan Whirley, Leah Schultz and Milagros Rodriguez.

Davis Center Coordination Team: Denise Zang, Renee L. Bourassa, Jeffrey Warden and Katherine Figura.