6th Annual Babson Energy and Environmental Conference – 2012
Energy, Environment, & Entrepreneurship:
Challenging Assumptions, Changing Perceptions
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At this year’s conference we have six exciting panels:
The Reality of Electric Vehicles
There is a lot of hype, hope, and promise around the future of electric vehicles, but many questions linger. Will the transition to an electric transportation system improve the environmental impact of our driving habits? How do we incentivize and construct the infrastructure necessary to support electric vehicles? Are these strategies economically sustainable and environmentally responsible? Despite their different backgrounds and answers to these questions the individuals on this panel share a set of common traits: The entrepreneurial spirit, ambition, and expertise to forge new frontiers and shape the future of electric vehicles.
Food Packaging: Cost vs. the Environment 
This panel will explore the sustainability of the green food packaging sector, keeping in view the cost burden on the food processors and end consumers. The panel will have representatives from the green packaging industry to present their viewpoint on the long term benefits to the environment and consumers. On the other hand, representatives from the user segment will share their struggle to get green packaging, along with their product, into the mainstream with an average of 30% higher packaging cost. The panel will also share an entrepreneur’s perspective on green food packaging and their goals going forward.
Challenges and Opportunities in Green Building
“Green Building” has become common parlance, and The US Green Building Council’s LEED certification system led the way by creating clear metrics, incentives and communication tools for builders, designers and developers. LEED also spawned large groups of promoters, detractors, imitators, and a cottage industry of consultants. But sustainability is far from being the institutional standard in construction and infrastructure. Our panel of industry experts will debate the future of the “Green Building” industry. What lessons have been learned? How will the industry change? Where are the opportunities?
Environmental Awareness in Developing Countries
Cheap access to reliable energy allows developing nations to offer attractive returns for investors, which allows developing nations to reduce the number of families living under the poverty line in the short run (lower unemployment rate and higher Income per Capita). In the long run if all costs of projects for a society are taken into account, “Environmental Awareness” is a benefit for the nation in the long run.
The Future of Financing for Renewable Energy
How should renewable energy companies and projects be financed and by whom? With the recent bankruptcies of companies like Solyndra and Beacon Power and the decision by companies like Solar Trust of America and its 1GW Blythe Project, to withdraw from the federal loan guarantee programs, this question has never been more relevant than it is today. The panel will explore the specific challenges faced by renewable energy companies, the role of government and the private sector in financing these ventures, and the perspective of the financier in evaluating the commercial viability of renewable energy.
Water in the Developing World: Harsh Reality and Inspiring Innovations
Two of the UN Millennium Development Goals are to reduce by half the proportion of people with no access to clean water and reduce by half the proportion of people with no access to sanitation by 2013. Why have we not made progress in the past ten years to this goal? How do we design and bring to market affordable products to bring clean water to people who do not have access? This panel will look at entrepreneurial opportunities in this sector.
