NEW YORK, Dec. 16, 2008 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Wall Street Journal announced today that it will once again convene ECO:nomics -- Creating Environmental Capital, a leading conference for CEOs and entrepreneurs driving growth at the intersection of business and the environment. The conference will be held March 4-6, 2009 in Santa Barbara, Calif. at Bacara Resort & Spa.
ECO:nomics 2009 will bring together top chief executives, policy-makers and thought leaders to assess the urgent risks and new opportunities in markets impacted by the environment -- at a time when dramatic shifts in the economy are transforming the financial, oil and renewable-energy industries. With its highly interactive format, ECO:nomics will focus on the strategic challenges faced by decision-makers in these industries during a time of such tumultuous change.
Featured participants in the 2009 ECO:nomics conference include the following influential leaders:
-- Josef Ackermann, chairman of the Management Board, Deutsche Bank
-- Peter Darbee, chairman, president, and chief executive officer,
PG&E
-- Disque Deane, Jr., chief investment officer & co-portfolio
manager, Water Asset Management
-- John Doerr, partner, Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers
-- Al Gore, chairman, Alliance for Climate Protection
-- Jason Grumet, president, Bipartisan Policy Center
-- Mike Jackson, chief executive officer, AutoNation
-- Vinod Khosla, managing partner, Khosla Ventures
-- Vaclav Klaus, president, Czech Republic
-- Bjorn Lomborg, adjunct professor, Copenhagen Business School
-- Amory Lovins, chairman and chief scientist, Rocky Mountain
Institute
-- Antonio Martins da Costa, chairman and chief executive officer,
Horizon Wind Energy
-- William McDonough, founding principal, William McDonough +
Partners
-- Michael Morris, chairman, president and chief executive officer,
American Electric Power
-- Anne Mulcahy, chairman and chief executive officer, Xerox
-- Alan Mulally, president and chief executive officer, Ford Motor
-- T. Boone Pickens, chairman, BP Capital Management
-- William Roe, president and chief executive officer, Coskata
-- James E. Rogers, chairman, president and chief executive
officer, Duke Energy
-- Richard Sandor, chairman and chief executive officer, Chicago
Climate Exchange
-- Bryant Tong, managing director, Nth Power
-- David Vieau, president and chief executive officer, A123Systems
-- Thomas H. Werner, chief executive officer, SunPower Corporation
ECO:nomics will be hosted by the editors of the Wall Street Journal, including Alan Murray, deputy managing editor; Kimberley Strassel, editorial board member; and Jeffrey Ball, environmental news editor. Through penetrating interviews with the luminaries shaping new markets and policies, the Journal's experts will drive frank discussions that get to the bottom line on business and the environment.
"CEOs recognize ECO:nomics as the premier forum for debate and discussion about how companies can best navigate the risks and capitalize on economic opportunities in businesses where environmental issues are paramount," said Mr. Murray.
In a survey given to last year's participants, 91% reported they are likely to attend ECO:nomics again. One participant said, "I kid you not when I say that, after more than twenty years of professional life, this was the best conference I have ever attended. We are already in discussion about ways to create some substantial environmental and public health benefits as a result of the new ideas and the conversations you sparked."
More than 250 CEOs, entrepreneurs and other top executives are expected to attend ECO:nomics from industries such as energy, manufacturing, consumer goods, finance, infrastructure, automotive and others.
WSJ.com's Environmental Capital blog will feature live updates with news from ECO:nomics. A special Journal Report on business and the environment will also appear in the print and online editions of The Wall Street Journal on March 9.
For more information about the Journal's 2009 ECO:nomics -- Creating Environmental Capital conference, please visit http://economics.wsj.com/.
About The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal, the flagship publication of Dow Jones & Company is the world's leading business publication. Founded in 1889, The Wall Street Journal has a print and online circulation of more than 2 million, reaching the nation's top business and political leaders, as well as investors across the country. Holding 33 Pulitzer Prizes for outstanding journalism, The Wall Street Journal provides readers with trusted information and knowledge to make better decisions. The Wall Street franchise has more than 760 journalists world-wide, part of the Dow Jones network of nearly 1,900 business and financial news staff. Other publications that are part of The Wall Street Journal franchise, with a global audience of 3.8 million, include The Wall Street Journal Asia and The Wall Street Journal Europe. The Wall Street Journal Online at WSJ.com is the largest paid subscription news site on the Web with 10.9 million users each month. In 2008, the Journal was ranked No. 1 in BtoB's Media Power 50 for the ninth consecutive year. The Wall Street Journal Radio Network services news and information to more than 310 radio stations in the U.S.
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