Come seek inspiration to reinvent your role and that of the company
Our aim is to present solutions rather than identify problems. From the CEO of a large industrial group to the innovative entrepreneur, our speakers will demonstrate, by way of example, the successes of their personal investment in favor of a responsible economy.
Save time and learn tools to speed progress
With over 100 sessions offered per event, you'll discover new working methods, innovative processes to apply inside your company and short- and long-term practices to help change the way you do business.
Think global...
You'll have the possibility to meet with experts, thanks to the groundwork laid by some 30 correspondents located across the world. This outreach has brought nearly 1,000 speakers from 85 countries to share their experience, a diversity making for very enriching exchanges year in year out
Act local!
Given our various session formats, you'll have plenty of opportunity to discuss with participants representing your specific territory, providing you with the resources to tap into a network assembled within a community of responsible actors.
Take advantage of 20 years of expertise in the field!
The World Forum was launched in 2007 upon the initiative of the Alliances Network (Réseau Alliances) and its President, Philippe Vasseur, former journalist and French Minister. For over 20 years, we've been organizing companies in the Nord-Pas de Calais Region committed to supporting CSR strategies, in the aim of helping them optimize performance. This daily and neighborly form of assistance has offered us tremendous insight into corporate expectations.
Since 2007, nearly 1,000 speakers have taken the stage
> Muhammad Yunus, Nobel Peace Prize > Shirin EBADI, Nobel Peace Prize > Wangari MAATHAI, Nobel Peace Prize > Jeremy RIFKIN, Economist, > Ellen MacAArthur, EMA Foundation > Guy Rider, Organisation International du Travail, > Tony Meloto, Gawad Kalinga
Pionniers
> Günter Pauli, Blue Economy, > Ma Yihe, Winsun, > Verone Mankou, VMK > Dirk Ahlborn, Hyperloop > David Katz, The Plastic Bank > Joaquim Melo, Banque Palmas
EVERY YEAR, 5,000 PARTICIPANTS ARE SPEAKING YOUR LANGUAGE
Discover the first speakers on this year's Forum program
Program and registration available at the beginning of September Follow us on social media and/or sign up for our newsletter to be kept informed of all event news!
Jean BERNOU, President of McCain Continental Europe (France)
"Corporate social responsibility lies at the heart of McCain's business activities. First developed in 2007, McCain's CSR strategy under the banner 'Be Good, Do Good' relies on 5 underpinnings: good agriculture, good production, good food, good company, and good partner.
Michael BOHMEYER, Founder, Mein Grundeinkommen (Germany)
"Convinced of the benefits to society from a universal basic income, this young German entrepreneur on his own created Mein Grundeinkommen, an association involved in experimenting with the basic income concept via a crowdfunding system."
Charles-Edouard BOUEE, CEO, Roland Berger Strategy Consultants (Germany)
"Specialist in strategy and problem resolution associated with corporate transformation, Roland Berger is one of the leading consulting firms on the international scene with 50 offices across Europe, Asia and the Americas."
Laurence BRAHM, Founder of Himalayan Consensus and Environmental Adviser to the Chinese government (United States)
"Himalayan Consensus represents a new economic model aimed at protecting ethnic diversity and local identity through enhancing community competencies, with emphasis on combating climate change."
Sarath DAVALA, Founder of the INBI -Indian Network for Basic Income, (India)
Sarath DAVALA has coordinated multiple experiments on universal income in India with SEWA - Self-Employed Woman Association.
Louise FRECHETTE, President of CARE International and Essilor's CSR Committee (Switzerland)
"Founded in 1945, CARE International is one of the largest NGOs dedicated to humanitarian aid. CARE has adopted a global approach to fighting extreme poverty and defending access to basic human rights."
Antoine FREROT, CEO, Véolia (France)
"At the helm of the world's leading provider of services to local and regional authorities, Antoine Frérot is convinced of the major role companies can play in combating climate change and moreover has lobbied strongly in favor of a circular economy. His corporate transformation plan has placed Véolia on a growth trajectory, in spite of these difficult economic times."
Alexandra GAMARRA, Co-founder and General Director of Usetime ( Colombia)
Vincent HUGUET, Co-Founder and Managing Director, Hopwork (France)
"This French startup proposes a networking service for companies and freelancers, via a platform that interfaces the employment marketplace with social media. Beyond the networking aspect, Hopwork facilitates freelance work by streamlining administrative procedures like contract set-up and payment."
Clarisse IRIBAGIZA, Founder and Managing Director, HeHe Limited (Rwanda)
"Clarisse IRIBAGIZA has received Forbes magazine's accolade as one of Africa's most promising entrepreneurs under 30. Her 'HeHe' innovation laboratory develops 'African phone apps for Africans', allowing companies to more easily reach out to their clients."
Renana JHABVALA, National Coordinator, SEWA - Self-Employed Women's Association (India)
"SEWA intervenes to assist the self-employed experiencing precarious living conditions and moreover has participated in setting up an experimental campaign on universal basic income within a few Indian villages."
Olli KANGAS, Research Director, KELA - Social Insurance Governmental Institution (Finland)
"Olli Kangas oversees the Finnish government's experimental project on universal basic income, which will be rolled out in one of the country's regions as of 2017 for an initial 2-year period."
Charles KLOBOUKOFF, President and Founder, Léa Nature (France)
"Rising to the top of France's organic foods market in its twenty-year existence, Léa Nature seeks to improve the state of wellness for a maximum number of people by simplifying access to healthy and natural products. Its founder, Charles Kloboukoff, would like to empower companies with a "good citizen" mission in promoting ‘a society less anonymous that refuses to limit its liability’."
Chris KWEKOWE, Co-Founder and Managing Director, Slatecube (Nigeria)
"This e-learning service is intended to facilitate youth entry into the job market by enabling young people to study at their pace and gain access online to apprenticeship offers. A real success in its beta version, Slatecube aims to become a large-scale recruiting resource in creating a powerful social impact."
Bruno LECHEVIN, President, ADEME (France)
"The ADEME Agency plays a major role in implementing public policy relative to the environment, energy and sustainable development. Through its expertise, ADEME guides companies, local authorities and public agencies during all steps of their environmental decision-making and reporting."
Jean-Bernard LEVY, CEO, EDF (France)
Roberto LIMA, CEO, Natura (Brazil)
"Since its creation in 1969, Natura has always placed sustainable development at the heart of its business activities. Now Brazil's largest cosmetics producer, Natura continues to stand out for its environmental commitments and protection of the nation's biodiversity."
Bernard MARCHANT, Managing Director, Rossel Group (Belgium)
"Belgium's leading francophone press group, Rossel is heavily committed to instituting a collaborative approach (project incubator, 'intrapreneurship')."
Alexandre MARS, President-Founder, Epic Foundation (United States)
"Epic Foundation collects donations for humanitarian associations active in the field and moreover provides donors with detailed information regarding how their funds are being used."
Andrew MARTIN, Director of Continuous Improvement, BSCI - Business for Social Compliance Initiative (Belgium)
"BSCI is an initiative launched by a group of companies committed to improving working conditions throughout their international supply chains."
Pierre MEISEL, Director and Founder of Team Jolokia (France)
Tony MELOTO, Founder, Gawad Kalinga (Philippines)
"Gawad Kalinga is an association engaged in fighting poverty in the Philippines by means of a global approach towards development and the construction of 'intentional communities'."
Philippe MONLOUBOU, President of the Board, ENEDIS (France)
Matthias PRÖSSL, Managing Director, Specialisterne Deutschland (Germany)
"This Danish firm utilizes the special attributes of those afflicted with autism as a competitive market advantage and a means to facilitating their social insertion."
Luca ROSSETINI, Co-Founder and CEO of D Orbit (Italy)
Jan ROTMANS, City of Rotterdam (Netherlands)
Günther REIFER, Co-Founder, Terra Institute (Italy)
"His movement, namely an economy for the common good, proposes a benchmark for measuring the level of responsibility and contribution among society's actors promoting development (using a set of original and unique criteria)."
Pascal SABRIE, CEO of Heineken France (France)
Rebecca SALMINEN-WITT, President, Greening of Detroit (United States)
"This environmental NGO is transforming the urban wasteland left by the city of Detroit's deindustrialization into parks, forests and urban farms. The underlying action program has involved both landscaping and training, in greatly mobilizing neighbors and students since 1989."
Keith TUFFLEY, Managing Partner et General Director, The B Team (USA)
Hélène VALADE, Sustanaible Development Director of the Groupe Suez (France)
François VILLEROY de GALHAU, Governor of the Bank of France (France)
Muhammad YUNUS, Nobel Peace Prize winner and Founder of the Yunus Center for Social Business (Bangladesh)
"Renowned economist and entrepreneur, Muhammad Yunus founded the first microfinance institution, Grameen Bank, a concept that earned him the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize. Mr. Yunus is also responsible for developing the Social Business concept and has created over 50 companies in Bangladesh."
Simon ZADEK, Co-Director, UNEP Inquiry into the Design of a Sustainable Financial System (Switzerland)
"One of the pioneers of sustainable development. Beyond his extensive publications and teaching experience at prestigious universities, Simon Zadek is action-oriented, having effectively guided many companies in defining their CSR strategy."
Tino ZEISKE, Vice President of Corporate Responsibility, Metro AG (Germany), and President of the Foreign Trade Association
"Metro AG's vision is closely linked to sustainability, and the Group has made strong commitments to protecting the environment and conserving our natural resources. Metro AG is convinced that Group activities must generate added value for society."
The Forum is being jointly organized with local partners, namely:
Supported by its 220 members and partners, the Alliances Network is the reference for companies interested in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) throughout the Hauts-de-France Region.
Created in 1993 and presided by Philippe Vasseur, the Alliances Network has been organizing the World Forum for a Responsible Economy since the first Forum event in 2007.
Launched in 2004 by business leaders, Idée Alsace is a regional network of actors pursuing responsible development among companies and localities. The association's 100+ membership focuses on the topic of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), in addition to assisting local authorities navigate the Industrial and Territorial Ecology tool across France's Eastern Region.
Selecting Grenoble to host the World Forum for a Responsible Economy on October 12th represents a tremendous opportunity for our company sponsors and students, in their role as future managers, to engage in a dialogue on the responsible economy. The Grenoble Chamber of Commerce and Industry, through its Ecobiz network, and the Grenoble Management School are very keen on taking part in organizing this global event, helping regional companies worried about their environment build profitable and sustainable development models. During this day's scheduled sessions, national and international speakers will convey ideas to our entrepreneurs based on their best practices. Grenoble is definitely innovation-oriented, and acting in favor of a responsible economy offers an excellent incentive to rethink and innovate in new fields related to industrial ecology, management and technology.
In symbiosis with its region, the "Sup de Co La Rochelle" educational group has become a national model, adopting very early on a sustainable development approach in both its practices and instruction. Over the years, this Group has developed bona fide expertise in the area of social responsibility. In 2012, the School created IRSI (Innovation-based Social Responsibility Institute), aimed at expanding the reach of corporate social responsibility through accompanying organizations and training students pursuing management careers.
The Sup de Co La Rochelle Group at a glance: 3,200 students, 7 higher education programs, from Bachelor's to MBA, 173 university partners in 48 countries, 3 affiliated campuses: China, United States and Finland, 12,350 graduates, 50 major international group partners, and 3,000 companies and NGOs hosting Group students each year.