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"Informing Green Markets" conference hosted by Erb Institute, U-Michigan, June 17-19

  • 1.  "Informing Green Markets" conference hosted by Erb Institute, U-Michigan, June 17-19

    Posted 05-13-2010 16:45

                                                                                                                                                                     

    http://www.erb.umich.edu)

     

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    http://www.erb.umich.edu/HTML-Email/news_events_other/greenMarkets2.htm) (http://www.erb.umich.edu/HTML-Email/news_events_other/greenMarkets2.htm

          

    JUNE 17 - 19, 2010

    INFORMING GREEN MARKETS: THE ROLES OF INDUSTRY, NGOs & GOVERNMENT

     

    Thousands of products now market themselves based in part on their  environmental attributes.  But there is  surprisingly little consensus on what it will take to really make green markets  work.  Many people worry that the current  proliferation of ecolabels is generating consumer confusion.

     

    The conference is designed to stimulate dialogue  between the private sector, the public sector, non-governmental organizations  (NGOs), and academia.  It will begin with  lunch on Thursday, June 17, and conclude the afternoon of Saturday, June 19.  Sessions on Thursday afternoon and Friday morning  are geared more toward practitioner contributions, while those on Friday afternoon  and Saturday morning are geared more towards helping academic researchers  digest the practitioner contributions and shape the future research agenda

     

     

    DETAILS AND REGISTRATION AT:

    http://www.bus.umich.edu/Conferences/Ecolabel-Conference-Ann-Arbor-2010/ViewConference.aspx

     

    Registration is Free but Seats are limited: Register by June 10

      

    AMONG THE QUESTIONS TO BE EXPLORED:

       

    What are the respective roles of purchasing agents for retailers and government,

    vis a vis ultimate consumers?

       

    What is the relative importance of green ratings for companies and green ratings

    for products?

        

    How can purchasers be assured of the credibility of the information they receive?

       

    Is product labeling a complement to or a substitute for government regulation?

       

    Does the recent proliferation of ecolabels improve the marketplace or merely

    confuse it

       

    Is competition between ecolabels beneficial?  Will market forces work to winnow

    down the number of ecolabels and harmonize those that remain?

       

    Is there a need for some organization, perhaps government, to bring order to the current chaos?

       

     

     

     

    Rick Bunch

    Managing Director

    The Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise

    Ross School of Business and School of Natural Resources and Environment

    The University of Michigan

    734-764-2521