Jan Peter Balkenende, former Prime Minister of the Netherlands, partner of corporate responsibility at EY, and chair of the Dutch Sustainable Growth Coalition, will set the scene at this year’s GreenPort Congress.
During his premiership from 2002 to 2010, Professor Balkenende implemented a range of sustainable development policies, including a 2007 contract between companies and the government to improve energy efficiency, increase the use of sustainable energy and reduce carbon emissions. His government also set up the country’s first national knowledge centre for corporate social responsibility called MVO Nederland (CSR Netherlands) to help Dutch companies integrate sustainability into their business.
Balkenende recently stated that “The big issues of today - climate change, energy, human rights, ageing population, competitiveness - require long-term thinking. The longer you wait to take measures, the tougher it will be in the future, so we cannot wait, and we need to do it together.”
This year’s GreenPort programme is entitled ‘Creating partnerships for sustainable development’ and delegates will hear Balkenede’s inspirational keynote address on the first morning; they will also learn from many examples on the programme, how collaboration can achieve results.
For further information contact the Events team on +44 1329 825335 or email congress@greenport.com.
Follow the event on Twitter @GPCongress.
