November 8, 2012

Corporate Environmental Management in the Era of Private Governance: A Roundtable

This invitation-only discussion for ELI Corporate Program members addressed how private governance—management standards, private benchmarking, certifications, supply chain monitoring and compliance, green rankings, and corporate agreements among private firms and with stakeholders—intersects with managing environmental sustainability and legal risks.

How are these new tools used and what benefits, costs, and risks are entailed?
What are best practices for using private governance tools and approaches and making the internal case for investing or not investing in them?

Welcome
John Cruden, President, Environmental Law Institute
Wayne Balta, Vice President, Corporate Environmental Affairs and Product Safety, IBM Corporation

What is Private Environmental Governance and Why Does it Matter?
Michael P. Vandenbergh, Professor of Law, Vanderbilt University Law School (via videoconference) Professor Vandenbergh is a leading scholar on private environmental governance, former EPA Chief of Staff, and former private law firm practitioner whose work includes The New Wal-Mart Effect: The Role of Private Contracting in Global Governance (UCLA Law Review 2007), addressed trends in private governance and its development in the broader context of environmental law and policy.

Roundtable Discussion: Session 1
Facilitators:
Linda Fisher, Vice President Safety, Health and Environment and Chief Sustainability Officer, DuPont
Martha Rees, Vice President and Chief Environmental Counsel, DuPont
Ann Klee, Vice President Environment, Health and Safety, General Electric

Break/Lunch/Keynote: Peter Lehner, Executive Director, Natural Resources Defense Council

Roundtable Discussion: Session 2
Facilitators:
Rick Leahy, Vice President Environment, Health & Safety Compliance, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
Sara Kendall, Vice President, Corporate Affairs and Sustainability, Weyerhaeuser
Paul Allen, Senior Fellow, World Resources Institute

Concluding Remarks: Wayne Balta (IBM) and John Cruden (ELI)