2012 Bonn International Summer School on Responsible Business
Having attended the Bonn Summer Program in 2011 & 2012, I was surprised to see the domain was no longer live. This is an excellent organization that helped me understand much of how important the focus on sustainability is to all businesses. I convinced the Archive Group to recreate the original website and preserve the content so that I could use it in my course on international trade. Because my firm was based in Baltimore, we set up a program for other global business owners in our area to enroll as a group. The Bonn Program welcomed us and created a special year-long curriculum especially for us. This required some organization and the help of local full service Baltimore movers to get our group's belongings to Bonn for a year long stay in Germany. It was well worth the hassle and we hope to continue to teach what we learned to local businesses. The philosophy and dedication of the original program are inspirational and we are proud to have committed resources to this effort.
The Bonn International Summer School on Responsible Business is an outstanding high-level forum for decision makers from business whose aim it is to facilitate a practice-oriented and output-driven dialogue on ‘business and sustainability’. Our goal is to identify the strategies, practices and capabilities that are required for businesses to pursue the path of a sustainable form of global enterprise.
This was their website for the Bonn International Summer School 2012.
Content is from the site's 2012 archived pages.
About GIZ
Preparing the ground, fostering new talent
GIZ is a globally aligned, networked enterprise working in the field of international cooperation. Following in the footsteps of its predecessor organisations, it is profoundly committed to implementing sustainability. When GIZ was founded, international cooperation for sustainable development was explicitly placed at the heart of its corporate purpose. In line with its corporate principles, GIZ carries out programmes all over the world that aim to be socially equitable, environmentally sound and climate friendly. Resources are used in such a way that future generations can also benefit from them, and business activities within these programmes are conducted in a manner that combines sustainability and corporate responsibility. The principles of responsible business are at the heart of GIZ’s advisory approach. In the 130 countries in which GIZ is active, an intensive dialogue is taking place with private-sector businesses. GIZ is frequently asked to draw on its many years of experience, its expertise in capacity development and its global networks to develop platforms which qualified young international managers and professionals can use to exchange their views and experiences. These platforms provide users with the opportunity to draw up interactive and inter-disciplinary strategies and solutions in relation to business development case studies. In this work, sustainability forms an integral part of business strategy and is seen as crucial to business success.
Objectives
The program of the summer school is designed to consist of two segments: one part for young executives who participate in the full week-long program and one part for CEOs who join the group for one day to discuss the business solutions designed by the young executives. In order to allow for “thinking outside of the box”, experts from politics, academia and civil society will be among the participants, as well. After a daily key-note by a high level speaker, the participants are going to work on six key challenges that business leaders face today. Applying innovative study and discussion methods such as scenario techniques, it is intended to instigate a new form of dialogue between business leaders on the one hand and other societal actors on the other. Outcome-orientation and the providence of solutions (in vitro as well as in vivo) is an important aim of the Bonn International Summer School on Responsible Business. At the end of the week, the responsible business solutions designed by the young executives will be presented to and discussed with CEOs and experts from all business sectors.
Target groups
You should consider participating in the Bonn International Summer School on responsible Business if you want to share your experiences and design responsible business solutions together with a group consisting of:
* 60 Young executives from all business sectors and from other societal sectors (politics, international organizations, academia, civil society)
* 20 CEOs from internationally acting large and medium corporations
The key challenges to be discussed in 2012 are:
01
Sustainability into the core business? From greenwashing, reputational risk management, and CSR to responsible business behavior
02
Challenges for business reporting and balance sheets: Accounting and pricing of social and environmental costs of firms, factories and products
03
Responsible global procurement: The strategic advantages of sustainable supply chain design
04
Leadership behavior, entrepreneurship and talent management: Critical success factors for responsible business worldwide
05
Responsible product innovation: From sustainable products to a sustainable lifestyle - Changing consumer behavior and creating markets for sustainable products
06
Inclusive business: Creating capacities for new business models and development opportunities
The summer school does not intend to deal with the ´low hanging fruits´ of the sustainability debate; its aspiration is rather to become an annual meeting for ´front runners´ in the field of responsible business and to present state of the art approaches on how to integrate sustainability and business. The program is embedded in a set of evening activities that give participants enough room to network with each other and with external experts as well as to get to know Bonn and the beautiful Rhine region.
ACTING SUSTAINABLY, TAKING RESPONSIBILITY
All over the world, companies are increasingly measuring their business success not only in terms of growth figures but also based on whether this success is underpinned by the principles of sustainability. Many businesses have realised that economic success and environmental and social principles are not necessarily mutually exclusive, and that in many cases they can gain a competitive advantage by taking a more responsible approach. Sustainability is now anchored in corporate guidelines and in vision and mission statements, but its importance is also reflected in ‘hard’ facts and figures such as key performance indicators relating to market share and growth rates. A sustainable approach can also be a significant criterion for opening up new markets. Companies, be they small, medium-sized or international enterprises, are increasingly adopting sustainability as a guiding principle and recognising it as an attribute of responsible corporate management.
Despite this, linking business success with long-term sustainable environmental and social standards can still represent a considerable challenge.
PROVIDING IMPETUS, FACILITATING EXCHANGE
In 2012, GIZ held the first Bonn International Summer School on Responsible Business in conjunction with its cooperation partner Ernst & Young, which was very well received by participants. The summer school’s working groups were made up of qualified participants with basic management experience from German and international private-sector companies. This enabled the active promotion of mutual learning; one of the school’s main strengths.
A methodical approach to problem solving
“Design Thinking” offers:
- The school follows the ‘design thinking’ approach, which is user-focused, allows for multi-disciplinary teams and fosters a unique working culture and an iterative learning process.
- It also ensures small groups and intensive support by highly trained team coaches.
Participants are supported in their work by experienced coaches from the prestigious Hasso Plattner Institute (HPI) in Potsdam. All coaches are experienced in the successful implementation of innovative projects, having worked for industrial partners such as SAP, Mars, Postbank and Siemens.
EXCHANGING WITH EXPERTS
Currently, Bonn International Summer School on Responsible Business plans to have the following speakers between the workshops:
- John G. Ruggie, Berthold Beitz Professor, Harvard Kennedy School (Cambridge, USA)
- Phil Clothier CEO, Barrett Values Centre (Ashville, USA)
- John Elkington, Founding Partner & Executive Chairman, Volans (London, UK)
PARTICIPATION TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Participant Contribution: EUR 3,000 per participant
Applications should be made using the attached application form.
TARGET GROUPS FOR BONN INTERNATIONAL SUMMER SCHOOL ON RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS
Participants:
- work in the private sector
- are between 25 and 35 years old
- have basic management experience
- are fluent in English
- are deeply interested in reconciling sustainability with business success
- Female participants are particularly welcome
Tuesday, August 20
| 18:00 - 18:30 | Welcome: Introduction to Bonn International Summer School on Responsible Business |
| 18:30 - 20:00 | Keynote Speech: Phil Clothier, CEO, Barrett Values Centre (Ashville, USA), on “The Power of Values Based Leadership” |
| 20:00 | Get together |
Wednesday, August 21
| 09:00 - 11:00 | Keynote Speech: John Ruggie, Berthold Beitz Professor, Harvard Kennedy School (Cambridge, USA), on “Just Business: The Making of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights” |
| 11:20 - 13:20 | Interactive Session: Phil Clothier, CEO, Barrett Values Centre (Ashville, USA), on “The Values-Driven Organization - Unleashing human potential for performance, profit and sustainability” |
| 13:20 - 14:20 | Lunch Break |
| 14:20 - 15:00 | Introduction to “Design Thinking” and Industry workshops |
| 15:00 - 17:30 | Industry workshops Session I |
| 18:00 | Walk to the Old Town Hall, Meeting Point: Foyer, Hilton Hotel |
| 18:30 | Keynote Speech: John Elkington, Founding Partner & Executive Chairman, Volans (London, UK), on “Breakthrough, Business Leaders, Market Revolutions” |
| Panel Discussion: | |
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| 20:15 | Get together |
Thursday, August 22
| 09:00 - 13:00 | Industry workshops Session II |
| 13:00 - 14:00 | Lunch Break |
| 14:00 - 17:30 | Industry workshops Session III |
| 17:30 - 18:00 | Reflection on workshops |
| 19:00 | Get together |
Friday, August 23
CEO perspectives – Cross-industrial and Cross-cultural Learnings
| 9:00 | Group Photo, Meeting Point: Foyer, Hilton Hotel |
| 09:30 - 10:00 | Opening: |
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| 10:00 - 12:30 | Industry workshop presentation and discussion |
| 12:30 - 13:30 | Lunch Snack |
| 13:30 - 14:30 | Wrap-Up: Cross-industrial and Cross-cultural Learnings |
| 15:00 | Event Closing with BBQ |
Speakers
John G. Ruggie
John G. Ruggie is the Berthold Beitz Professor in Human Rights and International Affairs at the Kennedy School of Government and Affiliated Professor in International Legal Studies at Harvard Law School.
Surveys in Foreign Policy magazine have identified him as one of the 25 most influential international relations scholars in North America.
From 1997-2001, he was UN Assistant Secretary-General for Strategic Planning. His responsibilities included establishing the UN Global Compact and the Millennium Development Goals.
In 2005, Ruggie was appointed UN Special Representative for Business and Human Rights. Six years later, the UN Human Rights Council unanimously endorsed the “Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights” Ruggie developed. Core elements have been adopted by numerous other national and international standard setting bodies and by business enterprises, making them the most authoritative global standard.