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"Weeding Risk", a report issued by the World Resources Institute and HSBC's Climate Change Centre of Excellence recently, found that environmental trends could have significant financial repercussions for the $40 billion food and beverage industry in South and Southeast Asia.  "The food and beverage industry is particularly vulnerable to climate change and water scarcity in Asia.  The region is already struggling with increased water demand because of population and economic growth," according to Dana Krechowicz, a WRI associate and co-author of the report.  4.10

Monday, October 26, 2009 8:15 AM - 9:15 AM
Room: Arizona Ballroom

Speaker(s)
Raymond Offenheiser President, Oxfam America Presenter
Cees Talma Global Brand Vice President Lipton, Unilever Presenter View
Mark Way Senior Vice President, Sustainability & Emerging Risk Management, Swiss Re America Holding Corporation Presenter View
Tensie Whelan President, Rainforest Alliance Presenter View
Bennett Freeman Senior Vice President, Sustainability Research & Policy, Calvert Moderator

Description

Join us as we hear the latest from the heads of two vital NGOs about their attempts to develop innovative corporate partnerships.  Ray Offenheiser, President of Oxfam, will describe how his organization is working to help companies understand the need to develop climate adaptation strategies, particularly in poor countries that will be disproportionately hit and where many suppliers are based.  Tensie Whelan, President of the Rainforest Alliance, will discuss how they have worked with a variety of corporate partners via sustainability certification programs designed for different industries around the world.  They will be joined by senior representatives from their corporate partners.

Speaker Biographies

Raymond Offenheiser has been President of Oxfam America for thirteen years. During his tenure, he has overseen the growth of Oxfam America from a small non-profit agency into a recognized world leader in the global social justice movement.  Under his direction, Oxfam America has increased its annual budget fivefold to $75 million.   With over 30 years of work in the field of international agricultural development, Mr. Offenheiser is active as member and advisor to numerous organizations on issues of food security, climate change, trade reform and sustainable development, and is currently active promoting foreign aid modernization in the United States.

                    

Cees Talma is the Global Vice President Brand Development for Lipton at Unilever. He oversees the development and execution of the brand's communication and innovation programs including managing Lipton's sustainability agenda and global partnership with the Rainforest Alliance. From 2003 to 2009, Mr. Talma worked in a similar capacity on Hellmann's, Unilever's Dressings brand.  Prior to this he held various regional and national marketing roles on Flora/Becel, Boursin and Wish-Bone.

 

 

 

                    

Mark Way heads Swiss Re's sustainable development activities in the Americas and is part of the company's Sustainability & Emerging Risk Management unit. He works closely with the topic of climate change helping to coordinate the issue within the company. In 2006, he relocated to Swiss Re's Americas headquarters to coordinate the company's sustainability related activities in the United States, Canada and Latin America.  Previously, Mr. Way represented Swiss Re on the Climate Change Working Group of the United Nations Environmental Programme Finance Initiative.  He joined the Swiss Re Group in 1994 and has worked in various non-life marketing teams including those responsible for regions such as United Kingdom, Scandinavia and Japan.  Mr. Way contributes on a regular basis to publications and briefings on climate change, and sustainability and speaks often on the topics.

                    

Tensie Whelan serves as President of the Rainforest Alliance where she has been involved since 1990 in various capacities. Prior to joining the Rainforest Alliance, she worked as a management consultant to nonprofit organizations such as the Environmental Defense Fund.

 

Ms. Whelan has worked in the environmental field for more than 25 years. She has served as the vice president of conservation information at the National Audubon Society and executive director of the New York League of Conservation Voters. Tensie Whelan is an advisory board member for corporate social responsibility at Fortis, and for sustainable agriculture at Unilever, and sits on the governing body of the U.N. Foundation's World Heritage Alliance. She is the co-chair of the steering committee of the Sustainable Food Lab. 

 

                    

Mr. Freeman leads Calvert's Sustainability Research Department and oversees its company research and analysis as well as its policy and advocacy work. From 2003 until early 2006, he led Burson-Marsteller's Global Corporate Responsibility practice advising multinationals on policy development, stakeholder engagement and communications strategies related to human rights, labor rights and sustainable development. During the Clinton Administration, Mr. Freeman served in three positions as a political appointee in the State Department, most recently as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. Earlier in his career, he was Manager-Corporate Affairs for General Electric and a presidential campaign aide to former Vice President Walter Mondale. A member of the Council on Foreign Relations, he serves on several NGO boards including Oxfam America and the Institute for Human Rights and Business.