Where Transparency and Transformation Meet: The BSR Conference 2014

Authors

• Melanie Janin

  Former Managing Director, Communications, BSR

Melanie Janin, Managing Director, Communications, BSR

The past year has given us even more evidence that transparency is dramatically reshaping our lives. From the Snowden revelations, to new technologies that track everything from our sleep rhythms to rates of deforestation, to calls for more accessible data on the nutritional content of food, it is clear that we have entered the era of radical transparency. These changes are remaking business as usual, presenting both opportunities for progress on sustainability and fundamental new questions about the tradeoffs that accompany this transition.

This is all playing out in the context of increased urgency to achieve the kind of change that will deliver a truly sustainable economy. To accelerate progress, we need transformative business models, technologies, and financial models.

At BSR, we see the links between transparency and transformation on a daily basis, with new forms of transparency providing critical information about supply chains, energy and carbon, community impacts, and more. At its best, all of this makes transformative solutions possible, as we come to see and understand previously hidden opportunities and problems.

For this reason, we have chosen “Transparency and Transformation” as the theme for the BSR Conference 2014, taking place November 4-6 in New York. Over the next several weeks, we will explore the link between transparency and transformation on our social media channels, at other BSR events, and through additional blog posts.

We will also be transforming the Conference itself. For starters, we are shifting to a Tuesday through Thursday format, beginning Tuesday November 4, and concluding after dinner on Thursday November 6. We are also reshaping the format of the event, with multiple new features, including short spotlights on transformation, participant-led sessions, “collaboration in action” modules, and much more. 

In the lead-up to the event and at the Conference itself, we will explore questions such as:

• What are the most significant business opportunities—and risks—presented by radical transparency?
• What companies have been most successful in embracing an increasingly transparent world, and where are we still lacking in transparency as a global business community?
• How can sustainability be the impetus for transformative products, business models, and partnerships?
• What are the most significant barriers to transformation inside companies, and how can they be overcome?

As we explore these questions, we know one thing for sure: Incremental change won’t get us where we need to be to ensure a healthy, prosperous future. I hope you’ll join us in New York this fall as we work together to achieve transformational change.  

Registration launches mid-May, so until then, we invite you to watch this space, follow along at #bsr14, and sign up for updates.