50 international business leaders will gather in London on May 13-14, to discuss the impact of an economic downturn on CSR, along with many other pressing responsible business issues for 2008.

London, 06 February 2008
Corporate Responsibility has become business-critical, and is something no company can afford to ignore. The number of CR reports produced by corporations has increased by a huge 9130% over the past 15 years. 88% of the FTSE 100 now report on their CR activities. Business appears to have wholeheartedly embraced CSR.

But will the widely-predicted forthcoming economic downturn affect this commitment to corporate responsibility? On the 13th May, four business experts, including the European Presidents of Starbucks and DuPont, will debate this issue at the Responsible Business Summit

The Responsible Business Summit, the highlight of the 2008 European CSR agenda, will be held on May 13-14 2008 in London.

The conference features speakers from companies such as Microsoft, ABN Amro, Suez, Telefonica and Chiquita and countries as varied as Poland, France, Canada, Denmark and Italy.

The two day event will draw on business CSR expertise from throughout Europe, and will provide a robust critique of corporate responsibility– its strengths and weaknesses.

Ian Hudson, the European President of DuPont, the multi-national chemicals and healthcare company, will address delegates on managing sustainability change within an organisation.

Another keynote speaker, Jan Muehlfeit, Chairman of Microsoft Europe, will investigate whether CSR can act as a driver for innovation and opportunity

The conference will also ask how would the executive editor of the Economist, the Managing Director of Kraft UK and the CEO of Lockheed Martin UK react to major ethical dilemmas.

Some 30 other conference sessions will cover issues such as supply chains, climate change, CSR reporting, employees, partnerships and management processes for some 500 business attendees.

Other companies sending senior executives as speakers for the conference include: BBVA; Lehman Brothers; Citi; Unilever; Suez; Anglo-American; Nestle; Chiquita; Telefonica; Akzo Nobel; KfW; UniCredit Group and Boeing.

For more information on the conference and the complete agenda, go to:
www.ethicalcorp.com/rbs

Contact
Nick Johnson
Conference Director
Ethical Corporation
Tel: 44 (0)20 7375 72 09
Email: nick.johnson@ethicalcorp.com