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Young Leaders or Green Saviours

5108 / TS 5th August 2008

• Birmingham City University hosts Big Debate
  
  
• Event set to empower business decision makers
  
  
• More than 300 local business leaders to attend

Are the next generation of business leaders capable of effecting real change to the green agenda?  Birmingham City University certainly thinks so and has created a new event - The Big Debate to empower the next generation of business leaders to translate their passion and views on sustainability into action at work.

Held on 15th September at The ICC, The Big Debate will bring more than 300 local business leaders and sustainability experts together for the first time in Birmingham.  Key speakers include Peter Ainsworth and Leonora Oppenheim.  Peter Ainsworth, Shadow Environment Secretary, has a political career spanning more than 20 years and in 2005 Peter was awarded Public Affairs News Politician of the Year award. Leonora Oppenheimer is a designer and founder of TreeHugger.com, the website described by The Independent as a “cutting edge Environmental website” features campaigns, reports and tips on greener living.  They will be joined by Birmingham Post & Mail environmental correspondent Patrice John.

Chaired by BBC Special Correspondent Richard Bilton, the Big Debate will exclusively reveal findings from research specially conducted by the Birmingham City University throughout the summer on what are the green issues that drive Birmingham’s business community and how they affect what people do at home and work.  Supported by Birmingham Future, Young Institute of Directors, and students across the city, the research aims to establish how new green leadership can be unleashed by developing approaches which empower young leaders to make a difference.  The Big Debate will also include posed questions for the panel, panel presentation response on how society can support them and live interactive pods.
Joanna Birch, Head of Corporate Relations at Birmingham City University, said: “This is a great opportunity for Birmingham’s business leaders to share their views and establish how to set a sustainable footprint for the future. The Big Debate is the launchpad of Birmingham City University’s ‘Grrreen’ external communications campaign, to inspire business leaders with the sustainable agenda of Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.”

With more than 20 green initiatives in place itself, Birmingham City University can demonstrate leading edge thinking for research, business partnerships, knowledge transfer and student engagement for sustainability across many market sectors. The University has developed its applied knowledge in green and sustainable issues to support businesses improve the sustainable performance in their workplace. The commitment to a sustainable future is deep rooted in the University’s corporate planning and in the space of a year has employed an Environmental Officer and been rated in the top half of the UK Universities Green League in its first ever entry. 

The Big Debate will be held in Hall 5 at The ICC on Monday 15th September. The event is free but attendees must register for tickets by completing the Green Attitudes survey at www.bcu.ac.uk/grrreen

For further information please contact Birmingham City University Media Relations Office on 0121 331 6738, email press@bcu.ac.uk or out of hours on 07967 271 532.

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