Environmental and Natural Resource Initiative

The story is now legend; the "spear in the chest" epiphany Ray Anderson experienced when he first read Paul Hawken's The Ecology of Commerce, seeking inspiration for a speech to an Interface task force on the company’s environmental vision. Fifteen years and a sea change later, Interface, Inc., is approximately half way to its target of "Mission Zero™ " the journey no one would have imagined for the company, or the petroleum-intensive industry of carpet manufacturing, which has been forever changed by Ray’s vision. His Georgia-based company, Interface, Inc., was recently ranked number one in The Sustainability Survey, a survey of global sustainability thought leaders conducted by GlobeScan. The once captain of industry has eschewed his luxury car for a Prius, built an off-the-grid home, authored a 1998 book describing his epiphany, Mid-Course Correction, and has a new book, released on September 15, 2009, chronicling his journey, Confessions of a Radical Industrialist. He has become an unlikely screen hero in the 2004 Canadian documentary, The Corporation. He was named one of TIME International’s "Heroes of the Environment” in 2007. He’s a sought after speaker and advisor on all issues eco, including a stint as co-chairman of the President’s Council on Sustainable Development and as an architect of the Presidential Climate Action Plan, a 100-day action plan on climate that was presented to the Obama Administration.

Large Company - Lexmark, Inc.

Lexmark International, a manufacturer of printers and printing supplies, for their steadfast commitment to promote sustainability in all areas, including developing more sustainable products that meet customer requirements, adopting practices directed at reducing the use of scarce resources and waste generated in manufacturing operations.

Small and Medium Company - Semicon Associates

Semicon produces technical ceramics for the communications, space, medical research and defense industries. Semicon’s efforts in sustainability include improving recycling efforts and increasing energy efficiency of operations. Semicon has also devoted considerable resources to research and development of the kinds of innovation needed to achieve sustainability.

Kentucky Finance Cabinet Secretary for his exceptional service and lasting impact on the state commonwealth.

Dr. Joan Fitzgerald, Northeastern University — Keynote Speaker

Joan Fitzgerald is professor and director of the graduate program in Law, Policy, and Society at Northeastern University. Her third book, Emerald Cities: Urban Sustainability and Economic Development (Oxford Univ. Press), examines how cities are creating economic development opportunities in several green sectors and discusses the state and national policy needed to support these efforts. Emerald Cities builds on her 2002 book, Economic Revitalization: Strategies and Cases for City and Suburb (Sage) which identifies strategies for incorporating sustainability and social justice goals into urban economic development planning. Her 2006 book, Moving up in the New Economy (Cornell Univ. Press), focuses on how to build career ladders for low-income workers. Fitzgerald has published in academic journals such as Economic Development Quarterly, Urban Affairs Quarterly, Urban Affairs and the political journal, The American Prospect. Her academic and consulting work has been supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur, Annie E. Casey, Rockefeller Brothers, Rockefeller, Surdna, Century, and Robert Wood Johnson Foundations. She has also conducted research for the U.S. Department of Labor, the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, the Boston Housing Authority and other government agencies.