Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Cleantech and Good Business On Display in Portland, Oregon


October 27-29, Net Impact will host their 19th annual conference in Portland, Oregon.  The 2011 Net Impact Conference bills this as the world’s largest and most inspirational event for professionals and students interested in using their business skills to create social and environmental good.


The event, hosted at the LEED-certified Oregon Convention Center, attracts professionals from a variety of fields, including consultants, CSR practitioners, nonprofit leaders, and sustainability specialists.

While there are far too many presenters and panels to list, here are a few highlights in the Cleantech and Investing tracks coming to the conference:

Marc Gunther, Contributing Editor, FORTUNE magazine, will lead a discussion on what's new and what's next in cleantech with a panel that includes Dave Graham, Founding Partner of Greenstart, Rodrigo Prudencio, Partner at Nth Power, and Trae Vassallo, Partner, at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.  These VCs will share what they look for in choosing their investments, why more capital hasn’t been invested, and how finance will continue to drive innovation in the clean tech industry.

Clean Power Finance and RockPort Capital Partners will lead a discussion on what can be done to encourage communities to maximize solar technology implementation under the Solar Investment Tax Credit.

A session led by Autodesk and Green LIte Motors will focus on how digital prototyping has helped clean tech innovators develop their products and get to market faster.

Mart Bailey, Managing Partner at Callaway Private Equity Partners, Bill Tyndall, SVP, Federal Government and Regulatory Affairs at Duke Energy, and Puon Penn, Senior VP and Head of National Cleantech and Emerging Tech Markets at Wells Fargo will examine the U.S. and China's race to clean tech dominance.  This panel will discuss the current state of clean tech in the U.S. and China, the intersections where companies and investors play to each other’s strengths, and how innovations in clean energy are affecting this complex and important relationship.

Impact investing will receive considerable attention at the conference as well, as panelists representing the infrastructure developer, user, and promoter perspectives will cover IRIS, GIIRS, ANDE, Investors Circle, the GIIN, investor networks, and social stock exchanges, including where these impact investing tools are  effective, and what else is needed to help drive capital to social entrepreneurs and investment vehicles through impact measurement.

More news to come from the conference in coming days, including tweets from @stevefarone.  Follow #ni11 on Twitter.
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