Ceres Conference 2008: April 29-30, 2008, Boston, MA. The Ceres Conference 2008: Building Leadership, Creating Solutions will take place on April 29-30 at the Renaissance Boston Waterfront Hotel, located at 606 Congress Street, Boston, MA, 02210. The conference will create a unique gathering of corporate, environmental, investor, governance, and labor leaders who share a collective vision of sustainability and capital markets functioning side by side. Conference participants will identify the immediate approaches and tools for translating talk into action.

Sustainable Facility Care Forum: April 30, 2008, Washington, DC. The Sustainable Facility Care Forum will be held at the Newseum in Washington, DC on April 30, 2008 and will explore the theme "Mapping the Green Frontier." The one-day plenary event is sponsored by JohnsonDiversey in partnership with the Leonardo Academy, a nonprofit organization dedicated to sustainability. The Forum will showcase best practices in sustainable facilities and is designed to advance sustainability as a viable business model.

Amsterdam Reporting Conference: May 7-9, 2008, Amsterdam, Netherlands. The Amsterdam Global Conference on Sustainability and Transparency will focus on sustainability reporting practices and results. The winners of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Reader’s Choice Awards will be announced at the conference, along with the results of the GRI Reader’s Choice Survey.

National Green Building Conference: May 11-13, 2008, New Orleans, LA. The National Green Building Conference is the only national conference targeted to green building for the mainstream residential building industry. Network with designers and suppliers, attend exceptional education sessions and develop the skills you need for profitable green building.

TBLI Conference Asia 2008: May 29-30, 2008, Bangkok, Thailand. The TBLI Conference Asia 2008 will focus on the increased interest of the Asian financial community in Environmental and Social Governance, as well as Sustainable Investment.

Sustainable Brands ’08: June 2-5, 2008, Monterey, CA. The Sustainable Brands Conference is where top brand leaders, product designers, sustainability executives and the network of experts who serve them meet to discuss sustainability as the new frontier for driving revenue growth and enhancing brand equity. The Conference will be held at the Hyatt Regency in Monterey, CA.

earthNOW expo: June 4-5, 2008, Las Vegas, NV. The earthNOW expo is a national trade show for the marketing and sales of eco-friendly consumer products and services. Retail store owners, merchandise managers, corporate purchasing managers and other business owners will: discover how to capitalize on the hottest business trend of the decade; discover the latest "going green" issues facing your business; learn about the latest green concepts and how to succeed by incorporating green products and services into your business.

Energy Efficiency Forum: June 10-11, 2008, Washington, D.C. The theme for 2008 will be “Energy Efficiency: What's Happening? What's Next?”. Attendees of the nineteenth annual Energy Efficiency Forum will discuss how a new administration can build upon leadership in the public and private sectors and initiate large-scale energy-efficiency programs that will have immediate economic and environmental impact. The event is co-sponsored by Johnson Controls and the US Energy Association.

Greener by Design -- Strategies, Tools, and Markets for Product Innovation: June 12-13, 2008, Alexandria, VA. This two-day hands-on event focuses on the greening of mainstream products by combining first-rate speakers and panelists with a unique approach to innovation called Systematic Inventive Thinking (SIT). Participants will hear from leading companies, both large and small, as well as the top green product designers, and participate in innovative techniques that combine the best elements of a traditional conference and an experiential workshop.

Green Chemistry and Engineering Conference: June 24-26, 2008, Washington, D.C. Presenters and attendees at the 12th annual Green Chemistry and Engineering Conference will identify and discuss how technical advances in green chemistry and engineering contribute to solutions to some of humanity's most pressing challenges, including: reducing greenhouse gas emissions, ensuring safe drinking water supply and measuring progress toward sustainability. The conference is being sponsored by The Dow Chemical Company.

Lean and Green Summit: July 17-18, 2008, Boulder, CO. The Lean and Green Summit will gather industry professionals already making strides toward sustainability and those who want to start making the short-term and long-term changes needed. This first Summit will be a highly collaborative event with a focus on solutions that can be actuated. GEMI members are eligible for a 20% discount off registration for this event. Simply quote “GEMI discount” when registering.

On April 17, 2008, The Business Roundtable launched its "SEE"ing Change: 2008 Progress Report. Thirty-two leading U.S. companies, 9 of which are GEMI companies, reported on their ongoing sustainability efforts the Roundtable's S.E.E. Change initiative. Member companies, representing virtually every sector of the economy, outlined their efforts to achieve real environmental and social changes through their commitments to sustainable business practices.

GEMI is a collaborator in the S.E.E. Change initiative, which was launched in 2005 to encourage leading U.S. companies to embrace business strategies and projects that measurably improve Society, the Environment and the Economy. A link to the Report and the S.E.E. Change initiative web site may be found on the GEMI web site on the "Collaborations" page.

For more information, please visit the S.E.E. Change web site.

• Conference Call: May 5, 2008 at 12:00pm EDT -- GEMI Supply Chain Network conference call to discuss current sector and other organization's supply chain initiatives, the draft concept paper and develop the agenda for the May 22 meeting in Williamsburg.

• Meeting #2: May 20-22, 2008 -- Co-hosted by Anheuser-Busch and Smithfield Foods in Williamsburg, VA. The meeting will begin on Tuesday, May 20 at 12:00pm EDT and end on Thursday, May 22 at 2:00pm EDT. The GEMI Forum for this meeting will be focusing on “Integrating with the Broader Corporate Agenda”. The Forum sessions are designed to build upon one another throughout the year, and are designed as an intensive learning session that will provide participants the ability to move their EHS program to the next level. Forum participants will leave the session with a personalized improvement roadmap that they can apply within their organization. In addition, the Water Sustainability, Supply Chain and Climate & Energy Networks will be meeting to determine the most appropriate way to address these GEMI signature issues. Anheuser-Busch Inc. and Smithfield Foods will host a dinner on May 21. The meeting will be held at the Kingsmill Resort & Spa (757-253-1703 or 1-800-832-5665) located at 1010 Kingsmill Road in Williamsburg, VA 23185.