Greener By Design Conference Shares Strategies for Reducing Costs and Improving Efficiency through Green Innovation

Event to Kick-Off in San Francisco on May 19, 2009

OAKLAND, Calif., April 9 /PRNewswire/ — Despite tough economic times, some of the world’s best-known companies are gaining a competitive advantage by aligning environmental thinking, innovation, and affordability to bring green products to the mainstream. Top executives from these organizations will gather in San Francisco on May 19-20 to share their strategies and best practices at Greener By Design 2009, the annual sustainable design forum produced by Greener World Media, Inc. and GreenerDesign.com.

Greener By Design is the only national event focusing on the greening of mainstream product design, offering a ground-level view of the strategies employed by companies seeking to reduce costs and increase sales. Hundreds of brand managers, business strategists, sustainability officers, marketing directors, product designers and materials sourcing experts will be in attendance to exchange ideas and brainstorm future strategies related to the event theme: “Greener Products for Leaner Times.”

“In today’s economy, green innovation is vital to success, as companies look for ways to cut costs, reduce risk, retain customers and improve efficiency and quality,” says Joel Makower, executive editor of Greener World Media. “At Greener by Design, delegates will experience a unique approach to innovation called Systematic Inventive Thinking, which will offer attendees hands-on opportunities to break through old thinking to see how innovation, sustainability, and the recession not only are compatible, but inextricably linked.”

Key sessions of the conference will include:

• Innovation Matters: Case studies from leading companies that have turned green innovation into a business strategy.
• When Designer Meets Client: A Conversation Between Intel and Frog: An intimate on-stage conversation on the challenges and successes achieved over several eco-design and outreach programs.
• Packaging Outside the Box: New strategies and materials for reducing packaging costs and footprint.
• The New Metrics of Design: How companies are using product scorecards and other tools to measure, track, and improve products’ environmental attributes. Presentations from executives at Autodesk, Wal-Mart, Waste Management, and other companies.

Attendees will have the chance to participate in small, consultative sessions with design experts to discuss their own ideas and challenges. Called “Green Gurus at Play(TM),” the small group sessions allow attendees to gain direct insights from some of the world’s leading companies and designers.

This year’s keynote speakers include renown designer William McDonough, co-creator of the Cradle to Cradle design protocol, and Tom Szaky, Founder and CEO of TerraCycle, whose innovative company makes more than 50 consumer products from waste products, partnering with companies like Kraft, Hershey’s, Frito-Lay, and Starbucks.

Other speakers at Greener by Design include:

• Mark Aggar, Director, Environmental Technology Strategy, Microsoft Corp.
• Dr. Joseph Fiksel, Executive Director of the Center for Resilience, Ohio State University
• Amnon Levav, Director, SIT International
• Uri Kogan, Program Manager, Global Supply Chain Social & Environmental Responsibility, Hewlett Packard
• Angela R. Nahikian, Director, Global Environmental Sustainability, Steelcase Inc.

                                        EVENT DETAILS

    What:    Greener by Design: Greener Products for Leaner Times

    Why:     Greener By Design 2009 provides attendants with the tools,
             insight, and inspiration to improve their company's bottom line
             through product innovation and green design techniques that
             work even during tough economic times.

    When:    May 19-20, 2009

    Where:   The Palace Hotel
             2 New Montgomery Street
             San Francisco, CA 94105
             +1 415 512 1111

             www.sfpalace.com/main/home.htm

    Who:     Business, sustainability and design professionals interested in
             participating in Greener by Design should visit
             www.greenerbydesign.com to register.

ABOUT GREENER WORLD MEDIA

Greener World Media, Inc., based in Oakland, Calif., is the first media company focused exclusively on sustainability and the competitive edge it brings to businesses. Founded by publishing executive Pete May and author and sustainability strategist Joel Makower, Greener World Media is centered around the acclaimed GreenBiz.com(R) Web site. GWM properties also include GreenerBuildings.com, ClimateBiz.com, GreenerDesign.com, and GreenerComputing.com, the sites’ respective e-newsletters, the annual State of Green Business report and Green Building Impact Report, and the annual Greener by Design conference, and the GreenBiz Executive Network, a peer-to-peer learning forum for sustainability executives.

    Danielle Nuzzo
    Porter Novelli
    +1 212 601 8178
    danielle.nuzzo@porternovelli.com

SOURCE Greener World Media, Inc.