[Itenv] Sustainable Innovation 07 PLUS

[martin charter]

EXCUSE ANY CROSS-POSTINGS

CONFERENCE ANNOUNCEMENT AND CALL FOR  PAPERS

Sustainable Innovation 07
Global Building and Construction: Systems, Technologies, Products and
Services
12th International Conference
29th - 30th October 2007
Farnham Castle Conference Centre
Farnham, Surrey, UK     

Part of the 'Towards Sustainable Product Design' series of conferences

Background
Globally the building and construction sector has a major 'environmental
footprint', contributing over 40% of greenhouse gas emissions and
generating high volumes of waste. Major projects such as the Olympics in
Beijing (2008) and London (2012), the Thames Gateway in the UK and Dongtan
Eco-city in China provide major opportunities to start to show a new way
and integrate sustainability thinking from a systems level right through to
ground-level. For example, recent research has indicated that three product
groups cause 70% to 80% of total environmental impacts in cities and
broader society: 
* The home, and related energy use: buildings, heating, cooling and other
energy using appliances
* Mobility: automobile and air transport
* Food: meat and dairy, followed by other types of food
Recognising this and designing-in sustainable consumption and production
systems into new urban environments as first principles will substanially
reduce negative impacts. New initiatives, creativity and a better focus
will drive new innovations through the supply chain and mean that new
technologies, products and services will be demanded with substanially
better environmental and social performance. Should change be radical,
incremental or a combination? Whatever, the scenario the development,
commercialisation and integration of new solutions will be a major
opportunity and challenge for designers, innovators and entrepreneurs.

Concept
Sustainable Innovation 07 will provide a platform to discuss 'state of the
thinking' in sustainable innovation, technology, product and service design
and development. It will highlight best practice and provide a range of
case studies and examples. Sustainable Innovation 07 will include invited
and refereed papers covering sustainable innovation from academics,
consultants, designers, sustainability, environment and Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR) managers as well as other business functions. The
event will be a unique learning experience and networking opportunity.
Delegates will come globally from large companies, entrepreneurs and small
and medium-sized (SMEs), as well as academia, government and
non-governmental organisations (NGOs). The conference is supported by a
leading-edge international Advisory Board. 

Conference topics
Sustainable Innovation 07 welcomes conceptual and research-based papers
covering sustainable innovation, technology, product and service design and
development and in particular those that address building and construction
sectors.   Papers relating to sustainable innovation focused on the
following topics are welcomed:
 
* Sustainable Consumption & Production
* Market transformation
* Product policy
* Sustainable public procurement
* New business models
* Collaborations and partnerships
* Radical v incremental change
* Innovation processes
* Supply chain management
* Product-service-systems (PSS)
* Education and training
* Tools and techniques
* Management systems
* Organisational dimensions
* Performance measurement and metrics
* Newly industrialised and 'developing' country perspectives
* Case studies
 
Benefits to delegates of Sustainable Innovation 07 will include:
* Unique: forum for new ideas and concepts
* Leading-edge: presentations from key international researchers,
practioners and policy-makers
* Research: access to new results and thinking
* Networking: opportunities to meet business, government and academia
* Track-record: over 1200 delegates from 35 countries have attended
previous 'Towards Sustainable Product Design' conferences

Submission details
Conference papers: please email, fax or post  500 words describing your
proposed paper by 28 February 2007. The paper will then be sent to the
Advisory Board for evaluation and authors will be given feedback by the end
of April 2007. The highest rated papers will be invited to present at the
conference. 

Contact
For more information on Sustainable Innovation 07 please contact:
Martin Charter, Director,  The Centre for Sustainable Design,  University
College for the Creative Arts
Tel:  + 44 (0) 1252 892772   Fax: + 44 (0) 1252 892747   Email:
mcharter at ucreative.ac.uk   Website: www.cfsd.org.uk

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Job Opportunity : Research Manager/Senior Research Assoc., BRASS Research
Centre, Cardiff.

The ESRC Research Centre for Business Relationships, Accountability,
Sustainability and Society (BRASS) based at Cardiff University is seeking
to recruit three Research Managers/Senior Researchers to help to develop
the Centre and manage its portfolio of research projects. BRASS specializes
in research into issues of sustainability, social responsibility and
accountability in the relationships between businesses and their key
stakeholders (including customers, investors, supply chain partners, local
communities and regulators). BRASS is an autonomous joint venture between
Cardiff's Schools of Business, City & Regional Planning and Law. Founded at
the end of 2001 BRASS has attracted over £10 million in research funding
from all sources, conducted over 50 substantive research projects and has
published several hundred journal papers, book chapters and conference
papers in its areas of interest. It is the successful growth and expansion
of the Centre's research programme that has created the need to strengthen
our staff at the research project management level. 

BRASS consists of around 20 full-time staff, a dozen part-time associates
and nine PhD scholars. It represents a friendly working environment with a
strong emphasis on helping its members to develop their research interests,
capabilities and careers. Full details about the Centre and its research
area, including contact details and further information about these job
vacancies, are available through the Centre's webpage
http://www.brass.cf.ac.uk/

The three posts are 56 months in duration (at a salary: £33465 - £38772 per
annum) and will involve a blend of work on research projects with research
project management. They would therefore suit someone with experience of
academic research and project management seeking a new challenge and career
development. The posts would suit people with a research interest in some
aspects of business sustainability and/or social responsibility from
disciplines such as business & management; economics; geography; law;
social science or industrial ecology. Full details about the job vacancies
are also available at :
http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/schoolsanddivisions/divisions/humrs/jobs/academicr
esearchsenior/index.html

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