Maintaining Economic Vitality in a Changing Climate

Originally aired March 22, 2012

Co-produced with ICLEI — Local Governments for Sustainability USA, this session examines successful infrastructure and capacity-building investments that meet the dual goals of sustainability and economic vitality. Panelists discuss what makes sustainable cities more resilient, explore successful local and national approaches to maintaining business continuity and jobs while responding to extreme weather events and energy impacts, and consider how investment in sustainable infrastructure can drive lasting economic and community benefits.

Speakers

Jeb Brugmann

Founding Partner, The Next Practice; Founder, ICLEI

Jeb Brugmann is the founder of ICLEI — Local Governments for Sustainability — and Founding Partner of The Next Practice, a global urban strategy firm. A recipient of the Millennium Award and the Stockholm Partnerships Award for his contributions to international urban sustainability, he is the author of Welcome to the Urban Revolution, which demonstrates how cities can be transformed into more productive, equitable, and sustainable places.

Mindy Lubber

President, Ceres

Mindy Lubber is President of Ceres, which leads a national coalition of investors, environmental organizations, and other public interest groups working with companies to address sustainability challenges including global climate change and water scarcity. She discusses the private sector’s role and the importance of investment in building resilient, sustainable cities.

Lykke Leonardsen

Head of Department for Strategic Planning in Parks and Nature, City of Copenhagen

Lykke Leonardsen heads the Department for Strategic Planning in Parks and Nature in Copenhagen’s Technical and Environmental Administration and led the preparation of the city’s first climate change adaptation plan. She discusses how the plan improves the city for its residents, how climate initiatives are financed, and how Copenhagen is becoming a global model for climate-resilient urban planning.

Karen Weigert

Chief Sustainability Officer, City of Chicago

Karen Weigert is Chief Sustainability Officer for the City of Chicago, where the sustainability strategy focuses on mitigating climate change through energy efficiency while incorporating job creation to bolster the local economy. She shares a U.S. city planning perspective on how sustainability investments can simultaneously address climate goals and economic vitality for Chicago’s residents and businesses.

Lindene Patton

Chief Climate Product Officer, Zurich Financial Services

Lindene Patton is Chief Climate Product Officer at Zurich Financial Services, where she puts climate risk into an insurance perspective and explains why investment in sustainable infrastructure protects the insurability of the built environment. She brings expertise in climate risk assessment, catastrophe modeling, and the financial dimensions of building climate resilience into urban systems and infrastructure.