In early November, I was able to attend the Net Impact Conference in Baltimore, Maryland to gain more insight into the current trends in corporate social responsibility and sustainability in industry and nonprofits. Of the sessions I attended, the one I found most interesting focused on the environmental concerns of craft brewers and how many are working to “close the loop” on the materials that go into their products and the byproducts that come out. Dogfish Head Brewery in particular had a great summary of the how they use the spent grains form the brewing process to feed cattle at a local sustainable farm where they purchase that same cattle for use in the hamburgers and steaks they serve to guests.
Overall this was an interesting conference with plenty of opportunities to network, especially for students and jobseekers. The speakers were leaders in their fields and most came from large and well-respected companies. Be sure to add Net Impact to your conference schedule next year to see where CSR is headed.
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