With the implosion of the global economy and the death of banking as we knew it in the 20th century, what’s next?
Hironori Hamanaka, Chairman of the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), believes we have a rare opportunity to create new, innovative frameworks for business and the global economy based on principals of interconnectedness and sustainability.
We met with Professor Hamanaka yesterday to talk about the successor to the Kyoto Protocol. 2009 is a crucial year in the international effort to address climate change, culminating in the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, 7-18 December.
Professor Hamanaka, formerly Vice-Minister for Global Environmental Affairs at the Ministry of Environment, was sanguine about prospects for the Obama Administration being greener than that of its recent predecessor. Road blocks to U.S. participation in any new international climate change treaty are more likely to come from the U.S. Congress, he said.
Be that as it may, Professor Hamanaka thinks we may be on the verge of a new green frontier.
If so, Mitsubishi Corporation is certainly on the frontline of that frontier. We visited MC Senior Corporate Advisor and former Chairman Minoru (Ben) Makihara yesterday as well.
This year the global trading house is strengthening its CSR and environmental initiatives through INNOVATION 2009.
The plan calls Mitsubishi Corporation to develop businesses that “help society to achieve sustainable development and growth, particularly through environmental enterprises.”
MC’s key concerns encompass global warming, water resources, biodiversity and food resources.
(Daniel Rosenblum)
U.S.-Japan Innovators Network 