TIM Lecture: Green business models to change the world

Mika Westerlund, PhD
Sprott School of Business
Carleton University

• When: Thursday, June 20th, 2013, 6-9 p.m.
• Where: Room ME 3380, Mackenzie Building, Carleton
• Register: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/7029249675/Carleton

There is a growing culture of sustainable business practices and rapidly increasing demand for environmentally friendly technologies in all around the world. Governments are promoting a shift towards energy efficiency and clean technologies, and companies are making major strategic investments in support of products and processes that reduce the environmental footprint. The leading sustainability business models combine green and blue innovation to increase positive social impact.

Sustainability can be a driver of huge business success and simultaneously have a positive impact on people and the planet. However, many companies are accused of riding the sustainability wave as a publicity stunt and greening in words only rather than action. We need entrepreneurs and leaders with the courage and conviction to take bold action ahead of others. We also need radically new business models that create true value for the environment and the society, bring competitive advantage to companies, and have the potential to transform industries globally.

In this presentation, Mika Westerlund from the Carleton University’s TIM program will talk about what we can learn from the global sustainability business leaders. In the talk, he will discuss the need for a new sustainability oriented business culture; describe emerging sustainability business models that aspiring entrepreneurs can create or adopt; and present recent research and sustainability trends.

About the Speaker:

Mika Westerlund is an Assistant Professor at Carleton University’s Sprott School of Business and teaches in the Technology Innovation Management program. He previously held positions as a Postdoctoral Scholar in the Haas School of Business at the University of California Berkeley and in the School of Economics at Aalto University in Finland. Prior to academic career, he was entrepreneur in the IT industry.

Mika earned his PhD degree in Marketing from the Helsinki School of Economics. His doctoral research focused on software firms’ business models and his current research interests include sustainability, open innovation, business strategy, and management models in high-tech companies. Mika’s has researched these areas in Europe and the North America, and spent a year in London Business School, UK, as a visiting scholar

TIM Lecture contact: Kevin Burr,  burr@sce.carleton.ca

Host: Carleton University’s Technology Innovation Management (TIM) program http://www.carleton.ca/tim

The TIM program attracts talented engineers and computer scientists who wish who wish to launch and grow their own businesses as well as personnel driving innovative initiatives in medium- and large companies. The TIM program offers a thesis and project options and it is the backbone of the Lead to Win business ecosystem.

TIM program contacts:

• Tony Bailetti:         Bailetti@sce.carleton.ca
• Steven Muegge:   Smuegge@sce.carleton.ca
• Mika Westerlund: Mika_Westerlund@carleton.ca
• Michael Weiss:     Weiss@sce.carleton.ca
• Jonathan Wells:   Jonathan_wells@carleton.ca