Policy Conferences

Bringing people together

Green & Growing: Wisconsin's Newest and Brightest Economic and Environmental Success Stories, October 3-4, 2005. On Monday, October 3rd, The La Follette School of Public Affairs, in cooperation with the Baldwin Wisconsin Idea Project and Wisconsin Environmental Initiative (WEI),  launched a major statewide initiative to showcase the impressive progress being made in Wisconsin's nationally respected Green Tier program.

Environmental Policy Forum:  Ensuring Wisconsin's Environmental Quality Through Regulatory Reform and Innovation, December 15, 2003. Join a select group of leaders representing business and industry, state and local government, environmental and consumer groups, and academia in an exciting initiative that will explore ways we might implement regulatory reform and innovation while positively impacting the environment and economy in Wisconsin.

Environmental Policy Forum:  Striking the Balance for 2003 and Beyond, March 2003.  Leaders from the state legislature, the Doyle administration, business, government, and citizen groups discussed their environmental priorities and ideas for addressing them in the context of a $3.2 billion dollar budget deficit and the need to improve the state economy.

Energy Forum, October 2001and May 2002.  Over 100 leaders representing utilities, industry, energy efficiency professionals, environmental organizations, consumer groups, local and state government, and academia gathered to develop recommendations for fulfilling Wisconsin's energy needs while positively impacting the environment and economy.

Environmental Policy Forum, June and September, 2000.  A series of events that bring together a large group of stakeholders, representing all sectors and viewpoints, to work towards more effective environmental policy in Wisconsin.  Participants created a systematic way to address environmental policy issues through collaboration and consensus building, resulting in policy recommendations drafted and supported by a diverse coalition of stakeholders.

Animal Agriculture and Wisconsin’s Future, December, 1998. A comprehensive informational conference that addressed the environmental and economic impacts of animal agriculture. Working groups throughout Wisconsin examine the issues in early 1999 with a goal of producing recommendations that will contribute to the development of economically viable livestock farming practices that protect and preserve our environment.

Environmental Management Excellence: Implementing Profit-Driven Environmental  Management, April, 1998. The kick-off of the Environmental Management Excellence (EME) series featured internationally recognized architect and innovator William McDonough as keynote speaker.

Agriculture & Land Use: Understanding the Purchase & Transfer of Development Rights, September, 1997. Attendees learned about the implementation and pros and cons of PDR and TDR programs by listening to national experts and a local panel who have had “hands-on” experience.

Community Development and Sustainable Energy, February, 1997. Conference speakers linked community development with sustainable energy by providing tools and regional case studies.

Agriculture and Land-Use in Wisconsin: Planning for Viable Agricultural Systems, November, 1996. The viability of Wisconsin’s agricultural industry was addressed through a discussion of farm profitability, environmental issues and development pressures.

Quality Urban Development: Setting an Agenda for Wisconsin’s Cities, June, 1996. Conference participants discussed the implication of decaying urban centers and the obstacles to redevelopment.

Environmentally Sustainable Communities: A National Town Meeting, February, 1996.  WEI partnered with Renew America to broadcast a national teleconference to discuss the creation of sustainable communities.

Technical Workshops

The 1999 Business & Environment Series:  Six management forums providing tools for integrating environmental  management strategies to gain competitive advantage and evaluate business risks and opportunities.

The Greening of the Built Environment II: Sustainability with Bottom-Line Results, September, 1998.

One of the country’s  most comprehensive forums on the built environment for the design and construction industries.  Presented by the Wisconsin Green Building Alliance.

Environmental Management Excellence Series: Implementing Profit-Driven Environmental Excellence, four-part series throughout 1998. The EME series presented half-day seminars on topics related to integrating resource efficiency and waste minimization into business strategy and performance.

ISO 14000 Video Conference, October, 1996. This conference presented new international standards for environmental management and the affects on manufacturing processes, international trade, environmental management costs, regulations and efficiency.

Roundtables

Facilitating environmental leadership through focused discussion sessions

Shoreland Development in Wisconsin: Balancing a Healthy Environment with a Healthy Economy, October 1998.  Conservationists and developers came together to discuss the interrelated economic and environmental issues of shoreland development, sharing perspectives and recommendations.

Competitive Strategy & the Environment, October, 1997. Co-sponsored with the SC Johnson Foundation, this conference brought Ray Anderson, CEO of Interface, Inc. to Wisconsin business leaders to explore the connection between sustainability and environmental management best practices.

Interpretation of the Impact Fee Law: The Exchange of Viewpoints on Meaning and Reform, September, 1997.  This roundtable convened stakeholders with first-hand knowledge of the impact fee law to share perspectives on interpretation, loopholes, dilemmas created by the law and ideas for reform.

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