Next month, Case Western Reserve hosts the third edition of its regular international gatherings to explore and share ways the private sector can improve profits and also advance positive outcomes for individuals, communities and the world.
The Fowler Center for Sustainable Value is one of the event’s primary conveners, yet its leaders insist sustainability is only a start. Instead, argues the Weatherhead School of Management’s Chris Laszlo, businesses should reach for a far greater result: “… flourishing, aimed at creating the world we all want rather than the one we just get by in.”
Laszlo’s observation appears in an article that appeared Monday in the online publication greenbiz.com, which highlights one of the speakers for “Flourish & Prosper: The Third Global Forum for Business as an Agent of World Benefit.”
The event takes place Oct. 15-17 on the Case Western Reserve University campus, and includes a broad range of business and civic leaders, scholars and activists. Among them is Chris Killingstad, now president and chief executive officer of Tennant. Until 12 years ago, Laszlo writes, the global firm “made floor-cleaning equipment using technology first developed during the Great Depression.”
Today, Tennant has enjoyed a 300 percent increase in its stock price—growth that Laszlo notes is five times that of the Dow Jones Index. The gains came from a dramatic reinvention of the firm’s approach to its work, including the adoption of chemical-free cleaning and electrically converted water technology.
To learn more about Tennant’s efforts, read Laszlo’s piece in greenbiz.com. Those who want to hear from him firsthand can learn more about the conference and registration online at globalforumbawb.com.