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AgGateway 2010 Annual Conference
Achieving Sustainability through
eBusiness Innovation
November 9-11, 2010
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According to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, the definition of sustainable is “of, relating to, or being a method of harvesting or using a resource so that the resource is not depleted or permanently damaged”. A common definition of sustainable development used in agriculture is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Sustainability = the ability to sustain. From our perspective it is the resilience of the supply chain (and companies within the supply chain) to meet economic and operational challenges both globally and locally as well as the demands for companies to practice environmental stewardship and conduct business in a socially responsible manner. It’s about how we and our partners can become more efficient, more productive, and ensure continued growth into the future for our business and for agriculture as a whole.
Sustainability will be required as a response to stakeholder demand, to legal and governmental requirements, and to resource limitations and costs. While many consider the current focus on sustainability a burden, consuming resources without a positive return, forward thinking companies recognize that it can drive organizational and technological innovations yielding both bottom line and top line returns.
At the same time, innovation is increasing exponentially, and the technological landscape is changing very quickly in a lot of industries, not just in Agriculture. Innovation is critical for the ongoing success of any enterprise. Companies that don’t innovate, disappear.
Customer attraction and retention, value creation and risk management are important to all of us. Therefore there is a growing need for accurate cradle to grave information for products of all types. This is a complex problem and the solution requires common standards and methodologies and coordination across industry, geographic and regulatory boundaries. The challenges we face as an industry include efficient resource management, critical infrastructure and systems improvement, security and legislative issues, NGOs pressure and campaigns, and increasing volatility due to longer, more complex supply chains, supply chain disruptions, price and demand volatility. Some of us may have corporate sustainability targets as well as investor pressure and reporting expectations, and we will all face the challenge of creating integrating sustainability thinking into our business processes. As we integrate sustainability, we will need to consider all aspects – environmental, social and economic.
The AgGateway 2010 Annual Conference is focused on the need for sustainability as a driver of innovation and growth and how eBusiness and AgGateway can help companies as they strive to be sustainable over both the short and long term.