20 Jan 2009
What Would You Ask a Business Leaders at DAVOS? Now’s your chance…
CNN has invited Transition Culture and some other bloggers to submit questions to be asked to business leaders at the DAVOS summit in Switzerland. They write “as part of this year’s “Dear Davos” coverage, CNN is inviting a selection of influential bloggers to submit their questions to be put to our guests during our daily coverage”. So, I am throwing this over to you lot, and will pick the one I like best. I know how you like deadlines… your questions need to be in to me by 2pm THIS Friday. No pressure. Please post them as comments at the bottom of this piece.
They offer some tastes of question asked so far;
“Should we be more concerned with the concept of what Margaret Thatcher used to call “sound money” than trying vainly to spend our way out of a recession?”
Iain Dale
“Businesses still seem to be on the sidelines during the U.N. international climate negotiations. Lowering global carbon emissions relies on creating a new low carbon economy, so should businesses have a greater role in putting together a post-2012 climate change plan? If so, how could businesses best aid negotiations / If not, why not?”
Zara Maung
“When I was in China two months ago I noticed the extreme pollution, but I also noticed that they were copying western consumer habits (like buying American SUVs). How can we convince the rest of the world to fix their pollution problems when we can’t even convince Americans to buy smaller electric cars?”
Robert Scoble
So it’s over to you. I’m sure you’ll come up with some killer questions, and hopefully they’ll get picked and we’ll be able to make some people think. I look forward to seeing your questions….
Steve Atkins
20 Jan 5:55pm
“Is the UK Prime Minister responsible for ‘Promotion of Unsustainable Development’ by allowing the expansion of Heathrow?”
EU Fundamental Rights: Article 37: “…the improvement of the quality of the environment must be integrated into the policies of the Union and ensured in accordance with the principle of sustainable development”…
Joanne Poyourow
20 Jan 6:58pm
Given that we live in a “steady state ecology” — we have only one planet, it’s not getting any bigger nor growing any additional resources, and humanity has already maxed out on consumption (ref http://www.footprintnetwork.org/en/index.php/GFN/page/world_footprint/ ) — what are global business leaders doing to leave behind the notion of “growing the economy” in favor of something that is more in keeping with the physical realities of the world in which we live?
Rimu
20 Jan 9:08pm
2008 and 1931 are the two years in the last 100 years when the stock market went down by 50%. Are we on the verge of a second great depression?
Doug Blair
21 Jan 3:48am
I’d ask for two shows of hands from Davos attendees:
1. Do you think global warming is a serious problem?
2. Do you think peak oil is a serious problem?
Then ask “For those of you who raised your hands, what are you going to do about these problems?
cristiano
21 Jan 9:04am
So far, my vote for Joanne’s question.
Vinnie mc cann
21 Jan 10:29am
With the immense responsibility of employment and the distribution of wealth of individual companies, can it now be acknowledged that Corporate responsibility be recognized as nothing more then a immense marketing opportunity for big business ? Can companies now begin to concentrate on the individuals families and communities the that have perpetually grown these companies ? or is it that big business / companies have no sense of place ?.
Tom A
21 Jan 11:50am
Do you have guilt ridden dreams about the damage being done to people and planet by the requirement for growth that is built into the system in which you operate?
Ben Brangwyn
21 Jan 4:36pm
Our economic systems and key metrics demand that we follow the path of relentless economic growth. However, given that we operate in a finite ecosystem with finite resources…
a) what viable economic systems and associated metrics will recognise that limitation
b) how are we going to decide which to follow
c) how will we handle implementation
Andrew Ramponi
21 Jan 7:21pm
Will your children and grandchildren grow up in a world as full of abundance and opportunity as you have?
Greenpa
21 Jan 9:06pm
Faced with the abundant and increasing evidence that all economic experts actually understand nothing whatsoever about the world economy, what steps are you taking to replace current experts with those capable of thinking in new ways?
David
21 Jan 10:49pm
I really like Ben’s question… So mine is very similar. What do they recognise on this earth as a being a finite resource?
Banjojim
22 Jan 12:34pm
Have we reached the limits to growth? How can economics help us transiton to a localized, zero growth economy?
michael Dunwell
22 Jan 8:47pm
Joanne and Ben
Mandy
22 Jan 10:32pm
I like Joanne’s the best so far too