|
Conference Summary
Winners and Losers in Green Technologies
On June 6, 2008, the Mack Center
hosted a WHARTON IMPACT CONFERENCE entitled "WINNERS AND LOSERS IN GREEN
TECHNOLOGIES." This insight building event featured academic and
business presentations addressing concerns over global warming, mounting oil prices, water shortages and
other environmental threats have spawned a dizzying array of green
technologies and initiatives.
Left to Right:
Dr. Phil DeCola, Karl Ulrich and Christine Rohan,
John Ranieri, Ian Macmillan and George Day.
Left to Right: Scott
Snyder (DSI/Wharton) and Paul Schoemaker; Govi Rao; Donald Kalff;
Michael DeRosa;Christopher Tchen; Alexander Van de Putte
Dr. Phil DeCola
(pictured left above)
from the Office of Science and Technology in the
Office of the President, summarized the sizable body of evidence that
confirms global warming and climate change, most of which is
attributable to human activity.
Dr. Scott Snyder, CEO of Decision Strategies, Inc., and
Senior Fellow and Adjunct Professor at Wharton, described scenarios for
off-grid energy systems. John Ranieri, who heads
DuPont's advanced biomaterials initiative, discussed how DuPont has been
working with Wharton Professor Ian Macmillan to apply
and study the use of "real options" to early stage investment in
biofuels. Govi Rao, CEO of Lighting Science
Group, described advances in LED lighting, which is now being installed
in street lights in major cities. On January 1, 2008, the famous
New Year's ball of light in Time Square incorporated LED lighting that
will extend the life and reduce energy consumption.
Wharton
Professor Karl Ulrich chaired a panel discussion by
senior executives involved in green initiatives, including:
venture capitalist George Favolaro from Esty
Environmental Partners which invests in environmentally technologies and
ventures; and Steve Zacks, marketing executive at
NetJets, the private jet aircraft company that has made pioneering
efforts to minimize its carbon footprint.
Christine Rohan, Ecomagination Leader at GE, described
the company's pioneering efforts to create new business models and
business centers based on environmentally conscious technologies,
products and services -- including GE's hybrid locomotive which cuts key
emissions by 40 percent or more.
Wharton Professor Sidney Winter (left)
described "tail events" and made a compelling case for the incentives
that may be needed to stimulate the U.S. and other governments to take
strong actions to save the environment and reduce global warming.
History suggests that a major crisis or cataclysm linked to the
environment and/or climate change might have to occur in order to move
government leaders to take the bold and expensive steps needed to
address the factors causing global climate change. Michael
DeRosa of Element Partners discussed venture capital trends in
the environmental sector.
Prof. Schoemaker chaired a panel comprised of several thought leaders
including:
Donald Kalff (Author, Investor,
Biotech entrepreneur; former
member of KLM’s Executive
Board);
Alexander Van de Putte (Senior
Director at PFC Energy
International, Lausanne; Former
Director and Head of Global
Practices with the World
Economic Forum); and Christopher Tchen (Partner at
Carbon Limiting Technologies;
Former Director of Strategos).
While rising concern for the environment is clear, the nature and
trajectory of the successful technologies, products, and companies is
far from certain.
This event addressed a variety of critical
questions of value and importance to decision makers in many types of
organizations: What is the evidence that confirms Global Warming?
Which of the various technologies will prevail?
What are
the prospects for solar power, nuclear, clean coal and biofuels? Which
of the many solar photovoltaic technologies will win? Does hydrogen
have a future? What is the role of energy-saving technologies such as
hybrid cars and LED lighting? Will there be new technologies that will
change the game? Which firms are best positioned to win with these
technologies? How will venture capital be deployed?
These uncertainties are amplified by controversies over the timing
and magnitude of possible ecological inflection points. The impact of
government regulations and subsidies is still unfolding. The role of
consumers is ambiguous, with an apparent gap between their expressed
concern and their willingness to pay extra for green solutions. There
are conflicting claims over the rates of cost and efficiency
improvements of the competing technologies. A further complication is
the relative sacrifice to be made by developing versus developed
countries.
CONFERENCE THEMES:
In this Wharton Impact
Conference, the Mack Center brought together a distinguished group of
industry and academic leaders to explore the following key issues:
1. What does the
landscape of green technologies look like?
How can we segment and cluster the wide array of technological
approaches?
2. How might the
various markets for green technologies evolve?
Which technologies are
likely to prevail and why? What is the role of regulations, subsidies
and standards? How dependent is the evolution of technologies on cost
improvement, further improvements in performance, common standards, and
network economies? What emerging technologies now in the labs might
leapfrog current approaches?
3. Who will be the
likely winners and losers in key market segments?
Will these various
developments benefit or disadvantage established firms? What openings
will be created for new entrants? Are there likely to be first mover
benefits? Who will survive the inevitable shakeout?
4. What strategies
will be most effective in staking out winning positions?
How should firms assess
future opportunities and mitigate downside risks? What is the role of
partnerships and alliances in our increasingly networked economy? How
should intellectual property be protected, enhanced and exploited?
This Wharton Impact Conference was co-sponsored by the
Mack Center and Office of the Dean of the Wharton School, designed to address
critical issues of interest and concern to leaders in industry,
government and academia.
|
|
AGENDA
|
|
|
8:00a – 8:30a
Continental breakfast
8:30a – 10:15a
SETTING THE STAGE
Lessons
from Emerging Technologies
George S. Day (Co-Director of
the Mack Center; Geoffrey T.
Boisi Professor of Marketing)
Paul J. H. Schoemaker
(Research Director of the Mack
Center and Chairman,
Decision
Strategies, Inc.)
Climate
Change: Driver of Innovation
"The Challenge of Climate
Change"
- Phil DeCola (Office
of Science and Technology Policy
in the Executive Office of the
President)
“Application to Energy
Scenarios”
- Scott A. Snyder (CEO of
Decision Strategies, Inc. Senior
Fellow of the Mack Center and
Adj. Professor at the Univ. of
Pennsylvania School of
Engineering)
10:15a – 10:45a
Break (Coffee and Networking)
10:45a – 12:15p
STRATEGIES FOR PARTICIPATION IN
GREEN TECHNOLOGIES
Chair: Harbir Singh
(Co-Director, Mack Center; The
Mack Professor; Professor of
Management; Acting
Chairperson, Management Dept.;
The Wharton School)
Biofuels: A DuPont Story
John Ranieri (Vice President and
General Manager – DuPont
Bio-Based Materials-Energy &
Specialties)
Ian MacMillan (The Dhirubhai
Ambani Professor of Innovation
and Entrepreneurship; Professor
of Management; Director, Sol C.
Snider Entrepreneurial Center;
The Wharton School)
Business Model Impacts of the
Emerging Energy Ecosystem
Govi Rao (Chairman & CEO,
Lighting Science Group Corp.)
12:15p – 1:15p
Lunch
1:15p – 2:45p
LESSONS FROM GREEN INITIATIVES
Chair: Karl Ulrich (CIBC
Professor; Professor of
Operations and Information
Management; Chairperson,
Operations and Information
Management Department; The
Wharton School)
Developing Environmental
Strategies that Build
Shareholder
Value: Private Jets and Climate
Change
George Favaloro (Managing
Director, Esty Environmental
Partners)
Steve Zacks (Executive Vice
President of Marketing and
Chief Marketing Officer, NetJets)
The
Evolution of GE Ecomagination
Christine Rohan (Ecomagination
Leader, GE Transportation)
2:45p – 3:00p Break
3:00p – 4:30p THE
PATH AHEAD
Chair: Sid Winter (Deloitte and
Touche Professor of Management,
The Wharton School)
Comments on Understanding Tail
Events: Weak Signals from the
Periphery Venture Capital as a
Change Agent
Michael DeRosa (Managing
Director, Element Partners)
Commentaries
Donald Kalff (Author, Investor,
Biotech entrepreneur; former
member of KLM’s Executive
Board);
Alexander Van de Putte (Senior
Director at PFC Energy
International, Lausanne; Former
Director and Head of Global
Practices with the World
Economic Forum)
Christopher Tchen (Partner at
Carbon Limiting Technologies;
Former Director of Strategos)
4:30p
ADJOURN
|
 |
|
|
