Ranked #1 in the World
By Laura Clise ‘08
As the Director of Sustainable Development and Continuous Improvement for AREVA Inc., I am responsible for the development and deployment of the company’s sustainable development strategy for the North American region. In my role, I support the continued integration of sustainable development into regional business strategy and coordinate sustainability reporting, climate change strategy and stakeholder engagement for the region.
AREVA is a global low-carbon energy generation, transmission and distribution company, whose products and services offer technological solutions that support the worldwide transition to a low carbon economy. From nuclear, off-shore wind, biomass and fuel cell generation, to the recycling of spent fuel, to Smart Grid Energy Management Systems, AREVA innovates to address today’s energy, economic, and environmental challenges.
I contribute periodically to the AREVA blog, and wanted to share a recent post on a recent TED event I attended. On June 3, the U.S. State Department Global Partnerships Initiative, the Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator and TED hosted TED@State, New Ideas for a Better World.
TED is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the spread of attitude-changing, life-changing, and world-changing ideas. TED@State brought together a diverse and dynamic group of speakers, but better than any notes I could provide, you can check out the actual footage from each speaker’s presentation on the TED website (available soon) or read a summary of the presented material on the TED Blog.
While the event was personally of interest to me (I have a passion for international development and my best friend my best friend from business school is currently working as an Acumen Fellow for TED@State speaker, Jacqueline Novogratz), my professional reason for attending TED@State was directly linked to the ongoing global dialogue regarding development, energy, and climate change.
Social media analyst Clay Shirky talked about the impact of the shifting media landscape, something with which AREVA is already familiar through the AREVA Blog, Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin pages.
Futurist and environmentalist Stewart Brand discussed the implications of increased urbanization and also the critical role that base-load nuclear energy must contribute to our low-carbon energy future.
Acumen Fund CEO Jacqueline Novogratz talked about facilitating bottom up entrepreneurial solutions to poverty alleviation and noted that effective solutions start from the perspective of those her organization is trying to help. This mentality is akin to the way we develop the products and services that we offer.
Economist Paul Collier talked about the importance of sustainable job creation, health, and clean government in post-conflict recovery. AREVA also believes that job creation is critical to economic vitality and will be hiring more than 700 people in North America this year.
Finally, data visionary Hans Rosling provided a statistical argument for global convergence and talked as well about the importance of information and data transparency. AREVA has been committed to open communication and transparency since its inception in order to lift the veil of secrecy that used to shroud the nuclear energy industry.
The TED@State speakers articulated the complex geopolitical, social, cultural, and environmental contexts in which companies like AREVA are innovating solutions that meet the energy needs of development while at the same time taking into account implications for social and environmental impact.
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