Jodie Bricout

It’s hard to believe that three weeks have already passed since the 6th Annual Sustainability and Business forum in Lille, JADDE. Myself and the Better for Business team worked with Lille Chamber of Commerce in the organisation, mobilising speakers, translating the magazine, chairing workshops and sharing our experiences during the televised round table sessions.

More than 1000 visitors attended this year’s event, held in Lille, Northern France. They came to see more than 80 guest speakers and find solutions among the 70 stands to help improve their business through sustainability.

I had the pleasure of chairing a morning workshop around sustainable procurement practices between businesses. With co-speakers Sébastien Mari, international director of EcoBurotic, and Stéphanie Luong, Communication Advisor at Business Social Compliance Initiative, we discussed how sustainable procurement is changing the marketplace, opening up niches for responsible businesses and driving the development of new sustainable solutions.

My dear colleagues Georgina Legoe (based in Sydney) and Pierre Echard (based in Brussels) shared the limelight in the final panel session on “doing business in a changing world: development strategies, economic transformations and market perspectives”.

We all enjoyed the day and look forward to making the 2010 edition even more international.