Disruptive Energy Discussion Kicks off Peterson Series, Sept. 30

The Peterson Series, the Center for Responsible Business’ flagship speaker series, kicks off Sept. 30 at Haas with a session on The Role of Social Responsibility in Disruptive Innovation.

The event, which is co-hosted by the Center for Responsible Business and the Energy Institute at Haas, will be held from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. in the Wells Fargo Room. Box lunches will be provided. Please register here.

Speakers include Brian Farhi, MBA 10, who is in business development at Nest, which makes learning thermostats and alarms, and Raj Vaswami, BS 87 (engineering), CTO at smart grid company Silver Spring Network. Aron Cramer, president and CEO of Business for Social Responsibility (BSR), will moderate the discussion. They will explore energy technology companies’ role in shaping our energy future, specifically:

  • How did the energy innovations come to be? Did partnerships or collaborations support the product’s development and growth?
  • What opportunities and challenges did the company encounter from different stakeholders in their ecosystem along the way?
  • What role does social responsibility play in energy scaling?  How does the product’s capacity as a climate change solution factor into business development decisions?  

This fall, the Peterson Series’ theme of “Transparency and Values in the Tech Industry” focuses on the strategies and tactics that company leaders take as they navigate critical issues concerning technology and society. The Peterson Series was created in 1997 through a generous gift from Rudolph Peterson (1904-2003), a 1925 UC Berkeley graduate and former CEO and President of Bank of America.

Additional Peterson Series Fall Events include :

Oct. 9: Responsible Action in Supply Chains: Conflict Minerals in Electronics

Nov. 17: Human Rights in Tech: Diversity, Data Privacy, and Freedom of Speech

 

 

Raj Vaswami (L), Brian Farhi
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