The Prince of Wales's Business & Sustainability Programme (BSP) is a unique forum, established in 1994 by The Prince of Wales and the University of Cambridge. It provides a strategic forum for senior decision makers and key executives to explore innovative and pragmatic approaches to reconciling profitability and sustainability. The Programme has established a reputation as the leading international, cross-industry and cross-sector forum for sustainable business.
BSP seminars address the successful management of change. The primary audience of the seminars, which are delivered internationally, comprises corporate senior leaders and senior decision makers from government, international agencies and non-governmental organisations who interact closely with businesses.
Delegates will be led by an expert Faculty composed of practitioners and academics to develop an understanding of global trends, enabling delegates to find strategic and practical ways to integrate social and environmental solutions into their decision-making processes.
Read further details about the individual seminars:
Cape Town, South Africa: 12–15 May, 2013 São Paulo, Brazil: 25–28 September, 2013 Brussels, Belgium: 4–7 November, 2013 Cambridge, UK: 7–10 April, 2014
Frequently asked questions.
To apply for the seminar please complete the application form.
Please note that you will need to complete the online application form in one sitting, so please ensure that you have all required information with you.
Each seminar begins with a rapid but deep immersion in the key challenges of unsustainability, material risks and opportunities these pose, as well as key trends in response. It then explores the actions that companies can take to enhance their competitive advantage, as well as opportunities for system-level interventions that will create an enabling context for long-term corporate sustainability and profitability.
The BSP learning approach is based on a journey from challenge to opportunity, facilitated by the knowledge provided by our expert contributors and Faculty. Sessions are collaborative, offering multiple opportunities for interaction, exchange of ideas and debate and discussion. In addition to plenary sessions, small syndicate groups, each led by a member of the Core Faculty, allow delegates to deepen their understanding of the issues and explore the implications for themselves and their organisations.
Attending the senior executives’ seminar will enable you to:
To ensure a real-life atmosphere and enhance peer-learning and collaboration, each seminar includes a mix of carefully selected individuals from different backgrounds.
Download a list of recent participants' profiles.
Approximately 30–35 delegates are selected to attend each of the annual seminars, usually nominated by senior colleagues. All nominations are carefully vetted to achieve a balance on each seminar between industry sectors and between business, government and NGOs.
Applicants will be required to demonstrate:
The seminars are not designed for corporate environmental experts or technical specialists in the field of sustainable development or corporate social responsibility. However, applications from senior practitioners will be considered.
The Programme is designed by CPSL, which has 25 years' experience of designing and delivering leadership programmes on sustainability. The CPSL team is responsible for all elements of the leadership, development, management, governance and administration of BSP.
Polly Courtice, LVO, is Director of the University of Cambridge Programme for Sustainability Leadership (CPSL). She is also Co-Director of The Prince of Wales's Business & Sustainability Programme. Polly is a member of the University of Cambridge’s Board of Executive and Professional Education and Academic Director of CPSL's Master of Studies in Sustainability Leadership. She is a Non-Executive Director of Jupiter Green Investment Trust, an Advisor for the Lloyds Banking Group Sustainability Advisory Group and is also an Advisor on the CR Advisory Board for Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP. In 2008 Polly was made a Lieutenant of the Victorian Order (LVO) announced in the Queen's Birthday Honours list. Read about a day in the life of Polly.
polly.courtice@cpsl.cam.ac.uk
Jonathon is the Co-Founder of Forum for the Future. He is a writer, broadcaster and commentator on sustainable development. He was Chairman of the UK Sustainable Development Commission (2000–2009), and is Co-Director of The Prince of Wales's Business & Sustainability Programme. He is a Non-Executive Director of Wessex Water and Willmott Dixon Holdings, and a Trustee of Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy. He was formerly Director of Friends of the Earth (1984–90); co-chair of the Green Party (1980–83); chairman of UNED-UK (1993–96); chairman of Sustainability South West (1999–2001); Trustee of WWF UK (1991–2005), and Board member of the SW Regional Development Agency (1999–2008).
Aris joined CPSL in May 2011 to work with the Executive Programmes team. His primary responsibility is acting as the Programme Development Director for The Prince of Wales's Business & Sustainability Programme and the Climate Innovation Programme. Prior to joining CPSL he was a Senior Principal at the NGO think-tank, AccountAbility, where he worked with the private sector and international institutions on sustainability strategies and initiatives. Aris started his career as a news editor and correspondent in Greece and later joined a small brokerage firm before eventually moving to the UK to work for a health charity. He is a trained economist and journalist and holds an MSc in international money and banking from the University of Birmingham.
aris.vrettos@cpsl.cam.ac.uk
Jemma Cobbold joined CPSL in 2000 having worked previously in the retail and software industries. She has provided programme and event management support on a number of CPSL's programmes and is currently a Senior Project Manager working on The Prince of Wales's Business & Sustainability Programme and the Climate Innovation Programme. Jemma holds a degree in Psychology and Drama.
jemma.cobbold@cpsl.cam.ac.uk
Peter Willis is Director of the South African office of CPSL, which was established in 2002 to design and run executive seminars in the region. In this role he organises and chairs the Cape Town seminar of The Prince of Wales’s Business & Sustainability Programme. He is also involved in designing sustainability learning programmes for multinational corporations in and outside Africa. From 1999 to 2002 Peter was Executive Director of The Natural Step in South Africa, an international NGO consulting to businesses and local authorities on sustainability strategy. Prior to that he was Programme Manager at the Environmental Monitoring Group in Cape Town, focusing on setting up dialogues between legislators, industry and affected communities, particularly in the mining sector. Peter has a degree in Modern History from Oxford and in Education from London University. During the 1980s and early 1990's he ran a number of businesses in the UK. He moved to Cape Town with his South African-born wife in 1993.
peter.willis@cpsl.cam.ac.uk
The Programme’s international Faculty consists of over 40 prominent business leaders, academics and sustainability practitioners. All faculty members have a distinguished track record in their field of expertise and have strong experience working with business and other organisations to support change.
Current faculty include:
Cape Town: 12–15 May, 2013 São Paulo: 25–28 Sept, 2013 Brussels: 4–7 Nov, 2013 Cambridge, UK: 7–10 April, 2014
For more details, please contact:Jemma Cobbold,Senior Project ManagerT: +44 (0)1223 768829 F: +44 (0)1223 788831bsp@cpsl.cam.ac.uk
Contact us or request our newsletter