A future-oriented topic of current interest and a motivated team – what else is necessary to ensure the success of the Campus Symposium? Good speakers, of course!  We were delighted to be able to welcome Tony Blair to the Campus Symposium as a keynote speaker who is a real expert on the subject of Green Business.

Green Business in this sense refers to the combination of economy and ecology and incorporates the theory that these two fields need not preclude one another. The theme was thus not only evident throughout the speeches, but even influenced the marquee landscape and the entire organization as well.

But let’s start at the beginning. How did we hit on the idea of Green Business as a topic? Firstly, our mentor Prof. Dr. h.c. Dietrich Walther had just finished and published his book "Green Business - Das Milliardengeschäft" and was able to provide us with significant background knowledge on this relatively new sector. A further factor was that many of the previous speakers and visitors had also rated Green Business as a highly topical issue. And this valuation was absolutely spot-on.

In 2009, we succeeded in winning a variety of top speakers from the fields of politics, business and academics for the Symposium. These included Prof. Dr. Ernst-Ulrich von Weizsäcker, founder of the eminent Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy and author of the bestseller, "Faktor Vier" (Factor Four).  When selecting the speakers for 2009, it was necessary to proceed with some caution because, although there are many very good speakers and genuine experts in this relatively young subject area, there were – and are – plenty of frauds as well.

Thanks to our main sponsor, T-Systems, the event took place for the first time on a “climate-neutral” level, meaning that the relevant environmental certificates could be procured not only for the event itself, but also for all the preliminary stages. In return, the whole tent town was illuminated in Telekom magenta in the evenings.

Speakers 2009

	Tony Blair Former British prime minister		Sigmar Gabriel Federal minister of enviroment and nature conservation and reactor safety in the ministry of Merkel
	Reinhard Clemens Board od direction Deutsche Telekom and CEO T-Systems		Martin Jetter Chairman of the management of IBM Deutschland GmbH
	Prof. Dr. Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker Co-founder of  Wuppertal Institut für Klima, Umwelt, Energie		Prof. Dr. Dr. Peter Höppe Director of the division Geo Risiko Forschung/Corporate Climate Centre der Munich Re

Dr. Matthias Afting	CEO of DB Services
Dr. Ignacio Campino	Vize President of Sustainability and Climate Change of Deutsche Telekom AG
Mr. Gustav Dieter Edelhoff	Honorary President, German Federal Association of the Waste Management Industry
Mr. Alwin Fitting	Member of the Executive Board of RWE AG
Mr. Hans Otto Franz	Managing Partner of Carl Bechem GmbH
Prof. Holger Hagge	Global Head of Building & Workplace Development and Personnel
Mr. Ayyub Axel Köhler	Chairman of the Board "Zentralrat der Muslime in Deutschland e.V."
Mr. Rob Morton	Program Consultant of Disney Institute
Mr. Klaus Neuhaus	Member of the Board of NRW.BANK
Mr. Louis Palmer	Initiator "Solartaxi"
Prof. Dr. Stephan Schüller	Spokesman of Bankhaus Lampe KG
Mr. Jürgen Schwerter	Owner of Hermann Schwerter Iserlohn
Mr. Detlef Spigiel	CEO of Lobbe Holding GmbH & Co. KG
Mr. Sven Plöger	Meteorogist and TV host
Prof. Dr. Fritz Vahrenholt	CEO of RWE Innogy GmbH
Prof. Dr. Ulrich Walter	German Astronaut
Mr. Klaus Walther	Senior Vize President and  Head of Corporate Communications
Mr. Stephan Werthschulte	Head of Division Energy Utilities
Mr. Amit Yudan	Manager Europe Business Development