Environmental Business Journal’s (EBJ) Environmental Industry Summit VII will be held Feb. 18-20, 2009, at the Coronado Island Marriott in Coronado, California. Now in its seventh year, this annual networking and learning event offers attendees an opportunity to gain a current perspective on today’s environmental industry and its prospects in these challenging times.

The conference program will feature sessions designed to put current business conditions into a strategic context for those senior executives who are responsible for charting and executing their companies’ strategic plans. Emphasis will be placed on big-picture, long-term issues such as industry dynamics, business cycles, and broad environmental policy priorities; and short-term business management issues such as marketing, human resources, competitive positioning, and business development.

The opening session at the 2009 Environmental Industry Summit VII will include EBJ’s annual industry overview and forecast by EBJ Editor and Summit Chairman Grant Ferrier and special Washington overview and outlook from Andrew Paterson, EBJ’s "Man on the Hill." Key themes presented will be shifting market drivers as the result of the new Obama administration, economic trends, resource prices, and the upcoming major push in energy infrastructure.

Specific sessions during the conference also include the following:

• a panel discussion on success factors with EBJ 2008 Business Achievement Award winners;
• an overview of the current financial environment, including impacts on the client base, as well as discussion of business valuations and merger and acquisition strategies;
• a panel on opportunities arising from domestic infrastructure redevelopment and government stimulus programs;
• a panel on global resource development with a focus on oil and gas, mining, and renewable energy;
• a discussion with experts on internal business management issues such as human resources, merger and acquisition integration, and strategic planning; and
• a special session on the opportunities resulting from climate change government policy and corporate strategy, and the burgeoning markets in building America’s new clean energy infrastructure.

A special feature of the Environmental Industry Summit is EBJ’s annual Business Achievement Awards. Gold, silver, and bronze awards and honorable mentions for business performance and technology or project merit will be presented at a banquet dinner on Wednesday, Feb. 18. A complete list of categories, as well as information about nomination procedures and conference attendance, is posted on the event website at www.ebjsummit.com.