GULF SHORES, Ala. — Discover your environmentally conscious side as the leading expert on corporate environmental practices and green technology, Joel Makower, speaks during the 2007 Sustainable Tourism Summit: “Business. The Environment. The Bottom Line.”

The summit will be held Nov. 1 at the Erie H. Meyer Civic Center in Gulf Shores, from 8 a.m.-1:30 p.m., and is co-sponsored by the Alabama Gulf Coast Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Alabama Gulf Coast Chamber of Commerce. 

In addition to the key note speaker, summit attendees can attend additional sessions: “Up and Coming” (a local update), “Talking Trash” (a panel discussion about recycling and other green practices), and “Turning Green” (a discussion of the best practices for existing facilities).

Makower, who has been called the “guru of green business practice,” will present “How Companies Can Harness Environmental Thinking to Create Value and Competitive Edge.” With almost 20 years of relevant experience, he’s the founder of Greenbiz.com and is currently a Batten Fellow at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business. In addition, he’s the co-founder of Clean Edge Inc., an environmentally-aware research firm, and is a senior consultant to GreenOrder, a sustainability strategy firm. Also, he is compiling a book of business case studies to be titled “The Case for Sustainability.” 

Contributing to this program’s funding are the Alabama Department of Conservation, State Lands Division, Coastal Section, from a grant from the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, Office of Ocean & Coastal Resource Management; Mobile Bay National Estuary Program; and Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium. 

A continental breakfast and lunch will be provided during this free event. Reservations are required and can be made via 251-974-1510 or sbrush@gulfshores.com.