Richard Branson to speak at Six Senses Slow Life Symposium in Maldives

Wednesday, 5 October 2011 01:28 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Sir Richard Branson and American actor and environmental campaigner, Edward Norton, are among the pantheon of global environmental leaders who are set to speak at the third annual Six Senses Slow Life Symposium, to be held at Soneva Fushi in the Maldives.

The conference will run over four days between 6-9 October 2011 and will bring together many of the leading minds in the fields of business, sustainability and environmental issues with globally-influential policy-makers and heads of state.

Sir Richard and Edward Norton will join President Nasheed of the Maldives, the event’s keynote speaker, among other guests including Sonu Shivdasani, Chairman and CEO, Six Senses Resorts and Spas, Jonathon Porritt (Forum For The Future) and Tim Smit (The Eden Project).

Sir Richard has been invited to talk about the challenge of a changing environment to his business portfolio. He will discuss the need for the Virgin empire to evolve rapidly to meet these changes and the steps he is already taking in his businesses and through organisations like the Carbon War Room.

Sir Richard will be discussing alternative fuel sources and new technologies to power Virgin’s fleet of trains and aircrafts and how we need to adapt our buildings to meet the challenges of rising fossil fuel prices and to stem carbon emissions.

Edward Norton will discuss the benefits that the tourism industry can bring to local eco-systems, wildlife and communities. He will take examples from large wildlife reserves that might otherwise be developed as mines or farms and the mutual benefit of supporting communities to protect their local environment.

The focus will be on the role that tourism can play in implementing ‘best practice’ on both a local and global scale, and how visionary policy makers and business leaders can form an alliance, particularly in support of small island states. Norton will draw on his role as President of the board of trustees of the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust.

“Within the travel and tourism industries, there is no road map to decarbonise. It is our ambition to provide that roadmap for the industry and the SLOW LIFE Symposium is a key part of our mission to achieve that goal,” said Sonu Shivdasani. “In its third year, the Symposium continues to bring together the finest minds in the world to develop practical and inspiring solutions to how we can reduce our impact on our fragile ecosystems.”