WHAT: A conference on the environmental issues facing businesses today, sponsored by the Initiative for Global Environmental Leadership, a cross-disciplinary endeavor at the University of Pennsylvania led by the Wharton School and including faculty from the schools of Arts and Sciences, Design, Engineering and Applied Science, Law and Medicine as well as government and non-governmental organizations.

IGEL’s corporate advisory board includes representatives from BASF, Exelon, General Electric, Goldman Sachs, Interface, Xerox, International Paper, Merck, Rohm & Haas and United Water Suez.

WHERE: The Hub, Cira Centre, 2929 Arch St., Philadelphia.

WHEN: Tuesday and Wednesday, April 15-16.

WHO: Guest speakers include Harvey Rubin, director, Penn’s Institute for Strategic Threat Analysis and Response; Robin Wiessmann, Pennsylvania treasurer; and Amy Gutmann, Penn president.

Panel discussions will examine how to integrate environmental concerns in business decision-making; how to measure and report environmental performance; climate change: mitigation, adaptation, new law and costs; and carbon markets and low-carbon alternatives.

Eric Orts, professor of legal studies and business ethics at Wharton and IGEL director, will present an overview of the Clinton, McCain, and Obama campaign positions on business and environment, while Dan Martin, surrogate for the Obama campaign, will present the official version of Obama’s views.

DETAILS: Additional information, including a conference schedule, can be found at http://environment.wharton.upenn.edu/