Trust and Integrity in the Global Economy is the theme of the second summer conference in Caux this year. With 241 participants from 52 countries it focuses on the challenges of an increasingly globalized economy – and the needs of humanity.

Each conference day has featured different themes. Some of these themes are The workplace of the 21st century, Beyond the bottom line, Environmental Initiatives of change, Pathways to a secure world. With various speakers addressing this issues, conference offers a secure space for discussions and sharing personal stories of transformation at workplaces of the 21st century.

According to Alick Sytor, associate consultant of the Gallilei Company,Belgium, the 21st century is a time when 'workplace challenges turn into workforce opportunities'. Sytor also emphasized that the main characteristics of the workplace of the present and the future are 'new technologies, knowledge transfer and transformation, competition and future scarcity of resources'.

Bernard Koechlin, Honorary Chairman of Implenia SA, offered his vision on how contemporary business can be altered to function in the framework of integrity. Koechlin, who is also a member of the board of the Swiss chapter of Transparency International, called on management schools to 'better emphasize that the aim of business is to provide the community with products and services that are useful and valuable'.

An overall aim of the participants of the conference Trust and Integrity in the Global Economy is to challenge business to go beyond the bottom line and walk towards a pathway to a secure world.

Environment and ecological challenges became the main subject of the discussion at a plenary meeting on Environmental Initiatives of Change. Antoine Jaulmes, an engineer with PSA Peugeot Citroën in Paris, (the group produces 14,000 vehicles per day) explained how his company addresses the issue of doing business responsibly. Citroën is concerned with the ecological footprint of the industry, Jaulmes said, and he quoted a number of ideas that the firm was following in terms of constructing environment-friendly cars: moving to natural gas and using bio fuel. 'Hybrid diesel is one solution for the future,' Jaulmes suggested.

Bernard Margueritte, President of the International Communications Forum, also spoke on the issue of ecology in his talk about the role that the press can play as an agent of change. As Margueritte pointed out, the media of the 21st century ought to mobilize awareness about the issues that require immediate attention before it's too late. According to him this century poses challenges of over-consumption. His concern was that 'if China and India reach the same level of consumption as the United States, we will need seven more planets to keep the waste'. Margueritte stressed out that current society is 'in the traffic jam of consumerism and materialism'.

Participants of the conference will continue discussing challenges, proposing solutions and developing initiatives for the global economy. The conference Trust and Integrity in the Global Economy will continue till Wednesday, 18 July.