Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and former Sen. Paul Sarbanes join David Stockman, President Reagan’s Budget Director, and Joan Blades, Co-Founder of MoveOn.org, to headline this year’s Forum

EDISON, NJ (June 18, 2012) – Corporate Responsibility Magazine today announced the agenda for its 2012 COMMIT!Forum event, including topics for plenary sessions, working groups and—new for this year—the UnConvention.  The Forum, taking place October 2-3 in New York City, is an annual conference that brings together the world’s leaders shaping the face of corporate responsibility to tackle the tough issues surrounding the role of business in society and recognize the important commitments that companies and their NGO partners are making to change the world. Some of the most anticipated sessions scheduled for the COMMIT!Forum include:

• Oxford-style Debate of whether Corporate Transparency and Disclosure Requirements Have Done More Harm Than Good with former US Senator Paul Sarbanes
• Society, Sustainability, and the Rule of Law with lawyer, author and Chair of Common Good, Phillip K. Howard
• The Economics of Transparency with Ernst Ligteringen, Chief Executive of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)
• Investing in Responsibility, a discussion with investment officers from CalSTRS and CalPERS and other leading investment firms
• ERP for Your CSR: The Software Powering the Next Generation of Sustainability Management, Data, and Reporting with Jim Sullivan, Vice President at SAP, and Janice Warren, Director of OneReport

Additionally, the Forum will feature a unique UnConvention bringing left, right, and center together to find common ground and effective solutions to society’s toughest challenges including:

• Crony Capitalism: Building Common Ground on Maximizing the Potential of the Free Market While Reducing Cronyism Favoring Privileged Industries, Individuals, & Firms
• Dual Deficits: Overcoming Society's Mounting Fiscal & Sustainability Debts moderated by Bill Shireman, President and CEO of The Future 500
• Energy Security: Safe, Stable, & Reliable Energy Sources to Fuel Our Economy with panelists from the US Navy, Tauri Group, Harvard Kennedy School, and Sierra Club
• Digital Freedom: Securing an Online World that Generates Greater Innovation, Prosperity, & Freedom moderated by Bruce Piasecki, author of Doing More With Less

“There is a lot of excitement building around this year’s program,” said Forum Chairman Richard Crespin.  “We are confident that it will shine a spotlight on the innovative ways business is positively impacting society and the environment plus provide a knowledge-sharing platform to inform new partnerships and commitments that will change the world.” These are just some of the many notable sessions at the 2012 Forum.  Over 800 total attendees – C-suite executives, heads of corporate responsibility, sustainability officers, investment analysts, NGO and government leaders, academics, and more – will convene at the Cipriani Wall Street for two days to make commitments that change the world.  The complete agenda can be found at www.commitforum.com. Thanks go to Forum sponsors AHA!, AT&T, Brown Flynn, Deloitte, Mosaic, and State Street for their support. About the COMMIT!Forum (http://www.commitforum.com/) The COMMIT!Forum, calls people to commit to changing the world. How? By inspiring, educating, and engaging them in ways that prepare them to make the commitments necessary to change themselves and their organizations. The path to COMMIT, which began on April 17^th at the New York Stock Exchange with the announcement of CR Magazine’s 13th Annual 100 Best Corporate Citizens, culminates October 2-3 in New York City at the Forum and continues well beyond through commitments people make there.   About CR Magazine (www.thecro.com) CR Magazine is the voice of the corporate responsibility profession covering case studies, best practices, and trends in the 5 primary segments of the CR profession: a) Governance, Risk, Compliance, b) environmental sustainability c) Corporate Social Responsibility, d) philanthropy, and e) workforce/diversity.