The eighth annual Woodlands Conference will try to answer thatquestion. The event, set for Jan. 29-30, 2001, is being sponsoredby the Houston Advanced Research Center. The conference "CorporateCapabilities and Tools: Making Sustainability Work in the 21stCentury" - promises "to provide practical, hands-on tools forintegrating sustainability into corporate strategies and businessoperations."

Peter Senge, author of "The Fifth Discipline" and co-author of"The Dance of Change," and Paul Hawken, co-author of "NaturalCapitalism" are the featured speakers. They are among a growingnumber of business experts who promote the rewards of balancingeconomic prosperity with environmental preservation and socialinterests. Joining Senge and Hawken in the discussions will beleading executives who maintain that organizations failing toincorporate sustainability into their business plans will fallbehind in the years ahead.

Robert Kates of the National Academy of Sciences will discusscritical issues that corporations must understand aboutsustainability. Also participating are Bernard Bulkin from BPAmoco, Gerry Manwell from Suncor Energy Inc., Stuart Hart from theUniversity of North Carolina, Michael Terraso from Enron and AnitaBurke from Royal Dutch/Shell.