The guest list for the Ethical Supply Chain Summit 2008 already looks promising: Toyota, Pepsi, Cadbury, and more have announced that they'll be taking part. The conference is scheduled for October 16 and 17 in Berlin. It will focus on providing executives with the information necessary to decide on a sustainable approach to supply-chain management.

The agenda for the summit hones in on key social and environmental issues, such as the effects of climate change on supply-chain management. However, attendees will branch out from environmental concerns to such topics as engaging suppliers and consumers in supply-chain management and effectively using metrics and benchmarks. The variety of speakers scheduled ranges from Dan Rees (the director of the Ethical Trading Initiative) to Karl Daumueller (the supply chain purchasing director for HP).

Ethical Corporation is producing the summit.  This is the same company responsible for Ethical Corporation Magazine and a number of other projects. Last year's Ethical Supply Chain Summit involved such companies as Volvo, Vodafone and McDonald's — it brought together 173 corporate responsibility and supply-chain professionals from 21 countries. Information on the specifics of the agenda, as well as registration, is available through Ethical Corporation's website.