INNOVATION GOT US INTO THIS MESS. INNOVATION WILL GET US OUT OF IT. . Alex Steffen Founder and CEO Worldchanging.com USA Alex Steffen is considered to be one of the world´s leading emerging thinkers about environmental sustainability, technological innovation and social reform. ”We inherited a broken future,” Alex Steffen says. ”So we´re building a better one.” That´s why he founded WorldChanging, the planet´s most widely-read web site on sustainability. Every day, his global team of journalists and practitioners delivers bright new ideas that The New York Times lauds as ´solutions-focused reporting on innovation.´ In his inspirational InnoTown presentation, Alex examines the role and power of new thinking in helping to meet the planet´s biggest problems. Paying special attention to tools, ideas and models that have been ignored by the mass media, he makes a point of showing ways in which seemingly unconnected resources link together to form a toolkit for changing the world. By seeking out and embracing these innovative solutions, we can begin to work toward the world we want. Steffen looks at how sustainability and social innovation are changing the way businesses (and foundations and other institutions) will operate in the near future. We can build businesses that embrace sustainability, openness and fairness not as a sideline ethical consideration, but as a path to profits. Alex shares his thoughts on how to make a difference – how to live a meaningful life, do creative work, and remain optimistic in increasingly difficult times. Alex Steffen has been the subject of a CNN documentary, and was chosen by The New York Times Magazine as one of six leading innovators in its ´Ecotecture´ issue in May 2007. . Next Speaker