What's the prevailing sentiment on the global economy? Are we turning the corner? What's the extent to which we'll continue to feel repercussions from Sept. 11? Is the information technology cycle in a down phase, or is it turning around? Hearing the tenor of the discussions will be interesting.

You have a critical mass of people who tend to be powerful in terms of leadership and resources. To the extent that people's opinions coalesce around a set of conclusions, their focus gets directed to certain issues and it may in fact affect thinking and ultimately, in some very decentralized way, actual actions.

It clearly passes the market test. For over a decade, people who have busy schedules have found the time and expended requisite resources to come and hobnob. There must be some networking value, at minimum.

We need a mobilized and active civil society using its purchasing power to demand sustainable products and practices. It is also essential that governments commit to the future, creating fiscal and regulatory conditions for sustainable policies to thrive.

We need to be both conscious and competent to design products that emulate nature's life cycles, making sure that they endure and are either recycled or absorbed.

Creating mechanisms for ending deforestation and promoting regeneration of the environment is one of the most effective ways of achieving net-zero emissions.