Kleiner Perkins’ Managing Partner Ray Lane to Keynote Colorado Event

DENVER, October 21, 2007 – Ray Lane, managing partner at one of the nation’s most prominent venture capital firms, California-based Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, will present the keynote address at the 2008 Sustainable Opportunities Summit, sponsored by CORE (Connected Organizations for a Responsible Economy) and the Deming Center for Entrepreneurship at CU-Boulder’s Leeds School of Business.

Lane is a leading clean tech investor and has sponsored investments like Ausra (solar concentrator), GreatPoint Energy (coal to gas conversion) and LUCA (gas extraction through microbial injection). Before joining KPCB, Lane was president and chief operating officer of Oracle Corporation.

“Sustainability has become a perfect storm of opportunity,” said Lane. “Business, political and economic environments are pushing companies into more environmentally responsible practices and it is affecting every area from policies to factories and fleets.”

“It is fundamentally important for companies to know exactly what their carbon foot print is and understand near-term opportunities to reduce it,” Lane added. “Realistically, we are only a couple years away from companies having to pay for carbon whether through taxation or free market trade. If business leaders don’t know how much carbon their operations need to put into the air there is no way for them to know how legislation will impact their businesses, and companies will be caught off guard, in much the same way that Sarbanes-Oxley shocked the business world.”

The Summit will explore how companies can financially benefit from addressing climate change and establishing corporate “green initiatives,” and offers students the chance to put forward their best ideas in the clean tech arena via the Cleantech Venture Challenge.



About the Summit and the Cleantech Venture Challenge
The Sustainable Opportunities Summit is an annual event now in its third year. Co-hosted by CORE and the Deming Center for Entrepreneurship, the Summit includes both business sessions and the Cleantech Venture Challenge, an international student business plan competition featuring plans that provide innovative solutions to environmental challenges. The Summit will be held at the Four Points by Sheraton Denver Southeast from February 27th to the 29th, 2008.

About CORE
Connected Organizations for a Responsible Economy (CORE) is Colorado’s leading sustainable business trade association that enhances the economic vitality and competitive positioning of its members by assisting them in integrating socially and environmentally responsible business practices into profitable commercial enterprises. CORE develops cutting-edge training and education programs, provides valuable tools and resources, and assists its members in developing and sharing best practices. More information about CORE and its members is available at corecolorado.org.

About the Robert H. and Beverly A. Deming Center for Entrepreneurship at CU-Boulder’s Leeds School of Business
The Deming Centeris consistently ranked in the top 10 to 15 schools in the nation for entrepreneurship education. It recently received the National Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers’ Award for Excellence in Specialty Entrepreneurship Education for its Sustainable Venturing Initiative and is recognized among top schools that have found innovative ways to help students who are studying sustainability and entrepreneurship.
http://leeds.colorado.edu/entrep

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