Visionary environmental business leader and advocate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will keynote the inaugural “Be — the Boulder Earth Conference,” June 12 in downtown Boulder.

Net proceeds of ticket sales for the event — including Kennedy’s keynote presentation, “A Contract with Our Future” — will benefit the Center for ReSource Conservation, a Boulder-based environmental nonprofit advocating the conservation of natural resources.

The conference is presented by the Boulder County Business Report and BizWest Media LLC. The event will highlight major environmental trends and issues facing our planet, nation and region, bringing a mix of global, national and local thought leaders. Speakers and panelists will discuss topics such as renewable energy, cleantech innovation, electric and hybrid vehicles, genetically modified organisms and much more.

Boulder has evolved as a center not only for the global environmental movement but also for entrepreneurship, sustainable business practices and climate research. A key purpose of the Boulder Earth Conference will be to discuss these trends on a macro level, helping to raise Boulder’s profile and bridge the divide that sometimes separates the business community and the environmental movement. We will tackle difficult issues, with the goal of fostering communication and understanding.

For five years, the Boulder County Business Report conducted the Green Summit, providing a mix of keynote speakers and panel discussions ranging from sustainable business practices to climate change. Be — the Boulder Earth Conference represents the next evolution of the Green Summit, broadening topics to reflect Boulder’s prominence at the center of the environmental movement.

RFK Jr. is, I believe, a perfect choice as keynote. He boasts a long history as a defender of the environment, having been named one of Time magazine’s “Heroes of the Planet” for his efforts in restoring the Hudson River. Rolling Stone named him one of its “100 Agents of Change.”

Kennedy works as a professor of environmental law at Pace University School of Law and is a senior attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council. He also is a partner on the clean-tech investment team of VantagePoint Capital Ventures, a Silicon Valley VC firm, so he understands the business side as well.

RFK Jr. is just the beginning for Boulder Earth. We’ll have more announcements of additional speakers and sessions in the days ahead.

Boulder Earth will take place at the Boulder Theater, with some functions at the nearby Rembrandt Yard. Thanks in advance to our initial sponsors, including Western Disposal Inc., the city of Boulder and the Better Business Bureau of Denver/Boulder. For sponsorship information, contact Kevin Loewen at kloewen@bcbr.com. Tickets are available at www.boulderearth.com — and they’ll go fast.

Christopher Wood can be reached at 303-440-4950 or via email at cwood@bcbr.com.