Imagine: You’re the CEO of a global food company. You wake up one morning to a concerning headline: “Water shortages threaten crop production, prices spike 40%.” You get nervous. You know that this can impact your supply chain’s productivity and key business outputs. What do you do? How do you respond? What’s the best course of action for your business today? In 10 years? 25 years? Quantis has designed an interactive simulation to help business leaders navigate these high-stakes situations while remaining within planetary boundaries. In all sectors, planetary boundaries are the backbone of business resilience. They give guidance on how to safely use Earth’s resources so that humanity can thrive for generations to come. Yet, businesses often neglect to consider these boundaries in their strategies. When leaders understand that aligning their business with planetary boundaries is the key to future-proofing their company, they see the necessity — and value — of taking action. In this session, get in the game! Test your ability to deliver business results while building the foundation for a resilient future. A responsive dashboard will help you discover how environmental and social challenges will affect your business decisions and their consequences. You’ll walk away from our time together with insights into how current decisions impact future performance, a clear vision on why aligning with planetary boundaries can help your business play the long game, and experience collaborating with other business leaders.

From the early years of corporate action when “disclosure” was the mark of a climate leader, much has changed. Today, leaders are setting 1.5 degree aligned Science Based Targets, and many companies are committing to go even further by setting Net-0 and carbon negative goals. But achieving these goals will be impossible without supportive climate policies. That’s why it’s time for companies and their trade associations to get off the sidelines and advocate for strong policy. It’s also why several of the leading business-focused NGOs are aligned and collaborating to ensure that the climate leadership mantle is reserved for those companies who are using their voice and influence to secure supportive climate policy. Join this session to learn about the new bar for climate policy leadership called the “AAA Framework”, tools to make it easier for your teams to engage, EDF’s new Authenticity Meter, which assesses recent advocacy actions by companies and industry groups and rates them on how they obstruct or support progress, and engage in a robust dialogue about what you can expect in the coming years as workers and ratings and rankings organizations begin to account for your policy advocacy actions.

What are the business incentives and best practices for rethinking plastics packaging in your business strategy? In the world of packaging and sustainability, plastics continue to be a hot button issue. The urgency of eliminating plastic waste and addressing the environmental degradation it has caused is clear — not just to help people and planet, but increasingly to mitigate risk. This breakout will explore the business case for addressing plastic pollution and unpack the financial and reputational incentives for shifting your packaging strategy.  While many companies commit to post-consumer recycled content goals, invest in recycling infrastructure, explore material innovations and pilot new models  like reusable packaging — many companies are still doing nothing when it comes to addressing plastics in their operations.  Join this session to explore the comprehensive and cross-cutting packing strategies on the market and the business case for pursuing them. 

Visit the Quantis booth to see how the Sustainable Business Simulation convinces business leaders that sustainability is a business issue.

On top of the incredibly devastating human impact, COVID-19 brought unparalleled disruption to supply chains around the globe. How can the global supply chain prepare for and withstand the next, unexpected, shift in supply and demand? First and foremost, every company must take actionable steps and implement strategies to help navigate this crisis, mitigate negative impacts and leverage data to ultimately position their supply chain to succeed in this era of turbulence. This includes reevaluating its capacity for supply chain resilience and putting a risk management plan in place, which in turn will directly improve its ecological, ethical and economic sustainability. By examining the landscape of turbulence, factoring in risks including geopolitical shifts, cyberthreats, resource depletion, climate change, and pandemics, supply chains can better prepare for the next disruption. Join this session to learn about how companies are building new adaptive, resilient, and shock resistant supply chains that are strategic and real-time responsive. By looking toward the future and anticipating what risks lay on the horizon, supply chains can build stronger, long-term relationships across the value chain, reduce supply chain fragility, and increase sustainability and resiliency.

What emission reduction opportunities are available today to help organizations meet net zero goals? Many companies are now expanding their sustainability programs from focusing solely on renewable energy to a more comprehensive net zero emissions program. In this session, we will focus on the immediate actions organizations can take across Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions on the path to net zero. Join us to discuss tools available to reduce your organization's emissions as much as possible, as soon as possible.

Join GreenBiz 21 roundtables to connect with like-minded participants for interactive virtual discussions around a big question or hot topic. Select your topic of interest to join a group discussion hosted by experts. Bring your own challenges, questions and ideas to these interactive discussions. Cameras on!

How should you assess your current packaging footprint and build future proof goals and a reporting framework for circularity? Join this interactive discussion to explore the need for packaging baselines and the best practice methodologies for collecting information against which annual improvements and progress can be mapped. We'll explore examples of different approaches to setting scopes, data management, supplier engagement and a discussion about the best ways to set goals which reflect your organization’s level of ambition.

Join GreenBiz 21 roundtables to connect with like-minded participants for interactive virtual discussions around a big question or hot topic. Select your topic of interest to join a group discussion hosted by experts. Bring your own challenges, questions and ideas to these interactive discussions. Cameras on!

Traditional risk management approaches have failed to arm companies with the appropriate processes to address and strategically respond to high impact ESG-related events and risks. Despite recognition of the potentially catastrophic impact of a global pandemic, very few companies recognized infectious disease as a high-risk factor, and organizations were woefully underprepared to strategically and operationally respond to COVID-19. As organizations revive and revise their business models, they must implement more robust operational models and processes focused on resiliency and the management of business vulnerabilities. Organizations need to better plan and prepare for the impacts and challenges of addressing global disruptions and worldwide networks of interconnected ESG-related risks. Join this session for insights and tools to assess the vulnerability of your organization to ESG-related risk, extend traditional risk management activities to address dynamics and connectivity of risks, and build resiliency to critical and emergent ESG-risks.

A lot has been written about how COVID-19 propelled companies to make technology shifts in 3-5 months that they previously thought would take them 3-5 years. 2020 also propelled consumer shifts and expectations. Gone are the days when a company could simply comply with regulations, make social and environmental commitments that were in the “middle of the pack” and run the occasional Earth Day social media campaign. Americans now expect companies to be Good, and they expect that Goodness to be authentically baked into a company or brand’s reason for being and to be transparently communicated about.  So…what exactly do they expect? What do they want companies to do? How do they expect companies to communicate about it? Suzanne Shelton will share trend-lines and insights from her firm’s market research work and lay out a framework for how companies and brands can position themselves to meet consumer expectations and win in the court of public opinion.

Trees are more than something pretty to look at or sit under. Much like schools, streets and sewer lines, trees are essential infrastructure. They are vital to the health and wealth of people, especially as climate change-induced heat waves are leading to more and more deaths and illnesses. But a map of tree cover is too often a map of income and race—especially in cities. That’s because, often in U.S. cities, trees are sparse in low-income neighborhoods and some neighborhoods of color. The inequitable distribution of trees exacerbates social inequities. Companies, governments and nonprofits throughout the U.S. are stepping up to address this challenge by creating Tree Equity—which, simply put, means trees in every part of every city. Many are doing so through the new (launched in August) U.S. Chapter of 1t.org, a community of people committed to conserving, restoring and growing 1 trillion trees globally by 2030. Join this session to learn why and how you and your company can join the global trillion trees movement.

Gain clarity and focus on reaching your potential for impact with a one-on-one coaching session with ICF-certified coach, Shannon Houde.

How can companies shift consumer behavior to advance sustainable outcomes? Many sustainable product interventions rely on consumer behavior to succeed. From circular shopping to cold water washing, the consumer plays an active role in making decisions that ensure sustainable outcomes. But when a consumer is unfamiliar or unwilling to participate, sustainable initiatives and business models can fail. How can you encourage your consumers to change their behavior and ensure sustainability success? Learn from practitioners and researchers who are studying and provoking consumer behavior change.

Health and wellbeing in the workplace is typically associated with a wellness program or an occupational health and safety initiative. However, as COVID-19 has demonstrated, companies need to take a bold and holistic approach to health and wellbeing — one that recognizes that health and wellness are driven by social, economic, and environmental factors. Taking a holistic approach starts with understanding the social determinants of health i.e., the conditions in the places where people live, learn, work, and play and which affect a wide range of health and quality-of life-risks and outcomes. What role can companies play in impacting these conditions and advancing health equity, particularly in the workplace? This session will delve into a broad range of business practices that impact health outcomes, from pay practices and benefits to job security to the physical work environment, introduce the multi-stakeholder-developed Culture of Health for Business Framework for companies to use in developing forward-thinking strategies, and highlight critical issues for companies to manage as they prepare for a post-COVID-19 workplace.

How can we actively uplift BIPOC sustainability professionals, driving our field toward greater diversity, equity, and inclusion? 

Join GreenBiz 21 roundtables to connect with like-minded participants for interactive virtual discussions around a big question or hot topic. Select your topic of interest to join a group discussion hosted by experts. Bring your own challenges, questions and ideas to these interactive discussions. Cameras on!

From responding to the deluge of “rating and ranking” surveys, to setting increasingly aggressive and wide-ranging goals and targets, the expectations placed on sustainability leaders have always been high — especially when compared to departmental budgets. Then COVID-19 happened. And a racial justice reckoning. And climate-induced wildfires. And a wildly polarizing election. Over the past year, many sustainability leaders — particularly those with terms like "Health and Safety" or “Diversity and Inclusion” incorporated into their titles — have taken on an entire new job’s worth of responsibilities. Meanwhile, many are attempting to balance remote work with staying healthy, managing childcare, and all the other responsibilities of a “new normal.” The result has been a slew of early retirements, career pivots, extended leaves of absence, and resignations from sustainability experts across sectors. The risks to companies from these departures are enormous – institutional memory and relationships are lost. Team morale erodes. New program champions have to be cultivated. Issue expertise has to be outsourced or re-hired. In this session, we’ll ask the question — are we losing our movement's greatest leaders by asking too much of them? And if so, what can be done about “sustaina-burnout”? Participants will be invited to engage in a dynamic discussion, sharing experiences, best practices, and new ideas for improving workplace mental health, work-life balance, and employee well-being within the sustainability community.

Join GreenBiz 21 roundtables to connect with like-minded participants for interactive virtual discussions around a big question or hot topic. Select your topic of interest to join a group discussion hosted by experts. Bring your own challenges, questions and ideas to these interactive discussions. Cameras on!

2019 saw many leading businesses take a renewed focus on the purpose of the corporation with the updated statement from the Business Roundtable and launch of the Principles for Purposeful Business. In 2020, the WEF focused on stakeholder capitalism and the COVID-19 pandemic has demanded a ‘great reset’ as business considers how it must evolve and respond to the societal challenges that the year has posed. What is the role of the board in understanding, managing, and responding to a crisis such as this? How can board members be better informed and equipped to ensure business resilience? How can the board ensure that it is taking account of all stakeholder views and using this to inform decision making and generate value for all stakeholders aligned with the purpose of the corporation, whilst still managing ESG-related risk and opportunity? This session will seek to answer some of these questions and provide attendees with an opportunity to hear from legal and corporate experts who will share their experiences on engaging with the board as they begin to reflect on how modernizing their approach to governance will support more successful and sustainable business.

The pandemic has shown organizations across all industries that we must be prepared for the unexpected. Water is a critical supply chain component and disruptions to water supply can lead to higher costs, operational risks, reputational damage and regulatory uncertainty. Threats to water quality, security and safety will only increase as our world grapples with the impacts of climate change. How can we ensure that everyone has access to clean, affordable water, in support of UN Sustainable Development Goal 6? And how can you protect your operations against future disruptions caused by water scarcity? The solution: being a responsible water steward who works with all stakeholders in a given watershed. This session will provide tools and strategies from Fortune 500 companies to help you assess the risks that water scarcity poses to your operations and enable you to create a more sustainable water management plan to ensure resilient and reliable operations now and in the future.

The role of the corporate sustainability professional is constantly shifting and adapting as the world we live in changes. Companies need sustainability professionals who can see what's on the horizon and devise strategies that position their companies as leaders on today's important issues. What existing skills should you continue to grow, and what new skills do you need to build in order to thrive? How can you continue to adapt, evolve and advance in your career as your role, work, and company change? What is the future of the sustainability profession? Join this session to hear from a group of leading sustainability professionals for their guidance and vision on what's next for corporate sustainability practitioners and how you can position yourself to succeed.

The consumer communication landscape is awash with apps, labels and websites to help consumers understand the sustainability of the products they are buying. How do companies sort through the options, and how do consumers avoid greenwashing? Join a panel of consumer-facing media platforms to discuss the landscape of consumer communication and where we go from here.

Youth leaders have played a key role in the growing awareness of climate change and the imperative of climate action. How can we continue to grow the next generation of activists, advocates, and informed citizens to engage in this critical work? What is the role of corporations in cultivating this next generation, and how should they partner with NGOs and youth leaders to advance this work towards maximum impact? What do successful ongoing partnerships look like and how can they be mutually beneficial, beyond checking a box? Join this session to hear from youth, NGO and corporate leaders on how your company can be part of the solution and finish out your time at GreenBiz 21 with a strategy for engaging, educating and empowering the next generation.

What are the best approaches for engaging your supply chain to align on mutual sustainability goals and set science-based targets? And who can help? What resources are available? What are the opportunities and challenges? There are different ways to set science-based targets but not a lot of clear understanding on how to do it, what resources are available, and how customers and suppliers can collaborate. This session will explore best practices to setting scope 3 science-based targets, engaging supply chains on sustainability goal setting through the procurement process, and leveraging lessons learned across different industries.

Join GreenBiz 21 roundtables to connect with like-minded participants for interactive virtual discussions around a big question or hot topic. Select your topic of interest to join a group discussion hosted by experts. Bring your own challenges, questions and ideas to these interactive discussions. Cameras on!

The Alliance to End Plastic Waste is a nonprofit organization whose vision is to end plastic waste in the environment. With 11 million tonnes of plastic waste leaking into the environment on an annual basis, there is urgency to find ways to deal with this crippling environmental issue soon. Since 2018, the Alliance has brought together over 50 companies from across the plastic value chain to find solutions to address this crisis. Amongst the Alliance’s investment themes are Design for Circularity, which looks into ways companies can better design their products to ensure a more circular lifespan, and Advanced Recovery and Recycling, which leverages technology to unlock value from waste plastic so that it can be brought back into the economy across a multitude of applications. Join this roundtable to better discover how businesses can contribute to a circular future and help end plastic waste in the environment.

Join GreenBiz 21 roundtables to connect with like-minded participants for interactive virtual discussions around a big question or hot topic. Select your topic of interest to join a group discussion hosted by experts. Bring your own challenges, questions and ideas to these interactive discussions. Cameras on!