The COVID-19 pandemic and the corresponding breakdown in global supply chains showed that the food and agriculture sectors rely on a fragile system.  A breakdown in any one of the components or by any one of the ‘actors’ within the system can cause catastrophic impact across the supply chain for workers, customers, investors, communities and the environment. The crisis has amplified the need for transforming the global food system and asking the obvious question: How do we reliably and sustainably feed a planet predicted to soon reach 9 billion people? Join this session to learn how companies throughout the value chain are driving change towards a sustainable food system and what your company can do to be part of the solution.

The basis of good water stewardship is intuitive: responsible use today = equitable future availability. Companies can follow a number of paths to reach this ideal, but guideposts were established by the Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS) International Standard. This framework helps businesses move beyond their fence line to define the water-related context of their operations (from hydrologic balance to stakeholder sentimentality and beyond) and identify the appropriate areas for investment to address Shared Water Challenges and advance the Five Outcomes of AWS. It will help you avoid buying sunglasses when your stakeholders would have most valued a rain jacket. Join this conversation with two companies at the forefront of AWS certification in North America to discuss the benefits and lessons learned from applying the AWS Standard.

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!

As part of creating an agricultural system that is fit for the future, regenerative agriculture practices have the potential to create more resilient supply chains, restore soil health and enable farmers and businesses to thrive. At its heart, regenerative agriculture is an approach to farming that puts more back into the environment and society than it takes out. While activity and investment in regenerative agriculture in the US has accelerated over the last five years, there are significant barriers holding us back. The sector is now at a critical point where collectively, different actors can enable the urgently-needed and just transition of the agriculture system towards resilience and regeneration. This will require breaking down silos between seasoned regenerative practitioners with deep experience and ambition, and incumbent stakeholders with resources and expertise to drive transformation across the country. Join this session to hear from representatives from across the agriculture system who will share the key findings from the first phase of the Growing our Future project, which identified the key actions that players across the supply chain – including farmers, businesses with agricultural supply chains, agribusinesses, non-profits, investors and financial services, research institutions, philanthropists and policy makers – must take to drive change. Using the report findings as a foundation, attendees will explore their role in implementing concrete, coherent action to accelerate the adoption of regenerative agriculture practices.

 As climate risks become more and more disruptive, how can companies prepare for these disruptions and ensure resilience throughout their supply chain? How can companies formally incorporate climate change risk assessment into their supply chain risk management strategy? How are investors evaluating supply chain risks due to climate change? Join this session to explore why climate change risks must be addressed within a supply chain risk management program and the opportunities that companies have to create greater supply chain resilience.

Join this session for a discussion on scope 3 supplier engagement from the perspective of the suppliers, including effective engagement approaches, insights on the target-setting process, and recommendations on how to accelerate action. Speakers will share their perspectives from the ongoing journey of engagement and collaboration on carbon reductions, as there is no one formula for success and best practices are all a work in progress.

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 business impacts of COVID-19 are teaching us all some hard lessons: First, the value of resilience for businesses and their value chains, and the importance of improving sustainable practices. Second, the need to help companies optimize capital and cash flow as payment terms get extended due to the crisis. Managing these processes are essential for building a robust and resilient business and value chain. What if one program could address both? Join this session to hear about the next wave of innovative programs where organizations are partnering with banking and finance leaders to take action on both fronts at the scale needed for global impact. We’ll explore:

• How combining global sustainability ratings with an innovative new breed of loan and financing programs can boost working capital and accelerate cash flow for suppliers, while providing incentives for suppliers to improve sustainability performance.

• The latest developments with sustainability ratings that enable suppliers — including SMEs and non-listed companies — to benchmark performance, improve management systems to tackle challenges like diversity and anti-discrimination, working conditions, health and safety, environmental and climate impacts such as scope 3 GHG emissions, waste, and resource use.

• Examples of sustainability-linked programs such as reverse factoring of invoices, supply chain finance, and commercial loans, that use these ratings as a mechanism for offering incentives in the form of reduced lending and discount rates, or investment due diligence at global scale.

Plan to be inspired by the transformative supply chain sustainability and social impact initiatives created at origin by Alter Eco, Numi Organic Tea, and Barrie House Coffee Roasters. You’ll learn about their creative programs designed to empower producer communities by delivering vital clean water access, farming techniques resilient to climate change, crop durability partnerships, and foundational Fair Trade benefits. Each organization will share their approach to driving supply chain resilience by spearheading these programs on the ground. Finally, panelists will provide key insights on valuable lessons learned along the way and recommendations on how to engage your own internal partners in the sustainability journey.