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Social Justice

Sponsored by: 
American Forests - Track Page

All sessions listed below are in Pacific Time (PT).  View the Schedule summary here.

Tuesday, February 9th, 2021
10:45am to 11:30am
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Designing the Cultural Conditions for Regeneration

Breakout

The profound, intersecting issues of climate change, social injustice, and health require a new approach to systemic problem solving that empowers individuals to manifest their potential. To achieve this goal, we need to design for new cultural conditions in our organizations and communities that create the platform for more people to contribute fully and in reciprocal relationship with others. This session will explore how when we bring our full selves forward and connect as whole people, we give rise to biodiverse and resilient societies that have the capacity to thrive in the face of change.

Speakers

  • Lauren Yarmuth

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11:45am to 12:30pm
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Collaboration in Climate Action and Social Justice

Breakout

Climate action and social justice are inextricably linked, incredibly complex, and at a global scale and scope. While an individual organization can and must make progress on its own, cross-sector collaboration is essential for transformative change and momentum towards a world that is sustainable, just and equitable. How can companies and NGOs effectively partner to move the needle across industries and sectors? What are the primary levers and drivers of substantive change? What do sustainability professionals need to know to contribute to meaningful change at this intersection? How must companies support local organizations and communities, and how can the sustainability function drive maximum impact in these partnerships? Join this session to hear from corporate and NGO leaders on how to drive meaningful change towards an equitable and just society that benefits both planet and people.

Speakers

  • Jarami Bond
  • Ellonda Williams
  • Nathaly Moreno
  • Jasmine Thomas

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Linking Sustainability and Philanthropy

Breakout

Sustainability leaders are tasked with making positive impacts, both environmentally and socially, both within their companies and externally. The expectation that companies give back to society continues to intensify, and there are so many issues that need support, from the pandemic and human health, to social justice and equity, to climate impacts. How can you align your giving strategy with your company values and business impacts? How can you ensure you are maximizing your impact and creating meaningful ongoing relationships with the organizations you support? How can you design an overarching strategy to support causes on an ongoing basis, with the flexibility to react to unforeseen events? And how should sustainability and philanthropy relate and integrate? Join this session to learn how sustainability leaders should be connecting sustainability strategy with philanthropy and corporate giving.

Speakers

  • Kimberly Paxton-Hagner
  • Susan McPherson
  • Jeannette Astorga
  • Cecily Joseph

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1:00pm to 1:45pm
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Worker Health and Safety in a COVID-19 World

Breakout

Too often, sustainability is thought of as environmental only, a plea to protect the planet. But we often forget about the social part of sustainability – the people, their safety and their livelihoods as they make and purchase the products we love. Join this discussion and spotlight on worker health and safety and labor rights in today’s world with a focus on the urgent changes needed since COVID-19.

Speakers

  • Sarah Lewis
  • Mireya Reith
  • Chad Coggin
  • Brian Greene

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Wednesday, February 10th, 2021
11:45am to 12:30pm
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Align Your Company's Transformation Efforts to Go Far and Fast

Breakout

Many companies inadvertently create competition among their innovation and transformation efforts, but some are seeing the value in teaming up to drive better scaleable outcomes. Join this session to learn how company leaders are finding ways to connect diversity, equity and inclusion, corporate responsibility, sustainability and other transformation efforts to greater effect.

Speakers

  • CaSondra Devine
  • Eunice Heath
  • Jeff Senne

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Trees as a Pathway to Social Equity

Breakout

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.

Speakers

  • Jad Daley
  • Holly Beale
  • Regina Romero

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1:00pm to 1:45pm
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Why Companies Must Invest in Communities

Breakout

Traditional global sustainability metrics are limiting our industry's reach, traction and ability to have an impact, especially in individual communities around the world. What "matters" to a mom or dad trying to raise a family isn't just the amount of carbon a local manufacturer may emit, but whether that family's neighborhood is walkable, has great parks and schools, provides affordable safe housing, has tree canopies that moderate extreme temperatures, addresses inequality, and other factors that contribute to the "livability" of a community. Join this session to learn about different approaches companies are taking to quantify the prosperity of the communities in which they operate, and how they can play a role in advancing the well-being of those communities. This human-centric conversation is a critical evolution of the traditional ways we measure the sustainability of a community, that both addresses equity and conditions that link directly to the daily lives of people in the communities we are trying to sustain.

Speakers

  • John Davies
  • Roxanne Moore
  • Debra Vernon
  • Hardmon Williams

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I Am Woman, Watch Me Lead

Breakout

In spring 2020, GreenBiz research found the number of women in sustainability leadership positions had grown dramatically over the past decade: 58% of sustainability executives in large companies are female, as are 54% in smaller firms. But the economic downturn hasn’t been gender-blind. Layoffs triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic have hit women — especially women of color — hardest. Systemic workplace issues, such as the lack of affordable child or elder care, have been exacerbated, making historical work-life balance issues even more difficult. Join this session for insights from resilient, compassionate female sustainability leaders who are rising above this challenge. Our dialogue will address how to lead with empathy in a time of crisis; how to navigate systemic corporate obstacles such as pay equity and lack of diversity within management; how to address the heightened balancing act women face between housework, childcare and their careers; and how to develop effective mentoring networks for women and people of color.

Speakers

  • Heather Clancy
  • Eunice Heath
  • Jyoti Chopra
  • Katrina Shum

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2:00pm to 2:30pm
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Roundtable: Active Allyship in Sustainability

Networking

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!

Speakers

  • Jarami Bond
  • Adiyah Ali

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Thursday, February 11th, 2021
10:45am to 11:30am
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Managing Human Capital for Health, Safety & Sustainability

Breakout

While the sustainability field has long recognized the importance of social issues over the course of its evolution as a discipline, the past year of COVID-19, alongside movements such as Black Lives Matter and #MeToo, has dramatically shifted the ESG conversation toward the “S” and “G.” This has included an increased focus on taking care of employee health, safety, and wellbeing as people return to and continue work in the new normal, in addition to caring for an extended universe of stakeholders (employees’ families, contractors, suppliers, and the communities in which we work). Yet in many regards this is nothing new – and what is considered “human capital management” in the field of sustainability has been the core work of safety and health professionals for over 100 years. This session will explore the dynamic evolution in how businesses, investors, and partners in the NGO community are re-defining and elevating this interdisciplinary topic – and its critical importance to the sustainability community in the future world of work.

Speakers

  • Mike Wallace
  • Malcolm Staves
  • Natalie Nicholles
  • Mary Draves

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11:45am to 12:30pm
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The Role of the Sustainability Professional in Advancing DEI

Breakout

The need for companies to address and improve diversity, equity and inclusion has long been a priority, and the events of 2020 have intensified the urgency of this imperative. In addition to prioritizing diversity in hiring, companies must cultivate inclusive and equitable cultures. What role should the sustainability professional play in creating inclusive workplace cultures? How should sustainability leaders collaborate with their colleagues in diversity and inclusion? What is the relationship between sustainability and D&I, and how should these be integrated? What will it take to achieve meaningful progress? Join this session to learn why this must be part of your work and the approaches companies and organizations are taking to drive transformative change.

Speakers

  • Keesa Schreane
  • Deonna Anderson
  • Margaret Fenwick
  • Fawn Bergen

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1:00pm to 1:45pm
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Empowering Your Producer Partners at Origin

Breakout

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.

Speakers

  • Jane Franch
  • Michele Abo
  • Mike Forbes
  • Jodi Beasley

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How to Grow the Next Generation of Sustainability Leaders

Breakout

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.

Speakers

  • Shana Rappaport
  • Danielle Boyer
  • Diego Arreola Fernández
  • Stephen Ritz
  • Roxanne Moore

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2:00pm to 2:30pm
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Roundtable: Investing in People by Investing in Trees

Networking

Why and how is planting and caring for trees in cities a pathway to creating more resilient communities? There is more momentum than ever before for planting trees in urban areas of the United States. The emphasis is on socioeconomically disadvantaged urban neighborhoods, as that often is where trees are sparse. But there are not enough people who know how to properly plant and care for trees. American Forests helps people from these neighborhoods enter and stay in careers in urban forestry. Doing so is one way to create Tree Equity, which, simply put, is about ensuring all people benefit from what trees offer to the world. During this roundtable, we’ll discuss the important role companies and nonprofits play in creating Tree Equity and how they and communities mutually benefit from such partnerships.

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!

Speakers

  • Sarah Lillie Anderson
  • Devon Buskin

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Roundtable: The Rise of Social Metrics: Is the S of ESG the New E?

Breakout

In the wake of a global pandemic, political and economic instability and calls for social justice, how are companies quantifying their impact in a way that is meaningful for employees and recruits, and useful for investors, raters and rankers? Join this roundtable for a discussion on how some companies are starting to turn the corner of intent vs. action and supporting that with new disclosures, programs and more. What does meaningful disclosure look like? Is including D&I metrics in your ESG report enough? And how do we balance data with narrative to show authenticity? This discussion will give you an opportunity to explore these questions and hear from your peers to help you determine what approach will be right for your company.

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!

Speakers

  • Aman Singh
  • Amanda Cumberland

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