The Agenda

While organizations increasingly commit to ambitious sustainability goals, many struggle to translate strategy into measurable business operations. In this keynote, Beth Schweibinz explores how SAP bridges the "sustainability execution gap" by embedding environmental data directly into core enterprise processes, enabling companies to move beyond carbon reporting and drive real-time, actionable climate strategy across their supply chains.

In this fireside chat, Ann Tracy reflects on the evolution of Colgate-Palmolive’s 2030 Sustainability and Social Impact Strategy, highlighting how framing sustainability through the lens of business value creation accelerates meaningful change. She explores how anchoring goals in financial metrics, balancing consumer superiority with environmental impact, and establishing clear accountability can bridge the gap between ambition and measurable, scalable impact.

In this keynote, Scott Collick addresses a critical gap in corporate sustainability: having vast amounts of carbon data without the intuitive understanding needed to make strategic business decisions. By examining the lifecycle footprint of everyday items—such as asking if the 55 kg CO₂e footprint of an iPhone is "good or bad"—he introduces the concept of carbon fluency. Collick demonstrates how organizations can evaluate emissions through the lenses of context, performance, and financial value, empowering leaders and engineers to weigh carbon trade-offs as comfortably and naturally as cost, yield, and risk.

In this fireside chat, Budderfly CEO Al Subbloie explores how commercial energy can be transformed from an operational overhead into a strategic, value-generating asset. Drawing on real-world lessons from scaling Energy-as-a-Service (EaaS) across thousands of locations, he discusses the practical barriers to turning sustainability targets into action, the operational power of battery storage and grid flexibility, and the crucial first steps leaders can take to future-proof their enterprise infrastructure.

In today's fast-evolving landscape, sustainability is no longer just a corporate commitment; it is a powerful catalyst for innovation, efficiency, and commercial growth. Join L’Oréal North America CSO Marissa McGowan for an inspiring look at how organizations can achieve "Dual Excellence" by aligning environmental progress with the business’s bottom line. Drawing on real-world examples, Marissa will explore how treating sustainability as a core driver for business efficiency and problem-solving unlocks new opportunities, breaks down traditional silos, and proves that sustainable business is good business.

Companies are setting ambitious climate targets, but what happens between making a commitment and taking action? Hear companies share why they decided to invest in carbon credits now, how they evaluated different credit options—from insets like lower-carbon fuels to nature-based neutralization solutions and more—and how their business needs shaped their approach. Whether you're exploring carbon credits for the first time or looking to grow your portfolio, this session offers practical, real-world perspectives on how to support your business and sustainability goals while directing urgently needed funding to critical climate solutions.

Sport is one of the world's most powerful cultural platforms, possessing the unique ability to drive environmental leadership and inspire action at scale. In this session, Meghna Tare explores how the sporting industry can transition from a spectator to a catalyst for global sustainability, detailing the comprehensive strategy for FIFA World Cup 26™ Dallas, which centers on climate action, waste management, water conservation, biodiversity, air pollution, education and outreach, and green infrastructure. Drawing on her leadership with the North Texas Host Committee, she shares how mega-events can move beyond the field to spark structural changes, foster cross-sector collaboration, and advance circular economies. By weaving sustainability into every aspect of event operations—from LEED-certified venues to community-wide environmental stewardship—Meghna demonstrates how we can harness the massive reach of soccer to leave a positive, long-term legacy for both our city and the global community.

This session highlights the impact of women driving climate action and sustainability initiatives. Leaders will share strategies for fostering inclusive teams, navigating challenges, and inspiring the next generation of sustainability leaders.

What’s driving, and delaying, corporate climate action?

Earlier this year, Climate Impact Partners' Setting the Pace: Carbon Credits and Climate Leadership in the Fortune Global 500 report showed that climate ambition is becoming mainstream, with more companies setting targets and integrating carbon credits into their climate strategies.
Now we're going behind the data.
Combining insights from a new survey of CSOs with a live discussion featuring sustainability leaders, this session explores what's driving climate action, what's slowing progress, and how carbon markets fit into the journey from commitment to delivery.

Every sustainability leader has experienced the moment: You walk into the boardroom with the data, the plan, the risks and the opportunity, only to leave wondering whether your projects will receive funding. The challenge isn't your strategy, it's how you frame its value.

Today's Chief Sustainability Officers are expected to drive transformation while navigating tighter budgets, evolving regulations and increasing pressure to demonstrate measurable business impact. Success depends on communicating sustainability in terms that resonate with boards, investors, CFOs and fellow executives.

In this interactive workshop, you'll learn how to position sustainability investments as drivers of resilience, growth, innovation and long-term enterprise value. Through practical frameworks, real-world examples and peer discussion, you'll leave with the tools and confidence to translate sustainability initiatives into compelling business cases that earn executive support.

The rules of sustainability have changed. What was once a reporting discipline — measure, disclose, publish — is now a financial management imperative. A new wave of global regulation is directly pricing environmental obligations: carbon border taxes, extended producer responsibility fees, packaging compliance costs, and mandatory climate disclosure are no longer future risks. They are present line items affecting cost structures, margins, and balance sheets across industries.

This panel brings together senior leaders from finance, sustainability, and operations to examine how companies are responding — not just with compliance programmes, but with the financial governance, data infrastructure, and decision-making frameworks needed to manage material exposure at scale. Drawing on live experience with regulations including CBAM, PPWR, EPR schemes, CSRD, IFRS S1/S2, and SB253 and 261, the conversation will explore how leading organisations are turning regulatory pressure into financial discipline and, ultimately, competitive advantage.

This panel is designed for leaders grappling with questions like:

• How do you make sustainability exposure visible and manageable before it hits your financials?
• What does it take to move from reactive compliance to proactive cost and risk steering?
• Where does accountability sit, and how are CFOs, CSOs, and COOs learning to operate as one?

Energy efficiency may be the most powerful and underutilized driver of both economic growth and emissions reduction. When organizations reduce waste, they free up capital, capacity and resources that can be reinvested in innovation, expansion and the workforce. Efficiency does not constrain growth. It accelerates it. The companies leading today and preparing for tomorrow understand that efficiency-led decarbonization is not about doing less. It is about doing more with what you already have. By optimizing energy use through advanced technologies, connected systems and smarter operations, organizations can lower costs, strengthen resilience and improve performance while advancing their sustainability goals. From heat pumps to high-efficiency cooling systems and AI-enabled building management, businesses have significant opportunities to unlock value through efficiency.

In this fireside chat, Katie McGinty, VP & Chief Sustainability and External Relations Officer, will explore why efficiency is the critical link between climate action and business growth. She will discuss how organizations can use efficiency-led decarbonization to enhance competitiveness, accelerate innovation and build long-term resilience, while highlighting real-world examples of companies turning sustainability investments into measurable business outcomes. Drawing on Johnson Controls customer experiences, Katie will share how businesses can unlock growth by treating efficiency not as a constraint, but as a strategic advantage.

As global supply chains grow more complex and regulation intensifies, addressing human rights risks and forced labour is no longer optional—it is a strategic imperative. This panel will explore how businesses, policymakers, and civil society can move beyond compliance to drive meaningful, systemic change. From emerging legislation and data-driven due diligence to worker-centric approaches and responsible sourcing, speakers will examine what the future holds for protecting human rights in a rapidly evolving global economy.

In this keynote, Sphera CEO and Founder Paul Marushka addresses how businesses can navigate shifting regulatory landscapes and political winds by treating sustainability as a core operational strategy rather than a compliance burden. He introduces a data-driven blueprint for balancing the demands of people, planet, and profit—showing how embedding sustainability across Enterprise Sustainability Management (ESM) enables organizations to mitigate risk, drive operational efficiency, and build resilient long-term value regardless of market volatility.

Most organizations can measure their sustainability footprint. Far fewer have made it part of how they actually run the business.
This workshop closes that gap. Through structured peer discussion and real-world scenarios, participants will explore what it looks like when carbon, energy, water and waste data steps living in a reporting tool and starts flowing into the systems where decisions are made – procurement, finance, and operations.

We'll work through three practical use cases for leveraging carbon, energy, water, and waste insights to drive a sustainable business.
Using sustainability metrics alongside cost and spend as a supplier selection criteria;
Embedding real-time enterprise and sustainability data to continuously improve operations and manage cost exposure;
Applying AI to break down data silos and accelerate sustainability decision-making across the organization.
 

In this fireside chat, Fiona Messent shares how Qantas—one of the world's oldest continuously operating airlines—is navigating the decarbonization challenge while maintaining Australia’s vital economic and geographic connectivity. She highlights Qantas’s innovation-driven approach to sustainability, outlining strategic co-investments with industry leaders like Airbus to scale Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) production and offering a practical vision for how corporate partners can join the movement to accelerate aviation’s net-zero transition.

As evolving carbon standards are demonstrating, carbon credits can play an important role in credible climate strategies. Both companies and the climate can benefit from taking action now, but getting started and scaling can be a challenge. This workshop brings together companies who've already navigated the journey with those still figuring it out. Together, we'll identify the real blockers, hear how others overcame them, and build your personal action plan to move forward.

This session will examine how artificial intelligence is transforming sustainability practices. Leaders will discuss applications in emissions tracking, resource optimisation, predictive analytics, and decision-making, while addressing adoption challenges and the potential to accelerate environmental and social impact.

This session will explore how executive leadership drives organisational sustainability impact. The forum explores how leaders align sustainability with business strategy, navigate regulatory and stakeholder pressures, and deliver measurable environmental and social impact.

Explore how sustainability is being integrated across global supply chains. Leaders will discuss responsible sourcing, carbon reduction, and strategies to balance environmental impact with operational efficiency and business value.

Nature-based solutions are central to restoring ecosystems, enhancing resilience and achieving long-term decarbonisation. This discussion will showcase practical applications such as reforestation, regenerative agriculture and urban greening, alongside the challenges of financing, monitoring and equity. The session will highlight how aligning business, policy and communities with natural systems can deliver measurable impact.

In this keynote, Goodwill Chief Executive Officer Steve Preston shares how a century and a quarter of pioneering reuse offers a proven blueprint for today's circular economy. Drawing on 125 years of operational experience at scale, he examines how embedding circularity into supply chains and business models drives social, environmental, and economic value. Preston reveals practical strategies for turning secondhand markets and material recirculation into resilient revenue streams while empowering local communities, proving that sustainable operations can deliver scalable, long-term commercial growth.

In this keynote, Dirk Voeste, Chief Sustainability Officer at Volkswagen Group, outlines how environmental stewardship has shifted from a corporate social responsibility initiative into a vital engine for enterprise growth. Drawing on Volkswagen’s regenerate+ strategy, he demonstrates how integrating nature positive goals, biodiversity, and circular economy practices directly into core operations mitigates supply chain risk, unlocks new revenue streams, and drives long-term commercial resilience.

How do you decarbonize a supply chain with 50,000+ suppliers across industries as diverse as building materials, transportation, professional services, and consumer products ranging from electronics to agriculture? In this keynote, hear how Amazon provides practical decarbonization tools and resources to help suppliers of all sizes reduce their carbon footprints—and opens them up through the Sustainability Exchange to help everyone move faster on their sustainability goals.