Sustainability (n) : avoidance of the depletion of natural resources in order to maintain an ecological balance
Sustainability has become an important topic around the world this last decade. As more natural disasters occur, shortages increase, health and safety deteriorates, and communities crumble – leaders are recognizing the need to change how they do business and lead their community.
Hopefully, you are one of them.
Last year in Barron’s, John Streur, CEO of Calvert Research and Management, said that companies are almost competing with each other when it comes to operational implementation. Weinreb Group reported that hiring of Chief Sustainability Officers (CSOs) had more than tripled between 2011 and 2021.
If you are interested in hearing what companies are doing to become sustainable, seeing and testing sustainable innovations, learning how to make your company sustainable, or networking with like-minded professionals — we recommend you attend sustainable conferences. Here are our top 6 sustainability conferences for leaders this fall 2022…
SUSTAINABILITY LIVE LONDON
DATE: September 7-8, 2022
LOCATION: London and Online
70+ speakers, 8 sustainability industry workshops, 2 conference stages, 1 virtual stage — Sustainability Live is an interactive two-day hybrid learning and networking experience that will include insightful keynotes, panel discussions, case studies, and fireside chats.
This year’s topics cover the basics of Net-Zero, the latest practices for ethical investing routes, enforcing transparency among third-party supply chains, evolving Open Finance and Open Data to support sustainable finance, the importance of B-Corps, what your customers want to know about your company’s position on sustainability, differentiating your value proposition for a competitive edge, improving the quality of carbon reporting, investing in blue economy, green shipping, sustainable and ethical sourcing, adapting to the climate, sustainable actionable practices in SME, building a “sustainable” sustainability program, flying sustainably, and macro trends in corporate sustainability.
Speakers include Musidora Jorgensen (Chief Sustainability Officer at Microsoft), Adam Elman (Head of Sustainability at Google), Hannah Brown (Chief of Staff at Formula E), Rachael Everard (Head of Sustainability at Rolls-Royce), Peter Bragg (Sustainability Director at Canon EMEA), Jenni Adams (Deputy Head at HSBC), Evelyne Saelens (Senior Sustainability Consultant at UL Solutions), Ben Kellard (Director of Business Strategy at Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership), Liz Houston (VP, ESG & Climate Research at MSCI Ltd), Sam Jackson (Senior Climate & Environmental Impact Manager at Ecologi), Travis Wright (Vice President, Energy and Sustainability at QTS Data Centers), Alex Smith (co-founder of The Sustainability Group).
CLINTON GLOBAL INITIATIVE | CGI 2022 SEPTEMBER MEETING
DATE: September 19-20, 2022
LOCATION: New York, NY
The Clinton Global Initiative September Meeting connects leaders in government, business, philanthropy, grassroots organizations, media, and academia from around the world. The aim: to create and implement solutions to the world’s most pressing problems. This meeting will include high-level plenaries, interactive featured sessions, in-depth small group discussions, sponsor-hosted events, networking, and showcasing opportunities.
Some topics that will be covered are: planning for the next global health challenges; closing the ownership gap for entrepreneurs and investors of color; achieving the ambitious pledges for carbon reductions amid new laws and regulations; scaling up proven anti-poverty solutions; preventing overdoses; and unlocking capital for climate mitigation.
This meeting will be star-packed with high-level leaders and stars. Participants include Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan, President Bill Clinton (42nd President of the United States), Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton (former U.S. Secretary of State), Tony Blair (former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom), Noubar Afeyan (Co-founder of Moderna), Qu Dongyu (Director-General, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (Director-General of World Health Organization), Jennifer Granholm (U.S. Secretary of Energy), Melinda French Gates (Co-Chair of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation), Matt Damon (actor and Co-Founder of Water.org), Alan Jope (CEO of Unilever), Vivek Murthy (U.S. Surgeon General), Damilola Ogunbiyi (Special Representative of the U.N. Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All), Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (Director-General of World Trade Organization), Gina Raimondo (U.S. Secretary of Commerce), Hamdi Ulukaya (CEO of Chobani and Founder of Tent Partnership for Refugees).
WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM: SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IMPACT SUMMIT
DATE: September 19-23, 2022
LOCATION: New York, NY
“Convening at the same time as the United Nations General Assembly, the Sustainable Development Impact Meetings will bring together communities of purpose that integrate business leaders, policy-makers, international and civil society organizations, innovators and entrepreneurs.
In a series of carefully curated impact-driven dialogues, these alliances will use the meetings to advance their work and make concrete progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and to build momentum on other key milestones in the months ahead, including the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) and the Forum’s Annual Meeting in January 2023. This event is invitation-only.
FORTUNE GLOBAL SUSTAINABILITY VIRTUAL FORUM
Fortune Global Sustainability Virtual Forum
DATE: September 29, 2022
LOCATION: Online
Fortune’s third annual Global Sustainability Forum will convene virtually to explore how executives are implementing their COP26 promises to save the planet and build resilient businesses. The forum will feature informative interviews, and interactive breakout sessions, with participation from top-level executives, investors, decision-makers and thinkers from around the world.
Some topics are: Clean Tech for a Net-Zero World, Financing a Low-Carbon Economy, The Business Benefits of Sustainable Water, Leading the Circular Economy Transition, Green Aviation, Energy Innovation, Tackling the Rising Food Crisis, The Future of Finance, What to Watch for at COP27, and Sustainable Supply Chains.
Speakers include Warren East (CEO of Rolls-Royce), Enrique Lores (CEO of HP), Kathleen McLaughlin (Chief Sustainability Officer at Walmart Inc), Annette Clayton (CEO of Schneider Electric North America), Joji Tagawa (Chief Sustainability Officer at Nissan Motor Corporation), Mary Powell (CEO of Sunrun), Nili Gilbert (Vice Chairwoman of Carbon Direct), Jon Chorley (CSO of Oracle), Jeffrey Hogue (Chief Sustainability Officer at Levi Strauss & Co.), Stacy Kauk (Head of Sustainability at Shopify), and Katharine Hayhoe (Chief Scientist at The Nature Conservancy and Director of Climate Science Centre, Texas Tech).
VERGE 22
DATE: October 25-27,2022
LOCATION: San Jose, CA
VERGE 22 is the leading climate tech event where thousands of leaders — from business, government, solution providers and startups — work together to address the climate crisis across six strategic areas: clean energy, sustainable transportation, carbon removal, regenerative food systems, net-zero buildings and the startup ecosystem.
There will be more than 400 speakers including Paul Augustine (Head of Sustainability at Lyft), Erin Beller (Ecology Program Manager at Google), Francisco Benedito (CEO of ClimateTrade), Sara Bogdan (Head of Sustainability and ESG at JetBlue Airways), Joe Britton (Executive Director of Zero Emission Transportation Association), Mark Brownstein (Senior Vice President at Environmental Defense Fund), Rafael Broze (Carbon Removal Program Manager at Microsoft), Troy Carter (CEO of Earthshot Labs), Jonathan Changus (Director of California Transportation Programs at Center for Sustainable Energy).
COP27 (CONFERENCE OF THE PARTIES 2022)
DATE: November 6-18, 2022
LOCATION: Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt
The annual UN Climate Change Conference (also called COP) is a large gathering held every year in a different city. This year, the conference will advance the global climate talks, mobilize action, and provide significant opportunity to look at the impacts of climate change as well as share solutions and recent innovations.
2,000+ speakers, 35,000+ expected participants, 300+ topics, 150,000+ m² space of venue — the COP27 will be massive. The Egyptian Presidency has planned a number of panel discussions, roundtables and side events in order to enable a broad interaction between the youth, women, civil society and indigenous people. These groups will be at the center of these discussions.
This conference’s key focus will be on innovation, clean technologies, water and agriculture. The role of science will also be highlighted in addition to biodiversity loss, energy transition, decarbonization efforts and finance.
We all need to work together, because there are no jobs on a dead planet; there is no equity without rights to decent work and social protection, no social justice without a shift in governance and ambition, and, ultimately, no peace for the peoples of the world without the guarantees of sustainability. – Sharan Burrow
BALISSANDE FINISHING SCHOOL 