When you come to take a look at the programme, you’ll see it deals with precisely the issues that are your top priorities right now.  How come we’re so sure?  Because the topics we’re drilling down on have been hand-picked only after months of first-hand research with key industry leaders.

If you’d like more information on the speakers listed below, click here

Day one, 8th June 2010

2010 and beyond: Post-Copenhagen Climate Challenges

Since the Copenhagen Summit, the level of expectation towards your company’s efforts to reduce carbon emissions has risen. It’s getting harder and harder to avoid the fact that unless change is embraced, there will be a heavy impact on your bottom line. By the same token companies that take action now are poised to gain competitive advantage. But what do you need to do? And how?

• 2020 targets: To what extent will international targets affect your business?
• Impending legislation: Do you understand the implications?
• UK Post-election environment: What are the political trends – and likely outcomes – of climate change politics?

• PepsiCo UK & Ireland, Andrew Smith, Head of Corporate Responsibility
• Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Kegan Lovely, EMEA Sustainable Banking

Coffee break

Adaptation versus Mitigation: Achieving an Ideal Balance

Increasingly, it is becoming more challenging for companies to balance climate adaptation with mitigation. Global targets are expected to demand a 30% reduction of global emissions by 2020, increasing to an 80% by 2050, which means businesses need to initiate far-reaching mitigation strategies. However, they also need to make fundamental changes to their operations and services. Almost every aspect of your business – and the way you do business – is destined to change, from internal operations through to business services.

Deciding on the proportion of resources you need to devote to mitigating and/or adapting to climate change risk is already acknowledged as a key business challenge.

• Act on the risk:  How thorough risk assessment will identify whether adaptation or mitigation poses the greater risk to your particular business – and what to do now
• Anticipate and prepare for future adaptation:  Steps you can take to minimise operational disruptions
• Your long-term strategy: How to prepare for the future with 2050 targets in mind

• De Beers Group, Dr. James Suzman, Corporate Citizenship Director
• Bayer AG, Dr. Manfred Marsmann, Vice President Environment & Sustainability, Head of Corporate Environmental Affairs
• Skanska AB, Noel Morrin, Senior Vice President Sustainability & Green Construction

Lunch

Measure to Reduce: Key steps to unlocking improved energy efficiency

Unless you can measure the impact of your company’s carbon emissions, it’s impossible to make a genuine effort to reduce them.  So how exactly should you quantify the effect of the amount of energy currently bring used?  As part of their Plan A Project, Marks & Spencer has successfully improved its energy efficiency by 10% since 2007. They’ve also committed to an additional 15% target by 2012.

This session enables you to learn from their experience, along with valuable insights into what Thomson Reuters is achieving in the B2B sector:

• Which indicators should you use – absolute or relative?
• Which reporting guidelines should you follow?
• What are the most effective methods of communicating your results to stakeholders?
• Should companies be measuring more than just emissions? What about water, waste, and packaging?
• Understand the difference in internal motivators between B2B and B2C, and the result on the choices on energy efficiency priorities

• Marks & Spencer, Carmel McQuaid, Climate Change Manager
• Thomson Reuters, Thomson Reuters Markets, Harkeeret Singh, Global Head of Data Centre Energy Optimisation
• innocent drinks, Louise Adams, Sustainability Manager

Embedding Climate Change Management throughout Your Business: Will it Pay?

Ethical Corporation’s recent report confirms that companies are starting to embed ethical values across their entire organisation. But you can only do this successfully if you secure employee engagement.

In this session:

• Tried and tested ways to push climate issues higher up the agenda internally
• Ways to work with –and engage – individual departments – different strokes for difference folks
• How to leverage internal communications to get everyone on the same page, and ensure a unified strategy

• Novozymes, Claus Stig Pedersen, Head of Sustainablity Development
• Kellogg Company, Annalisa Fuccella, Sustainability Director Europe

Coffee break

Forthcoming legislation in the UK, Europe & Worldwide: How should your business prepare?

The shift towards regulation means every business is already expected to make significant changes to its infrastructure and behaviour to demonstrate a clear commitment to reducing emissions. The UK’s CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme, coming into force from April 2010, is a prime example. So what have the corporate, rather than state energy leaders already done, ahead of the new rules, and should you follow suit?

In this session:

• Upcoming legislation and its implications for your corporate reputation
• Reducing emissions:  Understand what is expected from you
• Understand the risks and consequences of non-compliance

• Hogan Lovells LLP, Christopher Norton, Partner

Day two, 9th June 2010

How to Appeal to Your Climate-Conscious Customers

It’s a simple – proven – fact that our climate communication programmes can generate a clear, quantifiable financial gain. What’s more, consumer awareness is increasing all the time, and people are motivated now more than ever by green products – the pie is getting bigger. Innovative companies that embrace and reflect their customers’ mindsets will gain financially – it’s happening already, and the trend will grow stronger.

In this session, discuss:

• Where can a company use its skills and know-how to make a bigger impact?
• How can you align business services to encourage sustainable behaviour from your customers?
• Is it worth designing new products?  Or more profitable to relaunch existing products?
• What do you risk by communicating and selling green products to your customers – and how do you minimise any dangers?

• AXA Insurance, Truska Angel, Head of Climate Change & Corporate Social Responsibility

Coffee break

Your Global Strategy: Rising to the Challenge of Difference

Operating globally means you have to deal with differing levels of local understanding on climate change. Is it really possible – or even desirable – to achieve a consistent, all-countries approach, when the issues are perceived so differently? For example, if you operate in India, which is committed to reducing emissions by up to 25% in the next ten years, how can you most usefully allocate resources? And how does that relate to your operations in China, with no cuts declared?  

In this session, discuss:

• For a truly global effort, should you adopt a single, across-the-board standard?
• Carbon footprinting, emissions reduction, carbon offsetting:  What’s the best global benchmark for your business?
• Local versus global risk: How can you overcome the risk of losing margins in local markets against the risk of green-washing with a global strategy?

• Johnson Controls, Peter Ferguson, Director Environmental Sustainability
• Ericsson AB, Sustainability Director, Matilda Gennvi Gustafsson

Lunch

Profitable Cradle-to-Grave Impact: Double session

Life Cycle Analysis 1: How to make a difference – that pays – from the ground up

Calculating the impact of a specific product from drawing board to disposal is one thing… while using the data you collect to examine every stage of that product’s life cycle can have significant financial implications.

In this session:

• How climate-aware new product development is the easiest way to impact consumer behaviour
• How to come up with a new products that are a great fit for your business – and the marketing messages that will make your innovations pay

• WWF-UK, Patrick Laine, Director Corporate Partnerships

Life Cycle Analysis 2: Downstream Impact – Where Does the Buck Stop?

The impact of your business on climate change goes far beyond your own back yard.  But the extent to which businesses are responsible for downstream emissions remains a grey area.  And what if developing a new product or service that will cut the downstream impact in the long-term means a short-term rise in emissions output?

In this session:

• Where should the buck stop? What are you responsible for?
• How can your business capitalise on reducing downstream impact?
• How should the impact of products be communicated? Is labelling the best solution?

• Alliance Boots, Richard Ellis, Group Head of CSR
• AkzoNobel, Klas Hallberg, Manager Sustainable Development

Coffee break

Renewable Alternatives – Effective integration into your energy mix

With tighter guidelines being introduced all the time, and the pressure on your business to manage its carbon emissions mounting, is it time to seriously explore renewable alternatives?

In this session:

• Does it matter which renewable alternative you choose?
• How successfully are leading companies integrating renewable alternatives into their business functions?
• What are the challenges of renewable alternatives – and how easily can you overcome them?
• How to make the best choice for your business

• speakers to be announced here soon - sign up for updates here