The Consumer Goods Forum (CGF) will be hosting its annual Sustainable Retail Summit (SRS) in Lisbon, Portugal on 25th-26th October. The two-day event, now in its third year, has quickly become an influential addition to the FMCG calendar for those organisations looking to drive positive change and support sustainable business practices that benefit people and planet, as well as business. Bringing key industry experts and stakeholders together to explore solutions, share best practices and create global networks that are a force for good, the 2018 edition will see an even stronger focus on behaviour change, transparency, innovation and technology, and how these topics cut across all areas of sustainable business.
The SRS will once again provide insights into how organisations are working collaboratively to overcome today’s leading sustainability and health challenges, including food waste, deforestation, consumer health and forced labour. And, new to the agenda this year, solid waste and plastics. Never has this topic been more front and centre and you’ll hear first‐hand how our industry is looking to do its part to protect the oceans and shift towards a circular economy. Delegates will also be treated to insights from the BBC’s Blue Planet II team, who will be sharing their learnings from filming the award-winning TV programme. Discussions will also address how the CGF’s newly-launched Sustainable Supply Chain Initiative is best-placed to support the development of socially and environmentally responsible supply chains and ensure trust in sustainability standards worldwide.
And, back by popular demand, the SRS’s interactive workshops return, as does the impressive list of CEO speakers who will ensure delegates understand what it means to drive positive change from the top down. There will also be ample networking time for delegates to get together and develop global networks of like-minded industry peers.
The event is open to both members and non-members of The Consumer Goods Forum and will take place at the Dom Pedro Lisboa. It will bring together 300 change agents from the private sector, government and civil society. Speakers include:
Fernando Manuel Ferreira Araújo, Secretary of State for Health, Portuguese Government
Hans Van Bylen, CEO, Henkel AG & Co. KGaA
Mike Coupe, CEO, Sainsbury’s
John Ross, President & CEO, IGA, Inc.
Peter Freedman, Managing Director, The Consumer Goods Forum
Alice Webb, BBC TV Executive and James Honeyborne, Executive Producer, Blue Planet II
Susana Correia de Campos, Head of Employee Relations & Internal Social Responsibility, Jerónimo Martins
Mike Barry, Director of Sustainable Business, Marks and Spencer
Isabelle Grosmaitre, Alimentation Initiative Catalyst, Danone
Demir Aytaç, Chief Human Resources Officer, Migros Ticaret A.S.
Hugo Byrnes, VP Product Integrity, Ahold Delhaize
Solitaire Townsend, Co-Founder of Futerra. Author of The Happy Hero – How to Change Your Life by Changing the World
Tiago Pitta e Cunha, CEO, Oceano Azul Foundation
Barry Parkin, Chief Procurement and Sustainability Officer, Mars, Incorporated
Peter Freedman, Managing Director, The Consumer Goods Forum, said, “The Sustainable Retail Summit is a great example of what makes the CGF unique. Led by the industry’s CEOs, the CGF is all about collaboration to implement positive change at scale on issues that consumers care about. The SRS addresses the issues Millennials and younger consumers care most about – a healthy and sustainable future. It makes collaboration easier, by bringing together leaders, not just practitioners from multiple stakeholders for two concentrated days of inspiration and best practice sharing”.
Pedro Soares dos Santos, Chairman and CEO of Jerónimo Martins, said, “Today’s pressing challenges cannot be addressed by one company on its own. Plastics, waste, deforestation, forced labour, health through food and the role that digital tools can play in promoting a more sustainable use of our planets’ resources demand for a collective effort. Regardless of where we operate our businesses, we are all exposed to globalisation through our supply chains and therefore we need to be ready to embrace complexity and act together to make positive change happen in the world. This is exactly where the Sustainable Retail Summit becomes an unmissable opportunity to engage in transformational discussions and build a common roadmap for a better future”.