2026 Agenda

If ESG is treated merely as a compliance requirement or cost center, it risks being a missed opportunity for long-term value creation.  Join Charles Fogg, Chief Sustainability Officer at Primo Brands, for a strategic discussion on how ESG can be embedded across core business functions – including finance, enterprise risk, product development, marketing, sales, supply chain, and operations – to drive performance, resilience, and sustainable growth.  Learn how integrating ESG into corporate strategy can unlock competitive advantage and deliver measurable returns for investors.

With water conservation more important than ever, how do you get the buy-in, budget, and internal collaboration necessary to save water sustainability a spot on your company’s priority list? What role can companies take to drive water stewardship efforts in their local communities? Join Michael Gulich, VP, Sustainability at MGM Resorts to share strategies for keeping water efforts moving forward.

The biggest social challenges need more resources than any one company can provide, but teaming up is easier said than done. Join Alison Mathias, Head of Corporate & Foundation Giving at MassMutual to dig into what’s holding us back. What conditions must exist for partnering to work? Where are the roadblocks…and which are in our power to remove? What incentivizes our companies to give shared initiatives a shot?

Has collaboration become the make-or-break skill for ESG leaders? Join Courtney Hadden of Hitachi Digital to dig into strategies for finding the win/wins and inspiring stakeholders across the business to move with you on ESG opportunities and priorities.

Being good partners means collaborating on shared responsibilities and commitments. Yet the volume and complexity of customer requests can stretch internal teams already balancing multiple priorities. Join Rebecca Ott, Director, Sustainability at The J.M. Smucker Co., and your fellow leaders to explore how to navigate and harness customer sustainability requests.

You want your senior-most leaders’ commitment to your grantmaking and volunteerism programs to be bigger than checking that participation box, but how do you get them truly invested? Join Jennifer Bronner Director, Community Impact at Cox Enterprises, to share strategies around making executive impact personal, connecting CSR to their professional success, and right-fitting service programs to meet leaders where they are.

Biodiversity isn’t new, but expectations are on the rise from communities, investors, regulators, and other important stakeholders. Join Christy Clark at DTE Energy and your fellow leaders to talk through identifying which nature-based solutions make sense site-by-site, meeting new reporting standards, and tackling changing demands to quantify your company’s impact.

Whether it’s a rapidly changing world or a business going through big changes, rebooting your sustainability and ESG strategies touches almost every part of your business. How are we supposed to pull that off while still delivering on our day-to-day obligations? Join Vierah Hulley, Director, Sustainability at Oxy to talk out how we’re convening stakeholders, making plans, and winning support for big changes at our companies.

What strategies can today’s leaders use to build CSR programs whose budgets, business cases, and tie-in to company values can weather changing economic, market, and political circumstances? Learn how Jessica Schultz, Director of Corporate Social Responsibility at Hyatt is building for resilience and then dig into what other strategies leaders are leveraging now to ensure their company’s continuing investments in corporate philanthropy.

While most companies have gotten some type of Scope 3 reporting strategy rolling, few (if any!) are happy with where their Scope 3 strategy stands today. So, now what? Join Amanda Kardosh, Sr. Director of Sustainability at Bloomin’ Brands to talk what’s next with calculation methodologies, toolstack, assurance, and engaging stakeholders (beyond suppliers) in your company’s Scope 3 journey.

Your ESG tool stack represents one of your largest investments, but are your tools and vendors delivering the value you need? Join Brian Herrington, VP of External Affairs and Foundation President at ScottsMiracle-Gro, for a candid, vendor-free discussion on the evolving landscape. Drawing on ScottsMiracle-Gro’s experience publishing fourteen corporate responsibility reports since 2012, we’ll explore: Which tools are proving their worth? Where gaps and frustrations persist? What emerging solutions show promise? Come ready to share your own experiences and learn what’s working for your peers.

Innovation doesn’t happen without risk—but how do you invest in bold, cutting-edge social impact initiatives without overwhelming your leadership teams? Join Ann Marie Chock, Senior Director of Corporate Giving at Niagara Bottling, for a candid conversation on carving out resources for higher-risk opportunities, getting executive buy-in for our impact experiments, and fostering open-mindedness among leaders and colleagues.