2027 Agenda

• How sustainability is becoming embedded in growth, innovation, and business strategy
• Balancing consumer expectations, affordability, and long-term value creation
• Integrating sustainability into product development, operations, and decision-making
• What the next phase of leadership looks like for global consumer brands

• Why promising materials innovations so often stall between pilot and full commercial deployment
• The cost, supply, and performance thresholds a lower-impact material has to clear before it can replace an incumbent at scale
• Building the internal case for materials investment when R&D timelines outlast typical budget cycles
• How companies are working with suppliers and manufacturing partners to de-risk scale-up rather than absorbing that risk alone
• What separates materials innovations that make it into the product line from those that stay a sustainability showcase

• What a global decarbonization strategy looks like when you operate thousands of properties across every region
• Scope 1 and 2 reduction in practice: energy procurement, electrification, and the role of on-site renewables
• Making the business case for building decarbonization — framing it as resilience and cost strategy, not just sustainability
• Engaging franchise owners and operators: how to move sustainability beyond the corporate center

As companies redefine what it means to lead with purpose, many are shifting from standalone initiatives to strategies that are embedded in the core business.

In this session, Olivia Jefferson, Vice President of Social Impact at Best Buy, will explore how organizations can build alignment around a new strategic vision and bring it to life across the business in ways that create meaningful community impact. With the launch of a new strategy focused on achieving economic mobility and creating pathways to opportunity for young people, she will share the strategic evolution, the critical role of team engagement and the key lessons learned along the way.

• How sustainability leaders are reassessing priorities amid changing business conditions, stakeholder expectations, and increasing scrutiny from boards and investors
• Moving from broad ambitions to focused strategies that align with business priorities and deliver measurable impact
• Building executive alignment and confidence around sustainability investments, priorities, and long-term commitments
• Balancing expectations from customers, employees, investors, and other stakeholders while navigating operational realities and competing business demands
• How data, reporting, and business value considerations are shaping where organizations focus resources and investment
• What it takes to turn ambitious sustainability commitments into actionable, board-supported strategies

• How AI is being integrated into sustainability, supply chain, and compliance functions
• The organisational and data infrastructure required to scale AI effectively
• How companies are aligning sustainability teams, IT, and operations around AI deployment
• Lessons on what actually drives adoption at scale

• Moving circularity and waste reduction from isolated initiatives into everyday business operations
• Building the business case for circular approaches through better resource use, waste prevention, and value recovery
• Designing waste out of products, packaging, and processes, and keeping materials and resources in use for longer
• Working with suppliers, customers, and industry partners to overcome barriers to reuse, recovery, and recycling
• Adapting to evolving regulations and producer responsibility requirements across markets
• Sharing practical lessons on what has scaled, what has stalled, and how to measure progress

• Defining meaningful impact: How are organizations aligning social impact initiatives with community needs and broader business priorities, and what does success look like in practice?
• Measuring outcomes: How are organizations moving beyond activity metrics to demonstrate outcomes that matter to both the business and the communities they serve?
• Building trust and relationships: How are social impact programs strengthening community and stakeholder relationships and supporting a company’s long-term license to operate?
• Creating lasting impact: What approaches are helping organizations sustain successful programs through changing priorities and determine which initiatives to scale, adapt, or discontinue?

• How AI, data centers, electrification, and industrial growth are driving a step-change in energy demand across sectors
• Where new supply and infrastructure investment are needed to meet that demand — from emerging technologies to next-generation grid capacity
• The real trade-offs between energy security, affordability, reliability, and decarbonization — where these goals align and where they genuinely conflict
• How companies are adapting long-term energy strategy amid shifting markets, technologies, and policy
• What business leaders should take away for their own energy strategy, regardless of industry

• How sustainability pressures are reshaping supplier relationships and sourcing strategies
• The growing intersection of resilience, traceability, emissions, and operational risk
• What companies are doing to move beyond supplier surveys toward measurable progress
• Where collaboration across value chains is becoming essential to execution

• Beyond carbon — How are organizations expanding their environmental strategies to include nature, biodiversity, water, and regenerative practices?
• Nature hits the balance sheet — When did resource and ecosystem risk stop being an environmental issue and start influencing business strategy, investment, and operations?
• Creating business value through nature — How are companies turning environmental innovation into competitive advantage, from regenerative supply chains to climate solution products?
• Scaling impact through collaboration — What role do suppliers, customers, and industry partnerships play in accelerating nature-positive outcomes?
• The investor and regulator question — How are you responding to rising expectations on nature without it becoming just another reporting obligation?

As interest in outdoor travel continues to grow, ensuring equitable and sustainable access to parks, trails, and coastlines has never been more important. This joint fireside chat will explore how corporate–nonprofit partnerships can protect and enhance the natural spaces that support outdoor adventure and local communities.

Aditi Mohapatra, VP, Global Social Impact & Sustainability at Expedia Group and Dr. Carrie Besnette Hauser, President and CEO of Trust for Public Land will share lessons from the Expedia Trails Fund – a multi-year commitment to trail and park improvements that help restore and sustain the natural places travelers love for many journeys to come. Bringing both the funder and grantee to the conversation, the session will unpack how to select and evaluate a partner, structure a partnership for long-term impact, measure results and apply the model to future collaborations.

Attendees will leave with practical learnings and an actionable framework for building cross-sector partnerships that strengthen local communities and safe-guard awe-inspiring places.