Asia | Europe Sustainability Dialogue

08:30 AM - 09:00 AM CET

Peer Virtual 'Meet Up'‐ A Cyber Drink and a Nibble

Participants will start by choosing one out of four interviews to join. At any point during or after the interview, participants will have the option to join a discussion table around a topic of their choice by scrolling through the available networking tables. Participants are encouraged to engage each other by sharing a brief, self-intro and ONE thing nobody in the room knows about them.

Lorne Cousins, Program Director, China Sustainability Leaders Council, The Conference Board

Richard Brubaker, Managing Director, Collective Responsibility

Vikas Garg, Founder & CEO, abillion

Oliver Baillie, Co-founder and CEO, Plain Tiger

Christina Lee, Founder & CEO, Global Green Connect

09:00 AM - 10:00 AM CET

Keynote Speaker: Solitaire Townsend, Author of The Solutionists

Conference participants will hear from Chief Solutionist and Co-Founder of Futerra and author of 'The Solutionists' who will share her insights on what some of the world's leading brands are undertaking to drive sustainability across their organisations. This will include a look at how becoming an 'activist' within the company empowers businesses to co-create a better world while simultaneously establishing their positions as 'brands for good' that put them in pole position for a sustainable future. Audience members will be invited to share insights and questions via chat, moderated by session facilitator Lorne Cousins. This will be followed by a panel discussion with Anuj Saush, European ESG Center Leader, experts and business leaders who will explore how companies can enhance their strategic planning to address long-term Social, Environmental, and Economic opportunities to co-create a better world. Following the discussion, Council Director Lorne Cousins will invite audience members to share insights and questions.

Anuj Saush, ESG Center Leader, Europe, The Conference Board

Francois Tasmowski , Global Business Operations Sustainability – Climate Director, Unilever

Lorne Cousins, Program Director, China Sustainability Leaders Council, The Conference Board

Solitaire Townsend, Co-founder & Chief Solutionist, Futerra

Junice Nicolier-Yeo, Executive Director & Head of ESG Intelligence, Eco-Business

10:00 AM - 10:15 AM CET

Conference Break

We invite participants to take a short break, stretch, grab a drink and then return to the main room.

10:15 AM - 11:30 AM CET

Breakout Session #1 Strategy and Finance‐Keynote Speaker

Theme: In for a Penny, in for a Pound?¯ESG Reporting and Legislation Question to address: What ESG vision/action does the market really need/reward, and what is the impact on finance? Participants will explore the reporting landscape for both corporates and investors in major jurisdictions (EU, US, UK, China, and Asia, ) and the current controversies around ESG investment products, labelling and greenwashing. This will include a look at what ESG means for passive vs active managers and how investors really look at E&S issues, including how they use the data and what metrics matter to them. Finally, participants joining this session will examine some key initiatives to push for better disclosures and support for financially material ESG disclosures such as SASB, with potential implications for organisations.

Kelly Chan, Program Director, Asia CFO Council, The Conference Board

Carmen Ng, Director (E&S Advisory), SquareWell Partners

10:15 AM - 11:30 AM CET

Breakout Session #2 Procurement and Sourcing ‐Keynote Speaker

Theme: Clear as mud? Supplier Screening and Audits Questions to address: What are the best screening practices that enable a better understanding of a supplier's ESG status? How can auditing deliver visibility and transparency along the supply chain? In this session, participants will look at what some companies are undertaking to improve supplier screening and increase transparency of their upstream and downstream partners. The guest speaker will shed light on how companies can assess supply chain hotspots and how auditing can be a powerful tool to improve both screening of suppliers as well as enabling them to achieve compliance.

Sylvain Guyoton, Chief Rating Officer, EcoVadis

Eugene Tan, Program Director, The Conference Board

10:15 AM - 11:30 AM CET

Breakout Session #3 HR and Development‐Panel Discussion

Theme: It takes two to tango: How HR partners with the business to embed sustainability on the People Agenda Panel Discussion Scope: How can HR position itself as a critical partner with the business to embed sustainability as part of the corporate culture? What might be some strategies that HR could deploy?

Marion Devine, Principal Researcher, Human Capital, Europe, The Conference Board

Sandhya Karpe, PhD, Human Capital Center Leader, Asia and Program Director of Asia Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Council, Asia Human Resources Council, The Conference Board

Raghu Reddiam, Director Operations, Global Compact Network Singapore

Anu Sridhar, Head of Personnel, East Asia and Australia, Michelin

10:15 AM - 11:30 AM CET

Breakout Session #4 Communications and Marketing‐Panel Discussion

Theme: The Proof is in the Pudding: Brand Purpose Panel Discussion scope: How can companies go beyond their purpose statement to ensure that purpose is being translated into actions? How can organisations embed purpose into their culture and strategy through the appropriate governance approach?

Xiaowei Liu, Program Director of Asia Communications Leaders Council, The Conference Board

Esther An, Chief Sustainability Officer, City Developments Limited

Lynn Backe, Sustainability Advisor, The Purpose Business

Kavickumar Muruganathan, Sustainability & Policy Lead (APAC), Microsoft

Andy Wilson, Senior Partner, Head of Sustainability, Ogilvy Consulting

10:15 AM - 11:30 AM CET

Breakout Session #5 Innovation and Digitalisation‐Keynote Speaker

Theme: Bioinspired Principles of Sustainable Design and Innovation. In this session, we will explore a systematic approach to understanding how nature and biological systems can inspire sustainable design and innovation. We will introduce the Efficiency-Resilience-Prominence (ERP) Framework as a foundation for comparing organizational systems to living organisms. Our aim is to illustrate how this framework can serve as a valuable tool for both strategic ideation and product concept generation. Additionally, we will demonstrate how Generative AI can complement and enhance the utilization of this framework within the innovation process.

John Metselaar, Council Director, Chief Technology and Innovation Officers Council, The Conference Board

John van der Linden, Co-founder, Becoming-Aware

Ravi Arora , Senior VP, Group Innovation, Tata Sons

Shruti George, Vice President, Strategic Innovation Platforms, Avery Dennison

Lokesh Venkataswamy, CEO & Managing Director, Innomantra

Tojin T. Eapen, Founder & Principal, Center for Creative Foresight

11:30 AM - 11:45 AM CET

Conference Break

We invite participants to take a short break, stretch, grab a drink and then return to the main room.

11:45 AM - 12:30 PM CET

Panel Discussion‒Transforming Businesses by Putting Sustainability First: Insights for What's Next

Panel members will discuss their thoughts and insights on how companies, regardless of size or industry, can place sustainability at the heart of their business. Conference participants will also have the opportunity to share their views via chat.

Anke Schrader, Former Research Director, Asia, The Conference Board

Julie Greene, Chief Sustainability Officer, Olam Group

Martin Rich, Co-founder & CEO, Future-Fit Foundation

Chandni Khosla, Director | Neo Securities and Advisor, Old Bridge Capital Management

12:30 PM - 01:00 PM CET

Room 1: 'The Jolly Taxpayer' for Finance and Strategy

This session is dedicated to enabling Conference participants to connect or reconnect in a designated room with each other or one-on-one in a sub-breakout room. Each room will have a designated 'bouncer' to ensure ease of entry and exit.

Lorne Cousins, Program Director, China Sustainability Leaders Council, The Conference Board

12:30 PM - 01:00 PM CET

Room 2: 'The Grinning Radical' for Procurement and Sourcing

This session is dedicated to enabling Conference participants to connect or reconnect in a designated room with each other or one-on-one in a sub-breakout room. Each room will have a designated 'bouncer' to ensure ease of entry and exit.

Lorne Cousins, Program Director, China Sustainability Leaders Council, The Conference Board

12:30 PM - 01:00 PM CET

Room 3: 'The Fightin' Do-Gooder' for HR and Development

This session is dedicated to enabling Conference participants to connect or reconnect in a designated room with each other or one-on-one in a sub-breakout room. Each room will have a designated 'bouncer' to ensure ease of entry and exit.

Lorne Cousins, Program Director, China Sustainability Leaders Council, The Conference Board

12:30 PM - 01:00 PM CET

Room 4: 'The Cat's Meow' for Marketing and Communications

This session is dedicated to enabling Conference participants to connect or reconnect in a designated room with each other or one-one-one in a sub-breakout room. Each room will have a designated 'bouncer' to ensure ease of entry and exit.

Lorne Cousins, Program Director, China Sustainability Leaders Council, The Conference Board

12:30 PM - 01:00 PM CET

Room 5: 'The Green Guerilla' for Innovation and Digitalisation

This session is dedicated to enabling Conference participants to connect or reconnect in a designated room with each other or one-on-one in a sub-breakout room. Each room will have a designated 'bouncer' to ensure ease of entry and exit.

Lorne Cousins, Program Director, China Sustainability Leaders Council, The Conference Board