The Consumer Goods Forum Sustainable Retail Summit comes to Copenhagen in October. ESM looks at what delegates can expect. This article first appeared in ESM's September/October edition.
Now in its eighth year, The Consumer Goods Forum Sustainable Retail Summit showcases how retail and consumer goods firms are taking action to drive positive change and overcome sustainability and health challenges.
With the midway point of the decade fast approaching, this year’s event – which bears the theme ‘Today’s Collective Action, Tomorrow’s Positive Impact’ – will explore how industry leaders are putting in place building blocks for a sustainable future.
Taking place in Copenhagen, Denmark – a country renowned for its approach to sustainability – the 2023 edition of the Sustainable Retail Summit will kick off with a reception on the evening of 18 October, before two days of insightful debate and discussion, on 19 and 20 October.
The event will also offer some of the world’s biggest firms the opportunity to issue a ‘progress update’ on the ESG initiatives under way in their businesses, and set the tone for the forthcoming COP 28 Summit, taking place in Dubai in November.
Meet The Speakers
As in years past, the CGF Sustainable Retail Summit will feature presentations and discussions with a variety of leaders in the field of environmental and social governance.
These leaders will include Ayla Ziz, senior vice-president, global sales, chief customer officer, Danone; Bertrand Swiderski, chief sustainability officer, Carrefour; Christine Montenegro McGrath, senior vice-president, chief impact and sustainability officer, Mondelēz International; Emily Kunen, senior director, positive agriculture capabilities and forest risk, PepsiCo; Gloria Gabellini, director, environmental policy, PepsiCo; Imke van Gasselt, vice-president, health and sustainable diets, Ahold Delhaize; Marie Chantal Messier, assistant vice-president, global head of food and industry affairs, Nestlé; Nathalie Roos, chief executive officer, Lipton Teas and Infusions; Olaf Koch, partner, Zintinus; Alejandra Vázquez, global sustainability vice president, Grupo Bimbo; Chris Franke, senior manager, global sustainability, Walmart; and many more.
In addition, CGF managing director Wai-Chan Chan, along with sustainability director Didier Bergeret and health and sustainability director Sharon Bligh, will be among those presenting. The summit will be hosted by journalist Isabelle Kumar.
Setting The Agenda
Topics set to be addressed over the two days will include: Leading from the Front – Health and Sustainability in Action; Collaborating for Net Zero – Empowering Sustainable Transformation; Advancing Human Rights Leadership: Collaboration & Impact on Human Rights; Connecting the Dots on Climate, People & Nature; Accelerating Circularity Through the Lens of Plastic Waste and many more.
As CGF managing director Wai-Chan Chan noted at last year’s Sustainable Retail Summit, which took place in Amsterdam (check out our review here and here), now is the time for retail and CPG leaders to embrace the words uttered by Elvis Presley some six decades ago – “A little less conversation, a little more action” – and facilitate the transition to a greener, fairer industry.
As the 12 months since the last gathering have taught us, when faced with record-high temperatures, weather disasters and rising food insecurity, time really is of the essence.
More information about The Consumer Goods Forum Sustainable Retail Summit, including a day-by-day breakdown, can be found here.
