Sustainability Summit 2020 | The Economist | 26 March 2020 | De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms, 61-65 Great Queen St, Holborn, London WC2B 5DA, UK

“Limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius is not impossible, but will require unprecedented transitions in all aspects of society,” warned Hoesung Lee, chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), upon the release of the panel’s report in October 2018. The IPCC says global net human-caused carbon-dioxide emissions must be reduced to zero by 2050 to keep global warming below 1.5°C. In the absence of such action, the IPCC predicts that the Earth’s temperature will increase to over double this, to 3.2°C above pre-industrial levels by 2100, with catastrophic consequences. Despite images of polar bears’ melting habitats and scorched landscapes from wildfires, the consequences of climate change seem vague and abstract. Many know the effects will be terrible, but policymakers struggle to describe how climate change will change our way of life—and thereby get the world to act.

Why attend?

The efforts under way are not enough. Action needs to be scaled up to meet internationally agreed goals. The Sustainability Summit will bring together industry leaders, policymakers, entrepreneurs and researchers from around the world to assess what businesses in particular—but also governments and NGOs—can do to rise to the challenge.

2020 Speakers

Hoesung Lee
Chair, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

Virginie Helias
Chief sustainability officer, Procter & Gamble

Guy Grainger
EMEA chief executive, JLL

Douglas Lamont
Chief executive, Innocent Drinks

Binish Desai
Founder, Eco Eclectic Tech, Recycle Man of India

Earthling Ed
Vegan speaker and educator

Peter Kalmus
Climate scientist and author

Kenny Jacobs
Chief marketing officer, Ryanair

Daniel Franklin
Executive and diplomatic editor, The Economist

Jan Piotrowski
Business editor, The Economist

Mark Shayler
Founder, Ape

Ann Tracy
Vice-president, global sustainability, Colgate-Palmolive

Susan Clayton
Whitmore-Williams professor and chair of psychology, The College of Wooster

James Thornton
Chief executive, ClientEarth

Vanessa Wright
Group vice-president, sustainability and responsibility, Pernod Ricard

Gabrielle Ginér
Head of environmental sustainability, BT

Adam Freed
Principal, sustainability practice, Bloomberg Associates

Pascale Wautelet
Vice-president, global research and development, label and graphic material, Avery Dennison

Andreas Ahrens
Head of climate, Inter IKEA Group

Gail Bradbrook
Co-founder, Extinction Rebellion

Nigel Brook
Global head of climate risk practice, Clyde & Co

Matthias Berninger
Senior vice-president, global head of public affairs and sustainability, Bayer AG

Elaine McKay
International affairs director, JTI

Livia Firth
Creative director, Eco-Age

Nicolas Mackel
Chief executive, Luxembourg for Finance

Jane Ambachtsheer
Global head of sustainability, BNP Paribas Asset Management

Cailin Birch
Global economist, The Economist Intelligence Unit

Simon Reddy
Director, international environment, The Pew Charitable Trusts

Fuyuhiko Kubota
General manager, corporate communication department, TOYOBO Co. Ltd.

Erik Lindroth
Sustainability director, Tetra Pak North Europe

Roberto Suárez Santos
Secretary-General, International Organisation of Employers (IOE)

Maria McClay
Industry head luxury, Google

Ben Dixon
Partner, SYSTEMIQ

Kathrina Mannion
Director of environmental policy, BP

2020 Sponsors and Partners

SUPPORTER:
• Pew

DIAMOND SPONSORS:
• Google Cloud
• Japan Gov

PLATINUM SPONSORS:
• Avery Dennison
• Bp

SUPPORTING SPONSOR:
• Bayer

SILVER SPONSORS:
• BNP Paribas Asset Management
• Luxembourg for Finance
• Tetra Pak

AIRLINE SPONSOR:
• Turkish Airlines

PART OF:
• The Evidence Initiative

SUPPORTER:
• JTI

PR AGENCY:
• Porter Novelli

SUPPORTING ASSOCIATIONS:
• Asian Ngo
• BSR
• Circular Economy
• Earth Day
• Eco-Business
• G&A
• Green House
• ICRS
• ITF
• Lewis Davey
• The Sustainability Consortium
• UKBCSD
• Women in Sustainability
• CPD Certified

REGISTRATION PARTNER:
• International Tree Foundation