TUESDAY 27 JUNE
All timings are in Central Daylight Time (CDT)
8:30am Registration and Networking
9.00am Welcome from Environment Analyst
9.05am Opening Remarks from the Day One Chair
Robert M. Beinstein, Vice President & Global ESG Implementation Lead, AECOM
9.15am Opening Keynote - Embracing Change: Stepping Up to the Challenge
André-Martin Bouchard, Global Director Earth & Environment & Global Executive Director ESG, WSP
Session One: Global Market Outlook - Opportunities, Challenges, Drivers & Disruptors
9.30am Global E&S Consulting Industry: Marketscape Transformation in the Era of ESG and Digitalisation
In this presentation, our Managing Director Ross Griffiths will explore the drivers and disruptors facilitating one of the most exciting growth periods in the history of the environmental industry.
Using the findings from our research programme (and also previewing our upcoming Global & US Market Assessment reports) he will update on the state of the environmental & sustainability (E&S) consulting sector and the key players that are emerging as consolidators following significant M&A activity.
He will analyse the dynamics across regions, service areas and client verticals, as well as the longer-term learnings and trends being accelerated and why we see this time as being a critical inflection point.
Ross will provide a summary of the evolution of this industry and how the growing influence of ESG is facilitating a convergence of professional services firms across the engineering, consulting and digital realms. He will outline the challenges and opportunities this presents and how companies in the AEC space must adapt, not least to improve visibility in a crowded marketplace.
Finally he will present the global market outlook and growth expectations across service areas, regions and client verticals, considering the key industry change drivers and what the E&S consultant — and consulting firm — of the future will look like.
Ross Griffiths, Managing Director, Environment Analyst
Alice Pickthall, Head of Research, Environment Analyst
10.40am Morning Refreshments & Networking
Session Two: People-Centred Climate Action - Supporting the “S” in ESG
11.05am Aligning Intent with Impact: Developing Solutions that Support, & Work With, All Communities to Achieve Environmental Justice & Social Equity Goals
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Evaluating the implementation to date of the EPA’s environmental justice enforcement strategy and the Climate & Economic Justice Screening Tool and its success in identifying and prioritizing those communities “most overburdened by environmental harm”
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Understanding our role and responsibilities as a sector in developing solutions that truly embed social value and ED&I considerations
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integrating E,D&I into project teams, objectives and outcomes
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openly talking to clients about its importance
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Assessing how best major project development can support under-represented and vulnerable communities:
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acknowledging the needs, culture and heritage of different communities and actively including them in project and resource planning
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understanding the potential impacts of activities
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using social equity and environmental justice as a lens in infrastructure development to encourage human-centric design
Panelists:
Katrina Kroeze - Senior Advisor - ESG & Strategic Sustainability, GHD
Amit Bando, Chief Economist and Senior Advisor, Just and Inclusive Economics, Ceres
Erin Aleman, Executive Director, Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP)
Session Three: Digital Impact & Transformation
11.50pm Leveraging Data & Digital Innovation to Provide New Solutions, Add Real Value & Achieve Sustainability Goals
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Exploring how we can best respond to the challenges and opportunities presented by digitalization and big data
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Leveraging technology innovation to improve business efficiency, assess and manage risk, and add value to your core service proposition:
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exploiting the use of new digital tools to improve productivity, alleviate the skills shortage and support informed decision-making
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embracing technology as a leveller, especially for SMEs
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managing the impact on people, skills and company culture
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Harnessing the power of data and data-sharing to achieve decarbonization and climate goals
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Optimizing collaborative alliances and strategic partnerships to deliver integrated digital solutions to environmental challenges
Panelists:
Carlos A. Baldor Jr., President & Chief Technology Officer, BST Global
Stacy Smedley, Executive Director, Building Transparency
12.30pm Networking Lunch
Fireside Chat with a Sustainability Leader
1.30pm Fireside Chat with a Sustainability Leader
Frannie Levar, Director, Sustainability & ESG, United Airlines
Session Four: Accelerating the Business Case for Nature-Based Solutions
2.00pm Developing Robust & Transparent Nature-Based Solutions to Deliver Real Economic, Environmental and Social Benefits
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Effectively measuring progress in biodiversity initiatives: data collection and comparable metrics
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Strategies to turn biodiversity commitments into action:
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assessing the true impact of a company’s value chain on biodiversity
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evaluating nature-related risks and opportunities
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better understanding how nature loss translates into financial risk
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addressing global risks and vulnerabilities and involving local communities in designing and delivering NbS
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Improving transparency and accountability in nature risk management:
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“making projects bankable” - monetising environmental impacts and solutions through natural capital accounting
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de-risking projects to increase investor confidence
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managing the link between NbS and decarbonisation off-setting to avoid green-washing
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Developing comprehensive mitigation solutions that meet environmental obligations, restore ecosystems, improve communities, and benefit the bottom line
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Exploring the development of biodiversity credits and mechanisms for financing Nature-based solutions
Panelists:
Jennifer Brunton, Senior Vice President and NY Water Business Line Leader, WSP
Edward Brauer P.E, Senior Hydraulic Engineer St. Louis District & Riverine Practice Lead, Engineering With Nature® Program, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Michelle Carr, Illinois Director, The Nature Conservancy
Rick Saines, Managing Director, Pollination
Paul Sherman, Mitigation Practice Lead, Burns & McDonnell
3.15pm Afternoon Refreshments & Networking
Session Five: Roundtable Discussion Session
3.45pm Interactive Roundtable Discussions
An opportunity to discuss a relevant topic in a more informal, participative format. Delegates choose a roundtable to attend, and each table will be hosted by a facilitator to lead discussion, encourage optimum debate and exchange of ideas
A. Successfully Embedding ESG into Everything we Do
In order to develop holistic, solutions-based approaches that achieve sustainability and social value goals, we need to truly embed ESG into corporate culture, strategic priorities and operating procedures. This roundtable will explore how we genuinely make it an “all-business mission” and enable the move from stated commitment to real demonstrable action.
Justin Mosquera, Global ESG Business Lead, AECOM
B. Using Effective Partnerships & Collaborative Strategies To Maximize Your Value Proposition
Partnerships and collaborations to accelerate growth in key areas, including advisory and digital services. What lessons are being learnt about these partnership approaches and how can they be leveraged to deliver optimum value and innovation?
Brett Roberts, Global Leader - Digital Environment, GHD
C. Identifying and Overcoming Key Challenges to Achieving a Circular Economy
Managing supply chains and Scope 3 emissions are among the challenges in transitioning to a circular economy approach. This roundtable will explore solutions to overcome these, what circular economy really means for all stakeholders, and how an innovative, sustainable approach to the supply chain and procurement can deliver real change, added value and progress
Laura Drescher, Sustainability Technical Service Leader, Burns & McDonnell
D. Making Sense of the Noise: Guiding Clients through Climate-Related Measurement and Reporting
Exploring the changing requirements in climate and ESG impact reporting; how investors are managing environmental considerations across their portfolios, and the implications for environmental consultants in ensuring both they and their clients are effectively dealing with climate change as a systemic risk.
Marc Chabot, Principal, Senior Vice President Global Clients, WSP
E. Getting the Right People at the Right Time at the Right Price: Exploring Solutions to Attracting & Retaining Talent
This roundtable will discuss the challenges faced in recruiting and retaining talent, including evolving skill requirements, engaging a younger workforce, and competition from industry peers and clients, and explore innovative solutions that can engage, motivate and retain the next generation of staff and improve D,E&I within the sector.
Chris Swan, Managing Director & Global Practice Leader: Construction, Design & Environment, TRANSEARCH International
F. Mergers, Acquisitions & Financial Partnership Models: Trends and Impact
Exploring recent M&A transactions and financial restructuring activity in the E&S consulting sector and the impact of these transactions on market structure & service delivery, as well as assessing options for accelerating company growth.
Jessica Barclay, Managing Partner, EFCG
G. Exploring Growth Opportunities in Asia-Pacific
Environment Analyst’s 2022 Global Market Assessment showed that climate commitment and energy transition investment is really stepping up in Asia-Pacific, it also being the highest growing region globally. This roundtable will explore opportunities in the region aligned to net zero commitments from key nations.
Brett Ogilvie, Executive Leader - Sustainability + Digital & Director, Tonkin + Taylor
H. Leveraging Data & Connecting Innovative Solutions to Achieve Sustainability Goals
This RT will explore the challenges and opportunities presented by digitization and big data, including managing, normalizing & visualizing data streams from multiple MIS systems for a big picture view and managing organizational change to drive adoption and buy-in for new digital tools and processes. It will also discuss how to successfully integrate digital capabilities into core services and manage the impact on people, skills and company culture and optimizing strategic vendor partnerships and internal digital platform ownership to improve collaboration and accelerate time to value
Tom Klajn, EHS&S Digital Growth Platform Leader, Arcadis
I. Achieving the “S” in ESG - Embedding Social Change & Equity
Achieving the “S” in ESG is critical to achieving sustainable goals, however it can be complicated and require skillful navigation as to what it is, and how to talk about it, and how to embed it into projects and services. This discussion will explore what it means on multiple levels, including better understanding the potential impacts of activities and improving relationships with communities and stakeholders.
Hollie Janson Schmidt, Global Senior Director of Sustainability & Climate Response for the Americas Region, Jacobs
4.45pm Roundtable Feedback
Each roundtable facilitator will share the key learning points from their table discussions with the audience
5.15pm Closing Remarks from the Chair and Close of Day One
Sustainability Consulting Awards
Environment Analyst's Sustainability Consulting Awards Ceremony is taking place on the evening of 27 June in Chicago, Illinois, alongside the Global Business Summit. This evening ceremony will bring together the sustainability consulting community to discover and celebrate this year's Award winners.
Tickets for the Sustainability Consulting Awards are sold separately to Global Business Summit tickets.
To reserve your place at the Awards Ceremony please contact simon.king@environment-analyst.com.