The Sustainability Calendar: Essential Events & Milestones
Everywhere you go, people are talking about sustainability.
Over the past few decades, it has become increasingly apparent how essential it is to the future of our planet for sustainability to be at the top of the agenda. When discussing high level sustainability strategy, many executives will highlight the importance of partnerships, collaboration and information sharing.
Sustainability events are a crucial avenue for global leaders to come together and support the positive definition and development of sustainability strategies. While high-level discussions often focus on decarbonisation, reaching net zero and general carbon reduction, it is also important to shine a light on specific areas in the sustainability space. Every year, certain days are allocated by the United Nations, charities and other NGOs to focus on areas in sustainability, covering more specific topics and aspects of ESG.
International Women’s Day
Each year on the 8th March International Women’s Day is celebrated, having been globally recognised in 1910 at the second International Conference of Working Women in Copenhagen.
The day is designed to recognise the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women while marking a call to action for accelerating gender parity. In the US, UK and Australia, March is also International Women’s Month.
Leading companies around the world celebrate the incredible women that drive their organisations on the 8th March each year. For Mercedes Benz, one of the women platformed in 2024 was Alexandra Strassburger, Director Global Sales Operations.
“Women don’t need to be empowered,” she says. “It’s more about changing the social structures and systems that work against them.”
Sustainability LIVE: Net Zero
At Sustainability LIVE: Net Zero on 6 and 7 March 2024, leading female executives included:
- Monalisa Badola, Digital Power Sales & Digital Energy Marketing Director, UK&I, Schneider Electric
- Angela Hultberg, Global Sustainability Director, Kearney
- Susanne Bouma, Head of Partnerships and Programs, Neste
- Katie Tamblin, Founder, Ecodove
- Courtney Holm, Vice President Sustainable Futures, Capgemini Invent
- Emmeline Skelton, Head of Sustainability, ACCA
- Smruti Naik-Jones, Chief Sustainability Officer - UK & North South Europe, Deloitte LLP
- Ulrike Sapiro, Chief Sustainability Officer, Henkel AG & Co. KGaA
- Angela Hultberg, Global Sustainability Director, Kearney
- Fredrika Klarén, Head of Sustainability, Polestar
Coming up in March 2025, Sustainability LIVE Net Zero will take place at QEII Centre in London, followed by virtual event Sustainability LIVE: Singapore on 18 March.
In alignment with International Women’s Day each year, Sustainability Magazine releases a Top 100 Women supplement to celebrate the achievements of women in sustainability working towards a more sustainable, equal and inclusive future.
Earth Day
Earth Day is an annual event celebrated on 22 April to demonstrate support for environmental protection. First held in 1970, Earth Day went global by 1990, mobilising 200 million people in 141 countries and lifting environmental issues onto the world stage.
It now includes a wide range of events coordinated globally by EarthDay.org (formerly Earth Day Network), including more than a billion people in more than 193 countries.
Each year the day has a theme – in 2024, it was Planet vs Plastics.
“The word environment means what surrounds you,” says Kathleen Rogers, President of EARTHDAY.ORG.
“In the case of plastics we have become the product itself – it flows through our blood stream, adheres to our internal organs and carries with it heavy metals known to cause cancer and disease. Now this once-thought amazing and useful product has become something else and our health and that of all other living creatures hangs in the balance."
“The Planet vs. Plastics campaign is a call to arms, a demand that we act now to end the scourge of plastics and safeguard the health of every living being upon our planet.”
World Environment Day
Celebrated around the world on the 5th June, World Environment Day is the United Nations' principal vehicle for encouraging worldwide awareness and action for the protection of the environment. Established in 1972 by the United Nations General Assembly during the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment, the first World Environment Day was held in 1974.
Each year, World Environment Day has a specific theme that focuses on a particularly pressing environmental issue and helps direct the global conversation and action towards a unified goal.. Past themes have included topics like biodiversity, plastic pollution, air pollution, and ecosystem restoration, and in 2024 it was 'Our Land, Our Future', focusing on land restoration, desertification and drought resilience.
Sustainability LIVE: Chicago
In June 2025, Sustainability LIVE is excited to host the inaugural Sustainability LIVE Chicago in partnership with Procurement and Supply Chain LIVE and Manufacturing LIVE. The two day event at Convene 333 North Green, Chicago, will provide attendees with the opportunity to connect, learn, and exchange insights on the latest trends, challenges, and best practices through engaging presentations, panel discussions, networking opportunities, and workshops as well as its new VR pavilion.
World Oceans Day
The 8th June marks the time to honour, protect and conserve the world’s oceans, to raise global awareness of the benefits humans get from the ocean and our individual and collective duty to use its resources sustainably. World Oceans Day was officially recognised by the UN in 2008, although it has been celebrated unofficially since the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro.
“We don’t have time for out of sight, out of mind,” says the UN, host of World Oceans Day.
“Our relationship to the ocean needs to urgently change, and our efforts have only skimmed the surface to date. To motivate widespread momentum for the ocean, we need to awaken new depths.”
In 2024, the World Oceans Day Action Theme was Catalyzing Action for Our Ocean and Climate in recognition of the urgency of fighting climate change – not just for the oceans, but the world. Leaders from around the world – including KPMG and Mars Petcare – come together to support the protection and appreciation of the oceans.
Sustainability LIVE London and New York
September sees the award winning Sustainability LIVE London return to Business Design Centre London to bring together thousands of the leading sustainability executives from some of the largest companies in the world. The London event cultivates a vibrant atmosphere where sustainability leaders from the UK and Europe can gather, forge connections, and delve deeper into the most pressing sustainability issues facing their organisations.
For the first time, Sustainability LIVE is excited to join New York Climate week as an accredited event.
New York Climate week is an essential part of the global sustainability calendar as one of the largest annual climate events of its kind, bringing together more than 500 events and activities across the City of New York.
Launching a groundbreaking ‘invitation only’ summit focused on sustainability strategies, brand strategies and business strategies, Sustainability LIVE: Climate Week NYC is the platform for leading organisations to raise awareness of long-term climate change objectives and the strategies to achieve them.
“We’re thrilled and privileged to be bringing Sustainability LIVE to Climate Week NYC as an accredited event,” says Steven Downes, Sustainability Magazine Editor in Chief.
“We know from sustainability executives that partnerships and collaborations are essential to success in this critically important area, so bringing together a group of the world's leading chief sustainability officers to speak, network and collaborate at one of the largest climate events in the world is going to be incredible.”
World Mental Health Day
World Mental Health Day is observed annually on October 10th. It was established by the World Federation for Mental Health in 1992, with the support of the World Health Organization (WHO), to raise awareness about mental health issues around the world and to mobilise efforts in support of mental health.
Objectives:
- Raise awareness
- Promote mental health education
- Reduce stigma
Mental health is an essential part of wellbeing – according to the global market research firm Ipsos, around 58% of people are aware of their mental health as a key factor in their overall being, whether that be their approach to relationships or how they perform at work. Historically, healthcare systems have not been prepared for mental health conditions and often apply chemical treatments to the problems. Of the 78% of people across the globe that believe their mental and physical health are linked, only 34% say their healthcare systems are capable of treating them equally.
COP
COP, or the Conference of Parties, is the supreme decision-making body of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that meets annually to assess progress in dealing with climate change and to negotiate agreements and commitments among the member countries.
The annual meeting provides a structured and formal process for countries to collaborate on climate action, develop and implement policies, mobilise resources, ensure accountability and drive innovation. It plays a vital role in the global effort to combat climate change and mitigate its impacts on the planet and society.
In 2024, COP29 will be held in Baku, Azerbaijan, in November, and will stand on two key pillars: enhance ambition and enable action.
“Failure to meet the 1.5 degree goal means that people would be left behind,” President-Designate H.E. Mukhtar Babayev says.
“We all have a moral duty to avoid this outcome. Everyone has a duty to make sure their actions match their words.”
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