Sustainability LIVE: Net Zero - Insights From BCD Travel

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Sustainability LIVE: Net Zero will take place at the QEII Centre, London
We caught up with Olivia Ruggles-Brise, Vice President of Sustainability at BCD Travel, before Sustainability LIVE: Net Zero

Sustainability LIVE: Net Zero will arrive at the QEII Centre on 5 and 6 March 2025.

This two-day, hybrid event will explore the latest technologies, policies and strategies shaping the net zero landscape and enhance connections with sustainability leaders, policymakers, solution providers and researchers. 

Sustainability LIVE: Net Zero will also be co-located with Procurement & Supply Chain LIVE: Sustainability, allowing attendees to combine insights from procurement, supply chain and net zero executives to craft comprehensive strategies for achieving operational sustainability and carbon reduction. 

Join us this year and discover how you can embark on the route to a carbon-neutral world.

To get your exclusive ticket, click here.

Sustainability LIVE London Global Summit

Olivia Ruggles-Brise, Vice President of Sustainability at BCD Travel

Olivia Ruggles-Brise, Vice President of Sustainability at BCD Travel

Since November 2022, Olivia Ruggles-Brise has been the Vice President of Sustainability at BCD Travel, where she works with corporate partners to make their travel programmes more sustainable and manages the delivery of BCD Travel’s sustainability strategy.

Olivia has gained 20 years of experience in sustainability in the travel industry, working for organisations such as Greenview and the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), as well as launching and leading the Tourism for Tomorrow Awards.

As Director at Greenview, Olivia led the company’s industry engagement work and partnered with international clients on their sustainability and ESG programmes.

At the WTTC, Olivia managed the programme development for the annual WTTC Global Summit and managed strategy, policy and sustainability for nearly a decade. 

She is also the author of the Net Zero Roadmap for Events and Net Zero Methodology for Hotels.

At Sustainability LIVE: Net Zero, Olivia will feature on our Global ESG Strategies panel alongside Joe Murphy, Executive Lead, Business Network at Ellen Macarthur Foundation, Michael Batstone, Global Climate Strategy Manager at IFS, Kuram Gwakyaa, Head of Sustainability at Mitie and Alessandro Spagarino, Climate Impact Advisor & Business Development Manager at Terraformation.

This panel discussion will highlight the importance global ESG strategies hold in driving long-term value creation and providing a clear frame for businesses to tackle social equity, climate change and ethical governance. By ensuring ESG standards match sustainability goals, organisations can attract responsible investments, enhance transparency and enhance systemic change across supply chains and industries. 

To get your exclusive ticket, click here

We recently caught up with Olivia to discover what inspired her to get involved with our event, her aims for her panel discussion, as well as her predictions for the future of the sustainability industry.

Did you know? Olivia delivered an engaging fireside chat at Sustainability LIVE: Net Zero 2024 that explored sustainable business travel. 

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What inspired you to get involved in Sustainability LIVE: Net Zero?

I am a believer in the power of collaboration to solve the challenges we face. 

Sustainability LIVE is a great suite of events that bring experts together to share knowledge and inspire action. 

While sustainability is much broader than carbon reduction, Sustainability LIVE: Net Zero, which I attended last year, really focuses the mind on solutions and progress in this area. 

BCD Travel is one of the world’s largest corporate travel management companies and our customers are increasingly focused on reducing the carbon emissions related to their business travel. 

Sustainability LIVE: Net Zero is a great forum to highlight opportunities and share challenges. 

Provide an overview of what your Global ESG Strategies panel will focus on. 

The panel session will focus on ESG strategies. 

I will talk about our own journey at BCD Travel and how we are defining and implementing our own ESG strategies, particularly in the light of new regulations which are changing what is required of us and our customers.

I will focus on how we are working to ensure a balance between the new and onerous reporting regulations and ensuring that we embed sustainability deep into our company’s strategy and longer-term thinking.

What do you hope to achieve through Sustainability LIVE: Net Zero?

As well as being able to share our journey, I am excited to find out more about what other companies are doing and get insights into some of the newest technologies and solutions that are driving progress towards net zero. 

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What emerging trends do you believe will shape the future of sustainability over the next decade?

The early 2020s were defined by commitments and pledges, which was great for galvanising action. 

But as we approach 2030, it is now becoming clear that many of these were too ambitious, and often not backed up by robust plans. 

We are also seeing action taken against companies and organisations that make spurious or unsubstantiated sustainability claims. So, I think going forward we will see less noise about goals and commitments and more work towards actual progress and impact. Transparency and reporting requirements will help shore up claims and drive alignment across reporting and measurement methodologies.

Alongside this focus on progress and impact, I believe the narrative will shift from one of compliance i.e. sustainability is something you ‘have to do’ – to one of opportunities i.e. ‘sustainability is something you want to do.’ I am optimistic that the more effort companies put into solving sustainability challenges, the more the solutions will become part and parcel of their business activities and profit lines.

However, this does not mean that compliance and due diligence disappear. 

As new supplier due diligence legislation comes into play, particularly in Europe, companies will need to delve deeply into the human rights and environmental practices of the supply chain. 

As these processes develop, it will be critical that we do not lose sight of the ultimate aim – to eliminate bad practices across the supply chain – rather than get bogged down in onerous processes and reporting requirements.

Finally, artificial intelligence is going to provide some of the greatest opportunities as well as the greatest challenges for sustainability in the next decade. 

It can help find and scale solutions, but also comes at a significant cost to the environment and how / if this balance is achieved will be a critical factor for sustainability. 

To get your exclusive ticket, click here

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