We will be the first to admit that sustainability can often be confusing.

Companies of all shapes and sizes struggle to get to grips with an ever-evolving regulatory landscape, game-changing technologies, and strategies for success.

That’s why events like Sustainability LIVE Net Zero, taking place in London on 6-7 March, are absolutely essential for executives looking to improve their understanding of the latest trends and developments in sustainability and ESG.

Where else could you hear insights from the sustainability champions at some of the world’s biggest organisations in a series of keynotes, roundtables, fireside chats, workshops, and networking sessions all under one roof?

With sessions across two stages on both days, the hardest decision will be which ones can you afford to miss. But fear not. Whether you are joining the event in-person or streaming live around the world, every session will be available to watch on demand.

We don’t have favourites, but here we select 10 must-see speakers from Sustainability LIVE Net Zero.

1

Kristen Siemen

Chief Sustainability Officer

General Motors

Session: Day 1 (March 6) 12pm GMT, Stage 2

As one of the world’s most influential players in the EV movement, Kristen Siemen will join her automotive peers in an all-woman panel on day one of the show to discuss the future of electric cars in a net-zero world.

Kristen, who began her career at GM in 1994 and previously worked as Executive Director of Global Energy Strategy, has been instrumental in rolling out programmes and technologies to accelerate GM’s zero-emission targets.

Home to brands including Buick, Cadillac and Chevrolet, General Motors unveiled its ambitious net target in 2021 – to be carbon neutral in global products and operations by 2040, alongside an aspiration to eliminate tail-pipe emissions from new US light-duty vehicles by 2035.

And the US$156.7 billion revenue business is on track to achieving these goals, accelerating its transformation to EVs and AVs, and committing more than US$35 billion to transform manufacturing facilities to an all-electric future.

Speaking to Sustainability LIVE New York in 2023, Kristen said GM was committed to being part of the transition to an all-electric future and this includes helping to make the charging infrastructure transition happen.

“We have committed US$750 million through 2025 to expand charging for residences, workplaces and public areas – and also support stronger EV public policy to make this EV experience for all.”

Passionate too about promoting DEI across the business, Kristen was instrumental in creating GM’s career re-entry programme and introducing the Women Allied Programme.

In recognition of her sustainability effort, Kristen was named among the top 25 women in sustainability globally in the Top 100 Women in Sustainability list.

2

Fredrika Klarén

Head of Sustainability

Polestar

Session: Day 1 (March 6) 12pm GMT, Stage 2

Armed with more than a decade of dedicated sustainability experience across fashion, retail and now EVs, this month’s Sustainability Magazine cover star, Fredrika Klarén is driving the sustainability agenda at pure-play EV maker Polestar.

Passionate on purpose, Fredrika lives and breathes sustainability, not just dedicating her career to the net zero cause but in her personal life too – becoming an “EV owner very early on”, she told Sustainability Magazine in a recent exclusive interview.

As well as driving sustainability at Polestar, where she works to reduce the carbon footprint of the brand’s EVs and collaborates with research partners to create climate-neutral materials, Fredrika is driving the industry forward.

Polestar is more than a maker of EVs, Fredrika tells Sustainability Magazine – it is facilitating connections and innovations to support an ecosystem of mobility.

A regular speaker on the sustainability circuit and attendee of COP, including COP28 in Dubai, Frederika is outspoken about the state of play in automotive and passionate about leading the industry forward in a collective effort towards decreasing emissions from passenger vehicles.

“In our pathway report, we show that to stay below 1.5 degrees, we have to see that 100% of sales are EVs by 2032,” she says.

Frederika will bring her expertise and perpective on the future of electric cars to an expert all-female panel on day one of the show – where, alongside EV-focused equals like Rivian CSO Anisa Kamadoli Costa and GM CSO Kristen Siemen, she will explore the challenges, solution and opportunities of an all-electric future.

3

Anisa Kamadoli Costa

Chief Sustainability Officer

Rivian

Session: Day 1 (March 6) 12pm GMT, Stage 2

As Rivian’s first-ever chief sustainability officer, Anisa Kamadoli Costa is responsible for the EV company’s sustainability strategy for both the business and its products.

Rivian was founded in 2009 with a goal to build vehicles that are rugged, luxurious and battery-powered – and has since seen increasing demand for its vehicles.

No stranger to sustainability strategy, Anisa previously spent nearly two decades at Tiffany & Co., where she developed and led the company’s industry-leading, metrics-driven ESG agenda, as well as strategically aligning the firm’s philanthropy and its sustainability priorities.

Under her leadership, Tiffany delivered consistently high sustainability ratings, ranking fourth on Barron’s Most Sustainable Companies list in 2020.

Bringing her expertise to Rivian in April 2022, Anisa is now driving the integration of ESG into all business decisions, as the company looks to achieve its Impact Goals.

“As a mission-driven company founded to accelerate the transformation to clean transportation, we are not comfortable allowing emissions to shift from tailpipes to power plants,” shares Anisa.

“We take our responsibility seriously to drive system-wide decarbonisation.”

As well as overseeing accounting of carbon emissions and other sustainability metrics, Anisa serves as the President and Trustee of the Rivian Foundation.

An experienced philanthropic executive, she is driving alignment between Rivian’s sustainability priorities and the Rivian Foundation’s grant-making dedicated to high-impact environmental initiatives.

She is also a Council Member of the Global Future Council on the Future of Responsible Resource Use at the World Economic Forum.

Anisa will join a four-member all-female panel of EV equals on day one of discuss the decarbonisation of the automotive industry.

4

Virginie Helias

Chief Sustainability Officer

Procter & Gamble

Session: Day 2 (March 7) 10am GMT, Stage 1

A celebrated figure in the global sustainability landscape, Virginie Helias is widely credited with bringing sustainability to P&G.

Helias’ journey to environmental enlightenment began in 2005, when working in marketing in P&G’s fabric care business, she was profoundly impacted by Al Gore’s 2005 documentary, An Inconvenient Truth.

Upon discovering that 80% of the carbon footprint associated with detergent products was linked to the washing machine’s temperature use, Helias realised that cold water washes could be a pivotal sustainability initiative.

And so began an environmental journey that would see Helias embed sustainability within P&G’s business model.

In 2011, Helias pitched to then-CEO Bob McDonald a unique role for herself, as Sustainability and Digital Director for Household Care in Europe. This was the first of four sustainability portfolios Helias would go on to hold, as she looked to turn P&G towards a more sustainable future.

Which is exactly what Helias has done. From the innovative launch of a new Head & Shoulders bottle made from 25% recycled beach plastic at the WEF in Davos in 2017, to taking the sustainable lead as CSO in 2019, Helias has made quite the environmental mark at P&G.

Among achievements in the last five years, Helias has overseen P&G’s sign-up to Amazon’s Climate Pledge, actioned the company’s ambitious SBTi-verified targets in 2030 and 2040, and led the multinational to plastic waste neutrality.

Lauded for her many sustainability successes, Helias was named number six in Sustainability Magazine’s prestigious Top 100 Women in Sustainability 2023.

In a keynote titled Sustainability & Superiority: A Winning Combination on day two of the Sustainability LIVE Net Zero (March 7, 10am), Helias will bring her passion and wisdom to stage 1 where she will share the strategies P&G has embraced in its journey to net zero 2040 – from innovation in materials to tackling waste.

5

Thomas Blood

Commercial Sector Sustainability Leader, EMEA

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Session: Day 2 (March 7) 12.55pm GMT, Stage 1

Armed with 30 years of experience as a technologist, from software to data centres, and a passion for sustainability – having studied climate and environmental science in the 1980s – Thomas Blood is now fusing the two.

As Commercial Sector Sustainability Leader at AWS EMEA, Blood works with clients using AWS and the cloud to realise and accelerate their sustainability ambitions and goals.

As Blood told Sustainability Magazine in an exclusive interview in January: “There are some estimates that believe that sustainability could be a US$12 trillion business on its own. So, there's this beautiful convergence of a great need in the world and technology being able to address some of that need.”

Taking inspiration from his work at AWS, and the clients he has worked with, Blood has penned a book (‘Reaching Cloud Velocity’) alongside xxx Jonathan Allen that explores lessons learned and knowledge gained – to help leaders accelerate sustainability through the AWS cloud.

With the sustainability conversation moving from strategy implementation to pushing for net-zero results, Blood believes the cloud has a huge role to play in that accelerated journey – providing customers with the mean to scale ideas quickly to maximise impact.

Blood will bring his expertise and passion to the London stage on day two (March 7, 12.55pm) with a keynote. 

6

Chris Shanahan

VP of Global Sustainability - Supply Chain Operations

Thermo Fisher Scientific

Session: Day 1 (March 6) 2.30pm GMT, Stage 1

Leading sustainability efforts for the Thermo Fisher supply chain since September 2022 and as ambassador for The Sustainable Procurement Pledge, Chris Shanahan brings extensive procurement expertise to the show.

Join Chris on day one for a fireside chat, entitled Empowering sustainable supply chains – where he will discuss how the power of procurement can be a catalyst for positive change within the supply chain.

Following a career in life science procurement first at GSK (10 years) and then as SVP Global Procurement at BD (18 years), Chris joined Thermo Fisher Scientific six years ago as CPO before transitioning to a sustainability leadership role.

A world leader in serving science, and with a 90,000-strong workforce and annual revenue of US$40 billion, Thermo Fisher is on a mission is to enable customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer – and to be net zero by 2050. And Chris’s goal is to make that happen, whether it be infrastructure change or behavioural change.

Thermo Fischer runs a Supplier Diversity Programme, which provides certified small and diverse businesses with opportunities to become a preferred vendor for the company.

Chris is an Adjunct Professor in the Supply Chain Master’s program at Fairleigh Dickinson University. Chris is the coauthor of The Procurement Leader’s Handbook.

7

Nicholas Mazzei

Vice President of Sustainability – Europe

DP World

Session: Day 1 (March 6) 10:55am GMT, Stage 1

Lending his considerable expertise to the Sustainability & ESG Strategies panel discussion, Nicholas is a sustainability and social impact professional who has worked in a variety of sectors.

From serving as an officer in the British Army (including tours in Afghanistan, Kosovo and Northern Ireland), to leading sustainability at a German fashion and e-commerce retailer, it’s fair to say that Nichiolas has taken the career path less travelled.

That makes him an excellent speaker for this panel where he will also share his latest insights as VP of Sustainability – Europe for multinational logistics company DP World.

Nicholas believes business is the most effective and important way we can protect and improve the natural world and the climate, and has a particular passion for nature regeneration.

Nicholas will be discussing and debating the latest trends alongside Adam Read, Chief Sustainability Officer, SUEZ; Smruti Naik-Jones, Chief Sustainability Officer, Deloitte; and

Nelson J Muhumuza, Senior VP - Sustainability, ESG & Public Affairs, Citi.

Sure to be a lively session.

8

Nicolette Bartlett

Chief Impact Officer

CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project)

Session: Day 1 (March 6) 2.30pm GMT, Stage 1

As Chief Impact Officer at the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), Nicolette Bartlett plays a pivotal role in steering the organisation's mission towards a sustainable economy.

She oversees initiatives that encourage companies and governments to reduce emissions, protect natural resources, and engage in transparent environmental reporting.

Bartlett's expertise in climate policy and sustainability is crucial in promoting eco-friendly practices across industries, making her a central figure in the global battle against climate change.

Joining Sustainability LIVE Net Zero on day one, Nicolette will bring her expertise to a panel discussion on the future of AI in Sustainability.

Alongside panellists Lisa Wee (Aveva) and Jonathan Lishawa (Sercomm), Nicolette will discuss how emerging technologies such as AI can accelerate sustainability efforts and by leveraging AI – businesses, the path to net zero will be easier and faster.

Nicolette also serves on the Boards of various climate non-profits, including the SBTi, RE100 and the W Mean Business Coalition.

9

Adam Karnama

Chief Sustainability Officer

Cognizant – Nordics

Day 1 (March 6) 12pm GMT, Stage 1

Adam is a genuine sustainability all-rounder, blending his experiences as an executive, entrepreneur and investor to deliver an unmissable keynote.

Having worked primarily in energy and sustainability in his 20-year career for the likes of ABB, Accenture, and Siemens Energy, how Adam utilises that knowledge as Chief Sustainability Officer for Cognizant – Nordics.

Not only that, but Adam also finds time for his startup Spritju (which aims to make energy a traceable product) and developing an impact fund called Aban Foundation. 

Adam has two degrees from KTH – Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden and did his PhD at MIT on Sustainable Energy Systems. He is also the author of two books.

Proving that not ALL good things have to come in pairs, Adam will be delivering this single keynote and is sure to provide a unique perspective.

Adam believes that sustainability has been transformed into a growth strategy for corporates and is sure to elaborate on this in London. 

“Companies can still grow, even faster than before, and become highly profitable without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs,” said Adam. “The enabler of such growth? IT and digitalisation.”

10

Ulrike Sapiro

Chief Sustainability Officer

Henkel

Session: Day 1 (March 6) 10am GMT, Stage 1

Kicking off the event in style on Stage 1 is Ulrike Sapiro, a regular in the Top 100 Sustainability Leaders for the past two years.

In her role at consumer goods giant Henkel, Ulrike is responsible for corporate sustainability strategy and governance, reporting and disclosure, and ESG.

Ulrike has a history of commitment to water stewardship and sustainable agriculture , informed by previous roles at The Coca-Cola Company and Thames Water.

Ulrike has a Master’s in Political Science from the University of Munich, which no doubt proves valuable when handling diverse sustainability stakeholders.

When asked about her plans for 2024, Ulrike said she wants to continue driving a culture of sustainability transformation by offering the sharing of knowledge and development of skills. 

As she puts it, sustainability is a learning journey for all of us.

Hopefully this opening keynote will set the educational tone for the entire event.

There is still time to secure a discounted Early Bird ticket for Sustainability LIVE Net Zero, priced £295, until 16 February. Don’t miss out – get your in-person ticket today.

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