What is Being Discussed at Ecovadis’s Sustain 2026 Event?

In a world of continuing disruptions and geopolitical tensions, a need arises for progress to be made in sustainability.

Companies that are succeeding in implementing sustainable practices into their operations see sustainability as a strategy and a way to create long-term value.

Ecovadis is bringing together these industry-leading companies in Paris at its Sustain 2026 event, showing how solutions can support sustainability, decarbonisation, sustainable procurement and compliance.

About Sustain 2026

Sustain 2026 brings together more than 3,000 leaders in Paris and online, connecting a global network of sustainability experts to drive change across industries.

It focuses on sharing best practices to reduce supply chain risks and make sustainability a key driver of B2B growth.

Professionals at the event are coming together to discuss how AI is reshaping industries, regulations are tightening and markets are shifting.

They aim to share strategies for adapting to these changes, in order to build strength across their businesses’ supply chains, partnerships, people and the planet.

Pierre-Francois Thaler, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Ecovadis, writes on LinkedIn: “The world of sustainability, supply chain resilience, regulatory compliance and AI for risk management is evolving rapidly.

“2026 is the tipping point: sustainability is no longer a cost or compliance, but a sustained advantage.

“Join us at Sustain 2026 to choose growth over risk. We’ll show you how you can capture your piece of the US$7tn green economy (BCG) rather than paying into the US$184bn annual supply chain disruption (SwissRe).”

How sustainable is the event?

As well as focusing on sustainability, Ecovadis is making sure it is committed to sustainability in the running of the event.

This is in line with the company’s commitment  to reducing its environmental impact and minimising its contribution to climate change by reducing the greenhouse gas emissions from its operations and supply chain.

It links with Ecovadis’s carbon reduction targets, which have been verified through the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).

At Sustain 2026, Ecovadis is committed to serving at least 60% vegan or vegetarian meals, host 100% inclusive events and measure the carbon footprint of participants’ travel.

This involves collaboration with its employees, suppliers, attendees and partners.

In terms of materials and recycling, Ecovadis is renting on-site furniture from the venue to avoid transportation emissions and promote reuse.

It aims to avoid single-use plastics and minimise the use of all materials where possible.

Ecovadis is encouraging sponsors to consider the following points when bringing marketing materials: 

• Refusing to bring single-use materials
• Reusing existing materials and avoiding printing single-use flyers
• Rethinking goodies or items that could end up as waste or landfill

The caterers for Sustain 2026 are chosen for their following of sustainability criteria, including providing vegetarian or vegan options, sourcing local, fair trade or organic ingredients, redistributing surplus food and avoiding disposable cutlery.

Ecovadis is also hosting the event in a hybrid format, discouraging unnecessary travel emissions and being inclusive to everyone who wishes to attend.

Sustainability discussions

The event features expert-led discussions with sustainability and procurement leaders, focusing on AI, decarbonisation and regulations.

One panel discussed Scope 3 strategies, featuring SBTi’s Chief Strategy Officer Alex Kazaglis, Sage Group’s VP Procurement Claire Brockdorff and Ecovadis’ SVP Climate Dexter Galvin.

Claire said at the event: “Bold commitment in setting targets had our feet held to the fire – we wouldn’t have moved so quickly without ambition emission reduction targets and senior leadership incentives.

“We took our SMBs suppliers on a journey, through clarity in communications and objectives.

“We went further with our larger suppliers, leading to actual decarbonisation.”

This panel explored how the SBTi surpassing 10,000 companies with validated targets can affect businesses.

It examined how science-based targets are reshaping business strategy, investor expectations and supplier engagement.