5 Takeaways From the Panels at Sustainability LIVE Chicago

Sustainability LIVE Chicago brought together the brightest minds across industry, serving up vital and thought-provoking conversations about risk, resilience and future-readiness, plus ESG, decarbonisation and Scope 3 emissions. 

After two busy days, delegates left more determined than ever to make meaningful change and enhance the sustainability credentials of their companies.

Co-located with Procurement & Supply Chain LIVE, the Chicago edition offers a unique opportunity to explore the cross-overs between sustainability, procurement and supply chain management. 

The triple focus allows for comprehensive networking and collaboration across different sectors, fostering integrated approaches to sustainability.

Sustainability LIVE and Procurement & Supply Chain LIVE Chicago will return in 2026… Subscribe to Sustainability Magazine to be the first to know more. 

'If the boss doesn't buy it, it won't happen'

When it comes to the inclusion of women across industry, it was made clear in the Women in Sustainability panel that true progress requires more than diversity statements or isolated initiatives. 

"Being able to create work environments where folks can truly thrive continues to be a business imperative. Diverse organisations outperform homogeneous organisations," said Karina Delacruz, Vice President of Community at CSAA Insurance Group.

Panellists stressed that success hinges on organisational culture and leadership that actively drives inclusion, fosters mentorship, provides flexible pathways and genuinely empowers women in decision-making roles across sustainability.

Building representation is not just an ethical imperative, but essential for business success and climate action.

"If the boss doesn't buy it, it's not ever really going to happen. It's got to be authentic, coming from leadership. They make a huge difference,” said Cara Williams, Global Head of Climate and Sustainability at Mercer.

Sustainability and business success are inseparable

Corporate sustainability is shifting. The need to embed sustainability into core business operations is critical not just to build trust and resilience but to inspire the next generation and achieve lasting change.

Stakeholders are increasingly demanding credible proof that companies are reducing emissions, tackling waste, embedding circulatory and delivering measurable results. 

"This is the time to double down. It's not about talking anymore, it's about doing, let's start doing instead of talking about them," said Albert Douer, Chairman and CEO at UBQ Materials.

Panellists highlighted during the Future of Corporate Sustainability panel how their organisations are tying executive compensation and internal budgets to sustainability outcomes. They also stressed the critical role of leadership in driving change by building resilient business models and proving that sustainability is inseparable from long-term business success.

"It's the constant introspection and checking ourselves to make sure we're walking our talk. We need to be honest with [young talent] and with ourselves about what we're accomplishing and what we're not,” said Alan Scott, Director of Sustainability at Intertek.

No decarbonisation without ROI demonstration

Panellists of the Global Decarbonisation Strategies panel agreed that to gain leadership buy-in and drive sustained progress, decarbonisation initiatives must align with clear business benefits. 

"We've taken a pretty novel approach of linking pretty much every sustainability and decarbonisation activity we do with ROI. Selling it in a way that reflects positive ROI for the business,” said Ian Pope, Director of Sustainability at McCarthy Construction.

While regulations and policy shifts are spurring change, the strongest motivator remains customer demand and market competitiveness and reducing emissions – particularly Scope 3 – will require extended efforts across businesses, in particular the supply chain. 

AI and data tools can unburden teams from labour-intensive tasks like carbon accounting, but panellists warned that technology alone is not the answer.

"The entire supply chain has to be in lockstep with those ambitions. We incentivise our suppliers to use low carbon, to ensure our components really meet the requirements,” said Elina Vives, Executive Vice President, North America at Signify.

CSOs must position sustainability as a long-term competitive advantage

It was clear during the CSO Strategy Forum that CSOs need to reframe sustainability when it comes to growth, profit and business risk, rather than treating it as a side initiative. 

"Defining clear responsibilities, defining incentives and integrating KPIs into business incentives is where there’s also a lot of opportunity for CSOs to shine,” said Michelle Bachir, Managing Director Sustainability at Arcadis.

Panellists agreed that embedding sustainability into performance management, incentives and clear responsibilities is essential for accelerating implementation, coupled with effective strategies focused on material issues tied to a company’s core business model and risks.

Sustainability leaders were encouraged to act boldly rather than wait for perfect data or conditions.

"There’s millions of ESG issues, but not all are created equally. The more that a strategy can be tailored to where your negative externalities are, the more cohesive your strategy becomes," said Jennifer Motles, Chief Sustainability Officer at PMI.

Successful AI implementation depends on data quality

During the AI in Sustainability panel, panellists emphasised that while AI holds huge potential to advance sustainability, its effectiveness is entirely dependent on high-quality, trusted data.

"The effectiveness of AI is going to be entirely predicated by the quality of the data, we haven't entirely solved that challenge," said Miles Makdisi, Director, Sustainability and Social Impact at Rakuten International.

Incomplete, unverified or biased data leads to 'hallucinations' and erodes trust in AI tools, particularly where regulatory compliance and reporting are concerned.

Before promising AI-driven solutions, companies must invest in cleaning, structuring and governing their data to allow AI to support real progress.

"Oftentimes AI is a black box, unless it is explained how it got that answer, it won't be trusted and it won't be adopted,” said Dave Duncan, Head of Sustainability at PTC.​​​​​​​

You can watch all of these panels and more on-demand at Sustainability LIVE. 

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