2024 Sustainability, AI & Innovation Summit

November 22nd, 2024

@Norrsken House | Barcelona

8:30AM - 9:00AM

Registration, Coffee and Breakfast

9:00AM - 9:10AM

Welcome

9:10AM - 9:50AM

The View from the Boardroom - Digitization and the Mainstreaming of Sustainability

The openary plenary will discuss how digital transformation is influencing the integration of sustainability into core business strategies. Participants will learn from senior executives and investors how digital tools, data analytics, and technology-driven innovations are helping companies incorporate sustainable practices more effectively, aligning with both consumer expectations and regulatory requirements.

  • Moderator: Magda Pavlak-Chiaradia, CRO, CommonShare

  • Fatine Layt, Lion Tree, EIR (Executive in Residence), Publisher & President A MAGAZINE curated by I A LAB curated by 

  • Roman Liot, Co-Founder and COO, Adore Me

9:55AM - 10:30AM

In Conversation: Driving Sustainable Food Systems: The Role and Limits of Transparency, and Consumer Engagement

The discussion will address how transparency and consumer engagement are crucial in transforming food production and consumption practices to be more sustainable. The panelists will examine innovative approaches to measuring and reducing environmental impacts across the food supply chain, focusing on the complexities of diverse production methods and the variability of environmental outcomes. As part of this, the role of Product Environmental Footprints (PEFs) will be explored, emphasizing the importance of accurate and comprehensive data in assessing the environmental impact of food products. The conversation will highlight which segments of the food industry are prepared to adopt PEFs effectively and identify those facing obstacles due to data quality, consistency, and transparency issues, which can affect the reliability of environmental impact assessments and hinder progress toward more sustainable food systems. 

  • Sabine Bonnot, President, Planet-score

  • Juan Ignacio Zaffora, Senior Regional Manager, EIT Food

10:30AM - 11:00AM

Networking Break

11:00AM - 11:40AM

Geopolitics, Fragmentation, and Decentralization: How to Solve Supply Chain Visibility in a Modern World

In a world where geopolitical tensions, fragmentation, and decentralization challenge global trade, achieving supply chain visibility has never been more complex—or more critical. This session will explore how businesses can navigate this fractured landscape by leveraging digital tools and innovative strategies to maintain visibility and control over their supply chains. Experts will delve into the implications of regulations like EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), UFLPA, and others and examine how companies can implement robust due diligence processes to avoid contributing to deforestation while managing the risks posed by a fragmented world. Participants will gain insights into the best practices for enhancing supply chain transparency, ensuring compliance with evolving global standards, and effectively reporting and documenting their efforts to meet regulatory requirements.

  • Moderator: Dr. Lela Mélon, Director of LL.M. in European and Global Law |

    Co-director of Masters in Global Health & Professor of Sustainability in Corporate Law

  •  Rob Shaw, Senior Integrity Manager, PEFC

  • Dolores Naharro, Regional Manager Europe, FibreTrace

  • Josh Taylor, Traceability Manager at ISEAL

11:40AM - 12:05PM

Presentation: Getting Competitors to Collaborate - How Data Sovereignty, Incentives, Governance and Digital Innovation Can Drive Decarbonization

Collaborative innovation among competitors requires carefully crafted institutional frameworks that balance incentives, technology, legal considerations, and governance models. These models are hard to achieve but critical if we are to meet urgent sustainability, net zero, biodiversity, and other challenges. Several initiatives have effectively scaled by integrating these elements, offering valuable insights for fostering collaboration in competitive environments. Key principles include establishing clear criteria for membership, ensuring data sovereignty to protect stakeholders' interests while stimulating market demand, aligning ownership and governance rights with marketplace participation, and employing innovative financing strategies to support scalability. Examples like Visa, Catena-X, Molecule, and Braintrust illustrate diverse approaches to fostering collaborative innovation.

  • Martin Smith, Co-Founder and CEO, CommonShare

12:05PM - 12:30PM

PO Based Traceability:  "Chain of Evidence Verification in Complex Supply Chains”

Much of the certification world focuses on scope certificates, which often do not provide individual product or transaction level verification. This session will focus on the growing regulatory demands, such as EUDR, UFLPA, and CSDDD and how these often require order-level traceability from agricultural and chemical inputs to the consumer. The session will explore the market for PO based (transaction level) traceability and how companies can efficiently manage risk and trade compliance through this approach.

  • Chuck Rogers, Americas Director, Technical Consulting & Supply Chain Solutions,  Bureau Veritas Consumer Product Services

12:30PM - 1:30PM

Lunch

1:30PM - 2:30PM

Plenary Keynote: Bridging the Gap: How Certification Can Strengthen Regulatory Compliance in Sustainability

In this plenary keynote session, leaders and experts will explore the Green Claims Directive, a pivotal regulation designed to combat greenwashing by ensuring that environmental claims made by companies are accurate, verifiable, and trustworthy. The keynote will highlight the inherent tension between regulatory requirements and voluntary certification standards, such as NATRUE and Leaping Bunny, and discuss how these certifications can play a vital role in supporting regulation. By providing independently verified frameworks and promoting best practices, certification can offer companies a clear path to regulatory compliance while building consumer trust and transparency. The session will feature insights on how to navigate the complexities of the directive, including practical strategies for using certification to substantiate green claims and meet evolving regulatory demands. Attendees will gain a deep understanding of how to leverage the synergy between regulation and certification to drive credible, transparent, and impactful sustainability initiatives.

  • Moderator: Camille Oberkampf, Counsel

  • Michelle Thew, Chief Executive Officer, Cruelty Free International 

  • Alberto Monje Gama, Sustainability Policy Manager, TIC Council

  • Viktoria Potko, Certification & Global Market Development Manager, NATRUE

2:35PM - 3:00PM

Case Study: Using NLP and Machine Learning to Predict Outcomes:  Implications for Sustainability and Development

This session will deep dive into how fine-tuning of LLMs (Large Language Models) combined with RAG (Retrieval Augmented Generation) can train models to quickly analyze millions of documents. The implications are widespread and have practical applications for everything from impact investing to responding to new regulations like CSRD that require materiality analysis. The session will explore how the US, UK, and other governments are using these technologies to make better development investments. A case study will be showcased on how the model can apply to corporate practitioners responding to the Corporate Social Responsibility Directive.

  • Allegra Piazza, Data & Insights Lead, DevelopMetrics

  • Maria Cabrera Parron, Product Manager, CommonShare

3:00PM - 3:30PM

Networking Break

3:30PM - 4:00PM

The Bleeding Edge:  Partnering with Ventures Driving Sustainability Innovation

Sustainability innovation is reshaping supply chains, with ventures at the forefront developing technologies like AI, blockchain, and circular economy solutions to enhance transparency, reduce carbon footprints, and improve efficiency. Venture investors are increasingly focused on startups that can revolutionize sourcing, manufacturing, and distribution, making supply chains more sustainable and resilient. For companies, partnering with these ventures offers a path to staying competitive and driving impact, but it requires careful navigation. Effective partnerships start with thorough due diligence, aligning on clear sustainability goals, and setting measurable success metrics. By choosing the right ventures and managing risks wisely, companies can leverage cutting-edge innovations to transform their supply chains without getting burned.

  • Louis Millon, Climate Tech VC, Systemiq Capital

  • Jahed Momand, General Partner, Cerulean Ventures

4:00PM - 4:25PM

Case Study: Product Environmental Footprinting at Multinational Scale 

This case study will explore how fashion eCommerce leader Adore Me (acquired by Victoria’s Secret for $500Mn+) is implementing product environmental footprints at scale. Challenges include traceability, analysis, and dealing with complexity in product merchandising. As lingerie is the of the most complex products in the apparel value chain, this case study will offer insights into exactly how companies can quickly scale PEFs and carbon footprinting to tens of thousands of SKUs. Strategies to be discussed include collaboration across the value chain, adoption of standardized methodologies, and leveraging technology to enhance data reliability.

  • Christina Chang, VP Sustainability, Adore Me 

  • Clemence Vincent-Le Priol, Customer Success Lead, Carbonfact

4:25PM - 4:50PM

Empowering Change: Intelligent Agents in Sustainability and Impact

This session will delve into the role of intelligent agents in driving sustainable change and creating a positive societal impact. We will explore how AI-powered agents are being used to optimize resource management, promote environmental conservation, and support social initiatives. Attendees will discover how these technologies can empower businesses and communities to tackle pressing global challenges while also addressing the ethical and practical considerations of their deployment.

  • Martin Smith, CEO, CommonShare

  • Abdelkader Boudih, CTO, CommonShare

4:50PM - 5:15PM

Authenticity, Ownership, and Circularity - Using Technology to Drive New Circular Business Models

This session will explore how technology is reshaping business models around authenticity, ownership, and circularity to build more sustainable and efficient value chains. Attendees will learn how digital tools like blockchain, IoT, and AI are enabling companies to enhance product traceability, verify authenticity, and facilitate innovative circular practices such as product-as-a-service, recycling, and reuse. Through real-world case studies and expert insights, the discussion will focus on how businesses can harness these technologies to take ownership of their sustainability journey, minimize waste, extend product lifecycles, and engage customers in circular models. Participants will leave with actionable strategies for leveraging digital transformation to drive circularity, create sustainable value, and achieve long-term impact.

  • Pietro Novelli, CEO, Vaultik

  • Nicole Rigas, Chief Marketing Officer, Vaultik

  • Claudia Ojeda, Founder and CEO, RUN TO WEAR

5:15PM - 7:30PM

Reception