Business Leaders, Sustainability and Health Experts and Environmental Groups Set to Unite at Sustainable Retail Summit to Help Shape Future of Industry

• The Consumer Goods Forum gears up to host more than 400 industry leaders and experts from 13^th – 14^th October, for two days of inspirational talks and best practice sessions helping to drive positive change for business, people and planet

• Major businesses and non-profit organisations including Unilever, Danone, PepsiCo, WHO, Walmart and WWF will reflect on opportunities to tackle pressing environmental, social and health challenges

• The event will bring together a wide range of retailers, manufacturers, policymakers, NGOs and other stakeholders to discuss topics including how to embed environmental and social sustainability, harnessing the power of technology and innovation and how to empower consumers to make healthier choices

PARIS 8^th September 2021 — The Consumer Goods Forum (CGF) will bring together business leaders alongside sustainability,  environmental and health experts at its annual Sustainable Retail Summit on 13^th – 14^th October, providing a collaborative forum for discussions on how to achieve better lives and a thriving planet through better business.

The two-day conference will take place both in person – at the Tour EQHO in Paris – and online, ensuring attendees from around the globe can take part in collaborative talks and reflect on the best ways to tackle common challenges. The event is welcoming a broad range of industry leaders, experts and policymakers – including those who are not CGF members.

Attendees will hear inspiring examples of leadership, ingenuity, and innovation – with the wide range of senior leaders and experts set to deliver sessions including:

• Alan Jope, CEO of Unilever
• Simon Roberts, Chief Executive Officer, Sainsbury’s
• Chris Daly, Chief Sustainability Officer, PepsiCo Europe
• Paul Lalli, Global Head of Human Rights at The Coca-Cola Company
• Traci Linder, Manager Global Seafood Traceability at WWF
• Richard Curtis, Director, Writer and SDG advocate

Topics of discussion will include:

• Health and sustainability at a crossroads:Unifying global health and sustainability concerns through best-practice industry actions
• Environmental and social sustainability:Tackling food waste, plastic waste and building a forest-positive future – as well as driving individual and collective action to protect human rights and embedding sustainability throughout the value chain
• Healthier lives and behaviour change:Empowering healthy consumers globally and protecting employee wellbeing, and delving into data-driven approaches to drive healthier consumer habits
• Technology and innovation:Tech innovations helping to shape the sustainability agenda
• Race to Zero:The need for businesses to be part of the UN-backed global campaign to reduce global emissions
• Views from Asia and Latin America:Understanding health and sustainability opportunities at a regional level
• The Green Pensions Charter: How pension funds can support a better world through net zero carbon

Wai-Chan Chan, Managing Director of The Consumer Goods Forum, said:

“We all know that accelerating a greener, healthier, and more resilient future is both a business and moral necessity – and we all have a critical role to play. Although many businesses are already making great strides for people and planet, we can and must all go much further. Collaboration is key – and The Consumer Goods Forum is all about businesses partnering across sectors and with key stakeholders around the world to drive change and deliver impact.”

“Our annual Sustainable Retail Summit provides an important opportunity to catalyse even greater collective action. I’m looking forward to wide-ranging discussions which can generate tangible outcomes helping shape the future of the industry, the planet, and its people. As we approach major global milestones like the UN Food Systems Summit and COP26, the consumer goods industry must seize the opportunities to scale up industry-wide and cross-sector partnerships. Collaboration and coordination are vital to meeting the scale of the challenges ahead.”

The event will also reflect on the progress being achieved by the CGF’s Coalitions of Action on urgent issues, including deforestation, forced labour, plastic waste and circularity, healthier lives and food waste.

Specific sessions will include a look at ‘The Future of Brands: Facing the Burden of Proof’, shining a light on how the CGF supports members to ensure human rights and environmental due diligence of their supply chains through its Forest Positive Coalition, Human Rights Coalition and Sustainable Supply Chain Initiative.

To find out more about the Sustainable Retail Summit and register to secure your ticket, visit: https://www.theconsumergoodsforum.com/events/sustainable-retail-summit/

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For more information, please contact: [email protected]

Notes to editors

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About The Consumer Goods Forum

• The Consumer Goods Forum (CGF) is the only CEO-led organisation that represents both manufacturers and retailers globally. With more than 50 of the world’s top CEOs on our Board of Directors, we bring together the senior leaders from more than 400 retailers, manufacturers, service providers, and other stakeholders across 70 countries.
• We’re committed to using our huge, influential reach to create changes which have tangible and lasting positive effects on people, planet and business. CGF members believe businesses must look after the planet, care for people and communities, and earn the trust of consumers through genuine openness, optimism and innovation.
• We understand the need to do business the right way, but we know we can’t do it alone. We collaborate globally to improve our industries, driving change through Coalitions of Action on eight urgent issues: forests, human rights, plastics, healthier lives, food waste, food safety, supply chains and product data.
• See more at theconsumergoodsforum.com