Sustainable Retail Summit – The Consumer Goods Forum

Plenary 13:00 – 13:10

Plenary

A warm welcome to the 2027 Sustainable Retail Summit: setting the scene

Plenary 13:10 – 13:45

Plenary

Architecting the sustainable enterprise: evolving governance for value creation

Governance is shifting from a passive compliance function to a dynamic driver of business strategy. Regulatory pressure and market volatility are intensifying. In response, consumer goods companies are overhauling their corporate structures to embed climate, nature and social metrics into daily operations. Join industry experts as they share how cross-functional governance models protect enterprise value, reduce risk and build resilient, future-ready supply chains.

Plenary 13:45 – 14:15

Plenary

Sustainability priorities in 2027: navigating the consumer do-say gap and building supply chain resilience

Progress on sustainability depends on tackling two challenges: supply chain pressure and shifting consumer motivations. This session explores Bain & Company’s latest research on the consumer do-say gap. Health and sustainability are increasingly conflated, and AI is reshaping brand loyalty and shopping journeys. At the same time, climate change, El Niño and geopolitics are driving upstream volatility and tightening the price and availability of input materials. Hear how leaders can adapt and build resilience to meet consumer expectations on price, quality and sustainability.

Breakout 14:30 – 15:15

Breakout 1

The value of food: connecting climate, health, waste and financial value

Food is a source of nutrition, climate resilience, livelihoods and business value. Yet avoidable food loss and waste erode these benefits across the value chain. This session explores how retailers and manufacturers can connect climate, health, waste and financial performance to identify high-value action. Drawing on the Consumer Goods Forum’s Value of Food Framework, it examines how companies can build the business case for interventions across operations, supply chains and households. Discover how a value-based approach can turn food loss and waste into an opportunity to create shared value across the food system.

Breakout 14:30 – 15:15

Breakout 2

Scaling human rights action through smarter procurement and recruitment

Procurement teams often face a patchwork of human rights data, standards and requirements. This makes it hard to know where to focus or how to act at scale. This session explores how shared resources, common approaches and better-connected social and environmental data can create a more consistent, efficient due-diligence journey. Discover how reducing duplication and managing costs can free up capacity for meaningful action across the supply chain.

Networking 15:15 – 16:00

Networking break, kindly hosted by The Coca-Cola Company

Time to recharge. Grab a coffee, catch up with fellow delegates and unpack your favourite insights from the sessions so far.

Special Session 16:00 – 16:30

Special sessions

Details to be announced soon.

Breakout 16:45 – 17:30

Breakout 1

Scaling decarbonisation: the practical realities of delivering low-carbon products

Setting ambitious climate targets is one thing. Bringing low-carbon products to market at scale is another. This session explores the operational and supply chain hurdles companies face in carrying out their climate plans. Hear how industry leaders are turning Scope 3 commitments into measurable, market-ready progress across sourcing, manufacturing and distribution.

Breakout 16:45 – 17:30

Breakout 2

The €15 billion packaging bill: turning EPR spend into better recycling systems

Extended producer responsibility (EPR) is becoming a significant operational and financial issue for the consumer goods industry. This session explores how producers, retailers, producer responsibility organisations and recyclers can move beyond compliance. Discover how they can improve system efficiency, strengthen recycling infrastructure and create better incentives through eco-modulation, so that rising EPR spend delivers stronger circular-economy outcomes.

Plenary 17:40 – 18:05

Plenary

Leveraging data and AI to advance human rights

Forced labour and human rights risks can be hard to identify across complex, multi-tiered supply chains. This session explores how data and AI can help companies move from periodic checks to more continuous, risk-based due diligence. This means surfacing risks earlier and directing attention where it is needed most. Discover how data-driven insights can strengthen ethical recruitment, inform remediation and turn information into practical action.

Plenary 18:05 – 18:35

Plenary

Packaging 2030: getting packaging right for consumers

Recyclability rules, recycled-content requirements and source-reduction obligations are tightening, and extended producer responsibility (EPR) costs are rising. In response, companies are rethinking packaging choices with consumers’ needs at the centre. This session explores how brands, retailers, packaging producers and recyclers can balance materials, recyclability, product protection, cost and local infrastructure. Discover how they can move towards solutions that work for consumers at scale.

Networking 19:30 – 22:00

Official cocktail reception and dinner, kindly hosted by Bain & Company

More to be announced soon.

Plenary 08:30 – 09:00

Plenary

Leading through change: shaping the future of consumer goods

The consumer goods industry is going through a period of major change. Consumer expectations are evolving, economic uncertainty persists, sustainability challenges are growing and the policy landscape is shifting fast. Success will depend on strong leadership, collaboration across the value chain and a willingness to embrace innovation, while balancing commercial resilience with environmental and social responsibility.

In this session, Karen Betts OBE, Chief Executive of the Food and Drink Federation, joins journalist and moderator Isabelle Kumar to discuss the opportunities and challenges shaping the industry’s future. They explore the role of business leadership in driving sustainable growth, strengthening competitiveness and building a more resilient food system. Hear which priorities will define the next chapter for manufacturers, retailers and their partners.

Plenary 09:00 – 09:30

Plenary

Building resilience in retail: making the healthier choice the easier choice for consumers

Consumers increasingly expect retailers to make healthier and more sustainable choices easier. Turning these expectations into everyday shopping behaviour remains a challenge. This candid conversation explores where the industry is heading and what it takes to drive change at scale. Drawing on fresh research and real-world retail experience, discover how businesses can respond to changing consumer demand and turn it into a source of commercial resilience and growth.

Networking 09:30 – 10:15

Networking break, kindly hosted by The Coca-Cola Company

Time to recharge. Grab a coffee, catch up with fellow delegates and unpack your favourite insights from the sessions so far.

Industry Spotlight 10:15 – 10:45

Breakout 1

Navigating AI, data and trust: Carrefour’s journey in health and nutrition

Can a major food retailer use AI to nudge shoppers towards healthier eating without losing their trust? This session looks at how Carrefour is tackling that question. Discover how it combines data-driven health strategies, clear nutrition standards and well-trained store teams to change what ends up in the basket.

Industry Spotlight 10:15 – 10:45

Breakout 2

Making healthier food everyone’s business: Bel’s journey from global mission to local action

How can a global food company turn its ambition for healthier, more sustainable diets into real change across diverse markets and teams? Claire Meunier, Nutrition Director at Bel Group, shares how research into local dietary patterns, public health priorities and market realities helps shape nutrition strategies that are both meaningful and locally relevant. She explores the governance and cross-functional engagement that bring marketing, research and development, HR and other teams together around a shared goal of better food and nutrition. Get a candid look at Bel’s experience of translating a mission-led global vision into local action, and at the value of putting nutrition at the heart of the organisation.

Industry Spotlight 10:50 – 11:20

Breakout 1

Beyond the best-before: navigating the future of date labelling and food waste reduction

Clear date labels can change how consumers make food choices while helping supply chains cut unnecessary waste. This session examines how targeted labelling can distinguish quality from safety, reshape product and packaging decisions and influence consumer behaviour across markets. It also explores evolving regulation and the practical challenges of putting new labelling in place, from supply chain collaboration to consumer communication. Join a forward-looking discussion on what companies can do next to share best practices and turn date labelling into measurable waste reduction.

Industry Spotlight 10:50 – 11:20

Breakout 2

Packaging data exchange: unlocking circularity through standardised data

A circular economy depends on accurate, accessible and standardised packaging data. This session showcases how Packaging Data Exchange initiatives, enabled through GS1 standards and the Global Data Synchronization Network, can help manufacturers, retailers, recyclers and regulators speak the same data language. Discover how digital product information can improve reporting, compliance, recyclability assessments and waste management outcomes, while reducing complexity across the value chain.

Industry Spotlight 11:25 – 11:55

Breakout 1

Building business value through forest-positive landscapes

Resilient supply chains increasingly depend on how companies manage forest-related risks and opportunities across key landscapes. This session makes the business case for integrating forest protection into core supply chain strategy, showing how it can reduce disruption, protect sourcing and strengthen brand value. Discover practical approaches to embed forest outcomes into risk assessment, supplier engagement and strategic decisions that drive both supply chain resilience and environmental performance.

Industry Spotlight 12:00 – 12:30

Breakout 1

Regenerative agriculture in action: scaling nature-positive business models

Regenerative agriculture is key to long-term food security and supply chain resilience, but turning ambition into credible, scalable action remains a challenge. This session shows how the Consumer Goods Forum’s Sustainable Supply Chain Initiative (SSCI) benchmarking framework helps companies align climate goals with verified regenerative programmes, incentivise farmers and boost biodiversity. It also helps them prepare for regulation and guard against greenwashing. Hear how brands and standard owners work together to support farmers, ensure market compliance and use the right certification tools. Speakers share practical strategies for building sourcing models that protect ecosystems and strengthen business performance.

Industry Spotlight 12:00 – 12:30

Breakout 2

Purpose, powered by innovation: leading with resilience in the age of AI

How do purpose-led leaders stay resilient when technology is reshaping their businesses? In this session, expert speakers share how they are using AI and innovation to adapt faster, make smarter decisions and stay true to their mission. Hear practical lessons on building businesses that can handle disruption while creating lasting value for people and planet.

Networking 12:30 – 13:30

Networking lunch

Take time to recharge, meet peers and build new connections.

Learning Circles 13:30 – 15:30

Learning circles

Join a series of interactive, topic-driven discussions designed to spark innovation and collaboration. Explore practical case studies and real-world company experiences, discuss pressing business challenges with peers and learn from each other’s examples and best practices.

Networking 15:30 – 16:00

Networking break, kindly hosted by The Coca-Cola Company

Time to recharge. Grab a coffee, catch up with fellow delegates and unpack your favourite insights from the sessions so far.

Plenary 16:00 – 16:25

Plenary

Regenerative agriculture of the future: data, trust and farmer-led scale

Scaling regenerative agriculture depends on verifiable, data-driven frameworks that growers trust. Discover how leading companies are moving from isolated pilots to supply chain strategies that enhance soil health, protect regional biodiversity and strengthen farmer livelihoods.

Plenary 16:25 – 17:00

Plenary

Technology is a useful servant, but a dangerous master: the neuroscience of change and the human edge in the age of AI

Our brains are wired for certainty, yet we now work in a world of constant change and accelerating AI. This interactive keynote explores what happens in the brain when we face continuous unpredictability, and how to respond well instead of simply reacting. Drawing on neuroscience, it looks at how to bring AI into the way we work without losing the human connection that drives performance. It also shows how leaders can guide their teams through ongoing change. Leave with practical strategies to build resilience, lead with confidence and create cultures where people use technology instead of being used by it.