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Search Chicago, 12 June 2024 – Attended by almost 1,000 CEOs and C-suite leaders from the world’s biggest consumer goods companies, The Consumer Goods Forum’s (CGF’s) 2024 Global Summit kicked off today with a series of illuminating discussions on how to redefine the sector and accelerate sustainable business practices in a rapidly changing world.
- More than 1,000 attendees from the global consumer goods sector gathered for day one of landmark talks on redefining the industry in a rapidly changing world, to drive progress on crucial issues including forests, human rights, plastics, healthier lives, food waste, food safety, net zero, supply chains and product data.
- The Consumer Goods Forum’s Global Summit, taking place from 12-14 June in Chicago, USA, kicked off with its Co-Chairs, Frans Muller, President and CEO of Ahold Delhaize, and Dirk Van de Put, Chairman & CEO of Mondelez International, outlining the progress made across five Acceleration Areas – designed to speed up the systemic change continuously driven by CGF’s Coalitions of action – and their ambition for significant engagement with these five focused initiatives over the next 12 months.
The annual event provides a major opportunity for industry leaders to shape the future of the consumer goods industry and drive forward the CGF’s nine Coalitions of Action, which exist to deliver systemic change on forests, human rights, plastics, healthier lives, food waste, food safety, net zero, supply chains and product data.
Across three days, attendees are sharing insights and inspiring examples of progress, to enable collaboration that drives faster action and increased participation.
Wai-Chan Chan, Managing Director of The Consumer Goods Forum, said:
“Consumer goods companies have a key role to play in the transition to a greener, healthier and more resilient future. In this context, our Summit is a vital moment to bring together the CEOs of consumer brands, manufacturers and retailers to discuss collective strategies for radically and rapidly upgrading how we do business.”
“It acts as a catalyst for crucial industry change, setting new standards for responsible business practices and driving companies to commit to collaborative action on key challenges such as net zero, deforestation, plastic waste and human rights.”
Opening the Summit with their keynote address, the CGF Co-Chairs, Frans Muller and Dirk Van de Put, praised members’ momentum around the five Acceleration Areas, launched at last year’s Global Summit. These Acceleration Areas, which sit within the scope of the nine Coalitions, are: striving for a deforestation-free approach across supply chains; adopting the Golden Design Rules to enable a circular economy for plastics; embracing Human Rights Due Diligence as the industry norm; establishing employee wellbeing programs to support employee health; accelerating carbon emission reductions towards a net zero future.
Frans Muller, President & CEO of Ahold Delhaize and Co-Chair of the CGF, said:
“We’re working together to help address some of the most urgent issues facing people and planet, and we’re gathered in Chicago this week to ensure even faster progress. We’ve already seen strong momentum, such as 34 members representing ten percent of the global plastic packaging consumption have signed up for at least one of the nine Golden Design Rules to make packaging more recyclable. We’re excited about ramping up even greater action over the next 12 months. We call on all consumer goods companies and partners to join the CGF in our mission to create a more sustainable future.”
Dirk Van de Put, Chairman and CEO of Mondelēz International and Co-Chair of the CGF, said:
“Our industry has to change – and collaboration is the only way to make that happen at the necessary pace and scale. Each company must start with its own commitments and play its own part in the wider shift. But, ultimately, solving systemic issues requires a collective approach. We’re all in this together. And it’s together that we will get ourselves out of it. That’s what this summit is all about.”
Following the Co-Chairs’ keynote, highlights from day one included:
- A panel discussion featuring James Quincey, Chairman & CEO of The Coca-Cola Company; Kathryn McLay, President & CEO of Walmart; and Hein Schumacher, CEO of Unilever, examining shifting consumer values and behaviours, and discussing how businesses can adapt to them
- A session about practical actions to cut emissions and cross-sector efforts on the journey to Net Zero, featuring Antoine de Saint-Affrique, CEO of Danone and Ramon Laguarta, CEO of PepsiCo
Themed Empowering Businesses to Deliver a Better Tomorrow, the Summit will host many more inspirational sessions over the next two days, such as:
- A discussion, titled ‘What is True Collaboration? Voices from the Next Generation’, featuring youth activists from Bite Back 2030, about practices and ethics in the food system, on 13 June.
- A session, titled Sustainable Growth: Unveiling Shareholders’ True Expectations, featuring Jessica Moulton, Senior Partner of McKinsey & Company; Gonzalve Bich, CEO of BIC; and Ben Frost, Global Co-head of Consumer Retail Group at Goldman Sachs, about evolving investor priorities, on 13 June.
- A special focus on retail throughout the final day, including:
- A session on future trends with John S Phillips, SVP Customer Supply Chain & Global Go-To-Market, PepsiCo
- Insights on best practices from Tobias Wasmuht, CEO of Spar International
- A talk on the retail landscape from JJ Fleeman, CEO of Ahold Delhaize USA
- A session about China’s retail landscape and the digital future of the grocery store, featuring Dr. Zhang Wenzhong – founder of Wumart Stores, one of China’s largest retailers, and Dmall, Asia’s leading digital retail solution
To find out more, visit our web page.
Notes to Editors
Visit CGF on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube for updates and new programme confirmations. For more information about media access to speakers and to enquire about receiving a potential press pass to attend the Summit, please contact [email protected]
About The Consumer Goods Forum
The Consumer Goods Forum (“CGF”) is a global, parity-based industry network that is driven by its members to encourage the global adoption of practices and standards that serves the consumer goods industry worldwide. It brings together the CEOs and senior management of some 400 retailers, manufacturers, service providers, and other stakeholders across 70 countries, and it reflects the diversity of the industry in geography, size, product category and format. Its member companies have combined sales of EUR 4.6 trillion and directly employ nearly 10 million people, with a further 90 million related jobs estimated along the value chain. It is governed by its Board of Directors, which comprises more than 55 manufacturer and retailer CEOs. For more information, please visit: www.theconsumergoodsforum.com.
