Breaking through Barriers: Resilience in Turbulent Times

The 2022 Sustainable Business Summit is where sustainability professionals will connect in a powerful in-person event. We are excited to leave the virtual world and provide a space to gain critical industry insights on a range of relevant sustainability topics, meet with industry leaders, and shar insights in smaller groups with facilitated networking discussions. Join us to listen, learn, and exchange ideas on sustainability trends and the changes your business faces. Get inspired, more connected, and better equipped to make meaningful progress during this decade of action!

At SBR, we never want the cost of admission to become a barrier for sustainability progress. Should you require financial assistance to attend out Sustainable Business Summit, please reach out to our Executive Director, Alexandra Holland, and she will be happy to assist you.

  Why Attend?

·   Connect and meet with national, regional and local sustainability leaders.

·   Gain critical industry insights from our keynote panelists, moderators, organizers, and summit sponsors.

·   Network with peers and meet potential new business partners.

When and Where?

Our half day event, from 11am – 5:30pm, will be hosted at the incredible Powerhouse. As if made for our theme, the Powerhouse is no stranger to resilience. Built in 1917, the facility powered key industrial processes in Buffalo for decades, but also left a legacy of pollution. Through investment, stewardship, and vision the Powerhouse has now been transformed into a fully developed entertainment and commercial complex that awaits your engagement and sustainable thinking!

  What to Expect?

The 2022 Summit will feature one keynote address and four engagement session tracks. Our keynote address will highlight nationally recognized sustainability leaders while our four engagement session tracks will bring together local experts and will focus on: “Workplace and workforce and the changing nature of it,” “Environmental justice: resilience in equity,” “Communicating value,” and “Influencing change.”

We are putting the finishing touches on our program, so stay tuned for updates!

  Meet your Keynote Speaker

Tamara Brown is the Vice President of Sustainability for Linde where she champions the strategic direction of sustainability initiatives and their Environmental and Social Governance reporting globally. Tamara is a global leader with nearly twenty years experience yielding impact for internal and external stakeholders by fostering excellence in sustainability, corporate social responsibility, and employee engagement. Tamara also has a well-established record of deep relationship-building with communities, colleges/universities, customers, and partners. Her personal endeavors include providing opportunities for others to pursue their dreams, including science & engineering careers. Tamara is proud to have founded the Tech Savvy girls program. She continues to promote strong pathways for STEM pipelines through her work on university advisory boards. She was also recognized as a White House Champion of Change and is an AIMBE fellow.

 Engagement Session Stewards

  Workplace & Workforce: The Changing Nature of It

Reimagining Today’s Workforce and Creating a Healthy Work Environment

Join us for this interactive session where we’ll discuss today’s ever-changing workplace, and how cultivating a diverse and healthy workforce can positively impact your company’s triple bottom line. We’ll provide strategies you can implement at your business, and open it up for a group discussion where participants can share ideas and best practices.

Sustainably Recruiting and Retaining Talent in 2022 and Beyond

Nationally and regionally, there are more jobs available than workers to fill them. How are successful companies attracting and retaining staff who will contribute to their sustainability goals at all levels in the organization? Participants in this highly interactive session will discuss sustainability-focused recruitment and employee retention strategies driving their success and identify areas where they see room for improvement.

  Environmental Justice: Resilience in Equity

Infusing Environmental Justice in your Sustainable Business Strategy

Diversity, inclusion, equity…. Justice? Both a growing number consumers and potential employees want to see businesses that take a stance on racial and environmental injustices. This session will focus on what environmental justice is and how it relates to sustainable policies and practices at your organization. Participants will walk away knowing the difference between a DEI strategy and connecting their work to environmental justice, how to tell that environmental justice story, and will have developed preliminary connections of justice and their business practices.

Building Equity In Our Business’ Climate Solutions

Join us to discuss practical ways for your business to ensure space for equity and representation in your climate strategies and initiatives in this solutions forward discussion.

  Communicating Value

Building Momentum Through Failure

In this increasingly challenging social and political environment, proving value for your ESG initiatives is becoming more difficult and more crucial at the same time. It seems like we have no time to waste getting things “right.” What if we could reframe “failure” as progress? We will discuss ways to progress your most ambitious initiatives by starting small and using quick design cycles to create useful learnings, quick wins and buy-in across the organization.

Where Authenticity meets Relevancy

The sweet spot of communicating value is when relevancy meets authenticity. How do you discover that as an individual and as a leader? How do you convey this through your company’s sustainability strategy?

  Influencing Change

Derisking Fear, How to Elicit a “Yes” in a World Full of “No’s”?

Join us to explore de-risking fear, how to get a ‘yes’ in a world full of ‘no’, as we work to advance a low carbon and circular economy.  We will share real-world examples, including the leveraging partnerships for connecting and collaborating on successful, scalable approaches.

Influencing Change from the Bottom Up

How the three “E’s”—Engage, Educate, and Empower—can help your customers and employees drive a sustainability movement.

  Sponsor and Vendor Opportunities

We offer several different sponsorship packages and a vendor opportunity for those businesses that would like to directly support and be more involved with out 2022 Sustainable Business Summit. If you or your business is interested, please contact our Executive Director, Alexandra Holland, and she will be happy to provide you with further information.