7:15 – 7:50 GMT
In conversation with Dave Lewis
During the lockdown, the resilience of the food system was really tested. With more batch-cooking, freezing and conserving, our shopping and cooking habits have certainly changed. This shift towards more sustainable food and household purchasing needs to last; so how can we keep the momentum of reducing food waste? And how do we hold companies to account for the wastefulness of their supply chains?
8:00 – 8:30 GMT
In conversation with Alan Jope
The Covid-19 pandemic has exposed the importance and urgency of tackling the 21st century's big issues: climate change, social inclusion, and rebuilding sustainable economies. Business has a role to play in finding solutions and changing behaviours. How can we ensure businesses treat these issues with the same importance and urgency as activists in order to build back better?
8:40 – 9:00 GMT
The carrot’s not working, is it time for the stick?
Business has talked a lot about responsibility and purpose, but the Tortoise Responsibility 100 Index still shows a big gap between what companies say and what they do - the talk and the walk. Given the scale of the climate challenge and social injustice, do we need to accelerate change by using law, regulation and penalties rather than rely on reputation and reward for better behaviour. In the absence of financial and legal penalties, we ask if corporate targets will get us anywhere – and how many of them are being silently missed?
9:15 – 10:00 GMT
What does build back better really mean - can we turn a slogan into a plan?
COVID-19 has changed the way we do business - but it’s also given us the opportunity to look afresh at the way in which we work. In this new world, the workplace must become more helpful to society, the environment and to employees. Can we build back businesses that help people not just to survive, but thrive?
10:15 – 11:00 GMT
Doing well by doing good: is ethical investment a path to riches or a ruse?
The folly of ethical funds investing in Boohoo - in spite of its objectionable employment practices - shows how far ‘socially-responsible’ investment has to go. Who is to blame and what can be done? And how can we ensure that ESG does what it says on the tin?
11:15 – 12:00 GMT
Does Black Lives Matter matter to business?
Many companies leapt onto the racial justice bandwagon this year - in what some people have labelled as performative branding. What practical measures have they actually taken to deepen their talent pools and address inequalities of access and income?
13:00 – 13:45 GMT
Can companies cut the cord with plastic and fossil fuels?
EVERY SINGLE ONE of the targets on biodiversity and species conservation agreed at Aichi 2010 were missed, whilst 2020 saw an unprecedented global demand for plastic PPE. How can businesses stem the disasters of fossil fuel use and plastic pollution so that international targets can be met in the future? And what consequences should companies expect if they don’t play their part?
14:00 – 14:30 GMT
Summit debrief: what next?
As with all ThinkIns, the purpose of the Summit is to look for stories. For the first time, we’re opening our editors’ debrief meeting - which takes place straight after the last session ends - to members. Stick around and pitch your ideas as together we work out what needs following up in our journalism.