Agenda announced for Global Business Summit 2021

Environment Analyst Global Business Summit 2021

From Crisis to Opportunity: The Decisive Decade

All times are in Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) and Central European Summer Time (CEST)

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Tuesday 8th June

​09.00 / 16.00 Welcome from Environment Analyst

​09.10 / 16.10 Opening Remarks from the Chair

09.20 / 16.20 Opening Keynote

​Session One: Global Environmental Market Outlook: Opportunities, Challenges, Drivers & Disruptors

09.40 / 16.40 Reviewing the State of the Global Environmental Consulting Market and Outlook

Environment Analyst share their latest findings on the global environmental consultancy services market dynamics, including:

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• Update on the current market state and future forecasts:

  • assessing the toll that COVID-19 has had on the sector and how business leaders are responding

• Examining the current industry rankings and leading players in the context of recent M&A activity

• Identifying “opportunity hotspots”; those countries or regions prioritising investment in a green recovery

• Analysing expansion into, and retreat from, international markets

• Reviewing sector specific insight, key disruptors and emerging mega-trends

• Assessing how business models are evolving to respond to these

10.00 / 17.00 Exploring where International Opportunities and Challenges Lie and Strategies for Global Expansion

• Exploring where international opportunities and challenges lie for green investment

• Analysing key international capital flows and where opportunities lie in emerging markets and improving economies

• What are the key influences on global clients and how are behaviours changing?

  • assessing the impact of nationalism /regionalism

• Evaluating how trade barriers and geo-political tensions and instabilities are making opportunities for work in overseas markets more difficult

10.20 / 17.20 Focus on the North American Market: Key Policy Drivers & Priorities for a Green Recovery

• Detailing key steps in achieving President Biden’s environment and climate goals:

  • policy and regulatory shifts

  • interim targets and transition milestones

  • achieving transparency in climate risk reporting

• Examining green reform policies in the US and Canada – how will a post-Covid green recovery be achieved?

• What will policy changes mean for federal – state – local spending in the US?

• Managing the energy transition and its impact on the resource and commodities industry

• Assessing the extent to which environmental reform and an acceleration in climate spending reform will result in increased opportunities for the environmental consultancy sector and where these might lie

​Session Two: Industry Response

12.15 / 18.30  Industry Panel Discussion

Industry panellists will offer their perspective on current and future market and policy drivers and the business response, sharing insight into how their companies are responding to different threats and opportunities.

• Assessing how the environmental consulting sector can better position itself to help clients to enter new markets

• Exploring evolving global business models to address current and future challenges and compete with professional advisory and management consultants

• Assessing the implications of social and environmental injustice in achieving sustainability goals, and how this can be addressed

• Achieving resilience to adapt and progress in times of change and help our clients to do the same

12.30 / 19.30 Close of Session

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Wednesday 9th June

​09.00 / 16.00 Welcome Back from the Chair

Session Three: The Rising Global ESG Imperative

​09.10 / 16.10  Exploring the Evolving Focus and Influence of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Risk Factors in Global Markets & Optimising the Role of the Consulting Sector

• Examining the increasing global influence and impact of ESG factors and where the big initiatives are being led from:

  • where does North America sit alongside Europe and Asia Pacific and what impact will the Biden administration have?

• Assessing what is required from ESG data and goals to really drive the sustainability agenda forward

• Aligning ESG strategies with the UN Sustainable Development Goals

• Managing the shift towards increased ESG accountability in business finance and investment decisions:

  • implications of the EU Taxonomy

  • impact on the supply chain

• Marrying net zero and sustainability terminology with client objectives and regulatory frameworks to produce appropriate metrics and benchmarks

• Strategies for helping clients to better understand, and respond, to climate change targets

  • defining “sustainability” and what it means for different stakeholders

  • developing positive sustainability strategies integrated into procurement frameworks and project deliverables

Session Four: Exploiting Digital Transformation to Add Value to your Service Proposition

12.00 / 19.00  Exploiting Digital Transformation to Provide Environmental and Sustainability Solutions at a Global Level

• Integrating digital advances and innovation into the services we offer in a cost- and time-effective manner:

  • ensuring it is socially and generationally inclusive

  • managing ownership, sharing and privacy concerns

• Optimising data and information frameworks and management to achieve efficiencies and facilitate business decision-making:

  • re-purposing digital outputs to create accessible, usable “data reservoirs”

  • using digital tools to explain complex sites and projects to stakeholders

• Examining how digital technologies will enable the energy transition to advance and achieve sustainability goals

• Exploring how partnerships / JVs / acquisitions play an important role in enabling digital investment and future proofing the sector

• “Next Steps” in the digital transformation: what capabilities and opportunities are on the horizon? What are the challenges to realising these?

Hank Tran, Director, Knowledge Management, BST Global

​13.15 / 20.15 Close of Global Business Summit

Roundtable discussion sessions:

Tuesday 15th June 09.00 – 10.30 EDT / 16.00 – 17.30 CEST ​

For all Global & UK Business Summit Attendees

​One of the most popular sessions at the annual Environment Analyst Business Summit, the interactive roundtable discussion session, gives attendees an opportunity to discuss a topic of interest in a more informal, participative format. Delegates may choose one roundtable to attend, and each table will be hosted by a facilitator to lead discussion, encourage optimum debate and exchange of ideas.

​Roundtables include:

​A. Supporting a Green Recovery by Addressing our Sector Skills Shortages

The environmental consulting sector will play a vital role in the proposed “green recovery”. However, this has implications for a sector already struggling with a legacy skills shortage and under-capacity linked to project cycles. What are the skills required moving forward and how can these best be obtained at all levels within organisations.

​Speaker to be confirmed, Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM)

​B. Effective Partnerships & Collaborative Strategies To  Maximise Value & Accelerate Innovation

​C. Optimising SMEs Position in the Market – Challenges & Opportunities

D. Improving Equality, Diversity & Inclusion in the Environmental Consulting Sector

E. Exploring Evolving Commercial & Financial Models

F. Successfully Transitioning to a Circular Economy

G. Strategic Growth Options for Environmental Consultancies

H. Helping Clients to Transition to the New Energy Markets of the Future

I. Quantifying an Organisation’s ESG Impact

Panel discussion:

Wednesday 16th June 09.00 EDT / 16.00 CEST

For all Global & UK Business Summit Attendees

​Exploring Recent Mergers, Acquisitions & Emerging Financial Partnership Models in the Environmental & Sustainability Consulting Sector and their Impact on Market Structure & Service Delivery

• Exploring the drivers for, and critical success factors of, recent sector M&A activity

• Assessing different growth strategies, both in the UK and internationally

• Exploring case study examples of alternate financial partnering models and the pros and cons

• Size or specialism – what are the opportunities and future role for large-scale global firms vs. those offering a more niche proposition

• Evaluating how such activity in the market affects the service offering and the way in which we sell to clients

Here’s what previous Summit delegates thought…

“Environment Analyst does a fantastic job of bringing together diverse perspectives. Their Virtual Business Summit was engaging and informative”

Jessica Barclay, EFCG

“I truly enjoyed the Summit; excellent quality of speakers, range of perspectives and depth of coverage in a relatively short period of time”

​Lisa Coyne, Golder

“The global business summit has proved an immensely useful reference for us as we navigate these uncertain times”

​Stuart McLachlan,
Anthesis Consulting Group