UNiting Business LIVE Australia: Sustainability in Action

Shaping the future of sustainable business in Australia

DATE: 30-31 October 2024
VENUE: Jones Bay Wharf, Piers 19-21, 26/32 Pirrama Rd, Pyrmont NSW 2009

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About the event

The defining sustainability event of the year, giving leaders the opportunity to shape the future of business in Australia.

In a watershed moment for corporate accountability, UNiting Business LIVE Australia will equip businesses to navigate ongoing socio-environmental and regulatory changes.

This event from the UN Global Compact Network Australia (UNGCNA), the Country Network of the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative, presents insights from international sustainability leaders to solve the most pressing challenges faced by Australian organisations today.

The event’s program is tailored to the bespoke needs of Australia’s C-Suite and Chief Sustainability Officers (CSOs), board members, and emerging and future sustainability leaders. It will equip them with technical and actionable solutions to challenges at the intersection of net zero, nature-positive, human rights and governance.

Attendees will leave armed with practical knowledge to implement in their organisation and drive positive change, for the future of business, Australia and the planet.

This year, UNiting Business LIVE Australia takes a deep dive into climate and nature and its intersections with social and governance issues (the E, S and G in ESG).

UNiting Business LIVE Australia: Sustainability in Action will unite global and local business leaders, changemakers and world-renowned sustainability champions to move beyond sustainability pledges to providing tangible, actionable solutions.

Need help convincing your boss? Download our template letter to convince your boss today.

View the program Get to know the speakers

Topics include

Actioning human rights across supply chains & business
Advancing a nature-positive private sector
Driving climate action through net zero business
Innovation & the sustainability frontier
Mandatory climate reporting
Moral courage & self-care for sustainability professionals
Sourcing, supply chains & scope 3 solutions
Sustainability leadership & governance for impact
Sustainable finance in action

UNiting Business LIVE Australia delivers sustainability in action — progressing the Australian sustainable business agenda via the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and UN Global Compact’s Ten Principles.

Join us to learn what’s next in sustainability leadership and set your organisation up for success in 2025 and beyond.

Speakers

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Lead, Learn, Connect – our conference pillars

Through the three conference pillars – Lead, Learn and Connect – the 2024 UNiting Business LIVE Australia: Sustainability in Action conference and annual dinner provides specialised streams designed to support Australian business leaders as they drive sustainability action across sectors.

Lead: Position your business as a sustainability leader, setting benchmarks and inspiring a ripple effect of positive change across your sector.

Learn: Propel your career and your company’s sustainability agenda forward with cutting-edge knowledge, insights and technical guidance from those at the forefront of change.

Connect: Cultivate a vast network of like-minded professionals, thought leaders and changemakers dedicated to shaping the future of sustainable business.

Why attend:

For technical and actionable solutions to challenges at the intersection of net zero, nature positive, human rights and governance from independent, international experts.
Sessions are streamed by the event pillars (Lead, Learn, Connect) and job focus so delegates gain maximum value from attendance.
Invite-only and exclusive events for C-Suite and board members arm them with the knowledge, connections and confidence to navigate current and upcoming socio-environmental and regulatory challenges.
Hear United Nations Global Compact Assistant Secretary-General and CEO Sanda Ojiambo’s call to action for Australian businesses on how to achieve the rapidly approaching 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Candid conversations with industry leaders where they unpack their mistakes and outline the battles they fought to instil sustainable practices.
An opportunity to gain global insights on COP16, COP29, and the Global Nature Positive Summit, with a uniquely Australian lens.
Emerging and future leaders have the opportunity to foster relationships with peers and build knowledge around the UN Global Compact’s ESG workstreams: Environment and Climate Change; Business and Human Rights; and Sustainability Governance.

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Who attends:

UNiting Business LIVE Australia attendees represent the diverse sustainability value chain. This includes senior business and sustainability decision-makers, sustainability teams, investors, government, civil society, and academic leaders, small and medium enterprise leaders, and teams with essential roles to play in sustainability operations and upcoming mandatory reporting requirements.

These are our changemakers.

Corporates – corporations from various sectors will be present, exploring collaborative opportunities and sharing best practices, vital for driving sector-wide transformations.
C-Suite and boards – dedicated sessions that capture emerging opportunities in sustainability; exclusive spaces to connect with fellow executive leaders; training and guidance on sustainable governance.
Sustainability professionals – practical tools and provocative conversations that deliver impact and ensure that the event is grounded in the latest research and real-world applications; extensive time to connect, network and collaborate with cutting-edge sustainability changemakers; regenerative spaces for sustainability leaders fighting for change.
Small and medium enterprise leaders – SMEs, making up 98% of businesses in Australia, will join the conversation to share their unique challenges and success stories, underscoring the importance of scalable and adaptable sustainability strategies that can benefit businesses of all sizes.
Government, civil society and academic leaders

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Why UNiting Business LIVE Australia matters

Join the defining sustainability event of the year, giving leaders the opportunity to shape the future of business in Australia.

As we pass the milestone of the halfway mark to the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, UNiting Business LIVE Australia: Sustainability in Action addresses the rapidly shifting landscape of sustainability.

Held just one month after the UN Summit of the Future, and in the same year as COP16, COP29, and the Global Nature Positive Summit, the event will be centred on mobilising the private sector, including driving action-oriented outcomes from the Pact for the Future.

Recent years have brought ample reasons for despair and optimism. Sustainability risks for corporates and investors continue to rise, as we simultaneously fall short on meeting the SDGs and observe increases in climate emergencies and humanitarian crises. However, there remains hope, empowerment and – perhaps most importantly – action.

We believe in the ability of Australia businesses to act and deliver impact for sustainability. This year’s UNiting Business LIVE Australia: Sustainability in Action conference – and annual dinner – moves beyond pledges and transforms business operations and investments, both in and for, the future of business, Australia and the planet.

Program

Day 1

Wednesday 30 October 2024

Time

Session

Conference pillar

8:00am - 8:30am

Registration

Pillar: Connect

8:30am - 8:50am

Welcome to Country

Uncle Brendan Kerin

Pillar: Connect

8:50am - 8:55am

Conference Welcome and Co-MC Introductions

Kate Dundas, Executive Director,
UN Global Compact Network Australia
Susan Moylan-Coombs, CEO, Gaimaragal Group; Assoc. Professor, Transdisciplinary School, University of Technology Sydney
Robin Mellon, Director, UN Global Compact Network Australia;
CEO, Better Sydney

Pillar: Connect

9:00am - 9:40am

Opening Address: Assistant Secretary-General and CEO, United Nations Global Compact, Sanda Ojiambo

Assistant Secretary-General & CEO, United Nations Global Compact, Sanda Ojiambo delivers our opening conference keynote followed by a fireside chat.

Sanda Ojiambo, Assistant Secretary-General and CEO, United Nations Global Compact
Facilitator: Kate Dundas, Executive Director, UN Global Compact Network Australia

Pillar: Lead

9:40am - 10:15am

Executive agency and advocacy for corporate action

Momentum for CEOs to drive sustainable change is rapidly increasing, but that change must be action-oriented and go beyond public statements. This session addresses the tension between publicly prioritising sustainability and driving meaningful action for sustainable change.

Christine Holgate, Group Chief Executive Officer, Team Global Express
Facilitator: Susan Mizrahi, Independent Director, UN Global Compact Network Australia; Honorary Fellow (Industry), Melbourne Climate Futures, University of Melbourne

Pillar: Lead

10:15am - 10:45am

Board agency and advocacy for corporate action

For investors to drive corporate sustainability – especially by utilising voter influence – strategies must be developed to either engage in active stewardship or divest. However, there is a groundswell of support to suggest that divestment approaches can be problematic and that investors should utilise stewardship and ESG factors in their investment and capital allocation decision making processes. This fireside chat will discuss how investor influence can drive sustainability impacts and organisational change at a board level.

Debby Blakey, CEO, Hesta
Facilitator: Madeleine Morris, Strategy and Communications Consultant, Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA)

Pillar: Lead

10:45am - 11:30am

Morning tea & Connect Lounge

This is our opportunity to refresh and connect.

Pillar: Connect

11:30am - 12:00pm

Actioning an Australian just transition: the Net Zero Economy Agency and private sector impact

As Australia launches the Net Zero Economy Agency, we stand at the forefront of a transformative era where corporates and investors play a crucial role in ensuring a fair and inclusive transition towards net zero. This session – led by National Australia Bank (NAB), Australia’s participant in the UN Global Compact Just Transition Thinklab – addresses the urgent need for a just transition.

Sharan Burrow AC (Virtual Presentation), Advisory Council, University of Melbourne Climate Futures; Visiting Professor in Practice, London School of Economics
Narelle Anderson, Deputy Chair, New South Wales Indigenous Chamber of Commerce
Rachel Livingston, First Assistant-Secretary, Regions and Workers Division, Net Zero Economy Agency
Ruth Madden, ESG Manager, Port of Newcastle
Facilitator: Jessica Forrest, Executive, Sustainability, National Australia Bank

Pillar: Lead

12:00pm - 12:15pm

Australian actions for a net-zero future

Australia is committed to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. Recent 2023 emissions projections indicate that net-zero policies will reduce emissions to 42% below 2005 levels by 2030. This commitment is a significant step towards addressing the global challenges posed by climate change, including environmental, health, and economic risks. This session explores the history, connections, strategies, and collaborations between government and business that are essential to propel us towards a net-zero future.

The Hon Matt Kean, Chair, Climate Change Authority

Pillar: Learn

12:15pm - 1:30pm

Lunch & Connect Lounge

We feast, sustainably.

During lunch, there is an option for a networking activation at the Connect Lounge.

Pillar: Connect

12:30pm - 1:30pm

Publication sneak peek: Insights from 2024 benchmarking of ASX50 companies’ publicly reported approaches to assess and address their impact on human rights beyond freedom from modern slavery

Join this lunchtime session to hear about our upcoming publication in collaboration with Pillar Two focused on business integration of human rights due diligence in Australia. This publication is a follow up from our 2023 publication, which provided an overview of the evolving business and human rights legislative and policy landscape, insights into approaches taken by Australian businesses in implementing human rights due diligence, and a roadmap for businesses seeking to expand their focus beyond modern slavery to broader human rights due diligence activities. The session will focus on key insights from the 2024 benchmarking of ASX50 companies’ publicly reported approaches to assess and address their impact on human rights beyond freedom from modern slavery.

Vanessa Zimmerman, Chair, Human Rights, UN Global Compact Network Australia; CEO, Pillar Two
Riana Cermak, Associate Director, Pillar Two

Room: North Wharf (not included in virtual delegate pass)

Pillar: Learn

1:30pm - 2:25pm

Degrowth debate: sustainable growth and the bottom line

This session explores the concept of economic growth and its impact on Australian businesses by problematising the utility of GDP and the fiscal bottom line. The degrowth debate discusses the following proposition: “This house agrees that actions that drive economic degrowth and business regeneration must be at the centre of operationalising truly sustainable business and investor practice.”

Professor Manfred Lenzen, Professor of Sustainability Research, University of Sydney
Dr Mengyu Li, Senior Lecturer and Horizon Fellow, University of Sydney
Professor Ian Overton, Principal, Natural Economy
Rayne Van den Berg, Principal, NatCap+
Facilitator: Adam Carrel, Partner, EY Australia

Pillar: Learn

Concurrent sessions:

2:30pm - 3:25pm

Developing credible and compelling ESG narratives: avoiding greenwashing, enabling transparent communication and ensuring effective cross-functional governance

This panel discussion brings together legal, compliance, marketing and communications experts and explores several factors that go into developing credible and compelling ESG narratives for stakeholder engagement – for both corporate reporting and consumer facing communications. This includes:

ensuring effective cross-functional governance mechanisms are in place
preventing greenwashing
developing transparent and authentic communications.

Nicholas Heys, Executive Director, Coordination & Strategy, Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC)
Sara King, GM Purpose, Intrepid Travel
Stuart Wragg, Managing Director, Salterbaxter
Facilitator: Dan Wilcock, Head of Sustainability Governance, UN Global Compact Network Australia

Room: South Wharf (included in virtual delegate pass)

Pillar: Learn

2:30pm - 3:25pm

Placing traditional knowledge at the centre of the business response to protect the environment: Let’s be honest about our Eurocentric bias

This session explores how companies engage, listen and work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australia to integrate
traditional knowledge into environmental stewardship approaches. It highlights how businesses can integrate traditional wisdom into their environmental strategies, enhance sustainability practices and revise historical oversights.

Professor Deen Sanders OAM, Lead Partner: Deloitte Integrity
Dr Terri Janke, Owner, Terri Janke and Company
Facilitator: Adam Davids, Managing Partner, First Nations Equity Partners

Room: TriBeCa (not included in virtual delegate pass)

Pillar: Learn

2:30pm - 3:25pm

Advanced actions for Australian Sustainability Reporting Standards (ASRS) and mandatory climate reporting: scope 3, supplier engagement and supporting technology

This session – inspired by the Advanced Climate Reporters Community of Practice (ACRCoP) – takes a nuanced dive into scope 3 reporting and brings together sustainability reporters, suppliers and the supporting technology necessary to streamline data. By the end of this session, attendees will be able to:

Understand decisions, options and strategies necessary to utilise ESG management platforms and tools across the supply chain
Identify key components of capital allocation and systems spending for scope 3
Build operational capacity at the intersection of sustainability and IT teams
Drive data collection Additional efficiently through improved supplier relationships

Jack Holden, GM Sustainability – Global Markets, Fonterra
Barbara Nebel, CEO, thinkstep-ANZ
Devinka Piyasena, Climate Change Manager, Bluescope
Tom Rochford, Associate Director, Climate Change and Sustainability, KPMG
Facilitator: Anna Stewart, Director, UN Global Compact Network Australia; Head of ESG and Governance, Coles

Room: North Wharf (not included in virtual delegate pass)

Pillar: Learn

3:30pm - 4:00pm

Afternoon tea & Connect Lounge

This is our opportunity to refresh and connect.

Pillar: Connect

4:00pm - 4:15pm

Bridging the leadership gap for climate action

Join The Hon Arthur Sinodinos AO as he dives into the importance and practicalities of building political bipartisanship as a part of the ‘coalition of the willing’ in driving climate action. In this session he discusses the actions that drive unified progress towards climate action, across the political spectrum, amid an increasingly bifurcated political environment.

The Hon Arthur Sinodinos AO (Virtual Presentation), Partner and Chair, Australia Practice, The Asia Group

Pillar: Connect

4:15pm - 5:15pm

Executive actions for sustainability: risks, trade-offs and restoring trust in the private sector

CEOs are increasingly responsible for making the real changes necessary to drive sustainable organisations. Moving beyond regulatory compliance, CEOs are driving research and development funding, improving the social impacts of their value chain and reducing scope 3 emissions. This session brings together CEOs and corporate leaders that have exceptional expertise in dealing with difficult challenging sustainability issues and how executives can tangibly act for sustainability beyond public statements of support.

Introduction: Sanda Ojiambo, Assistant Secretary-General and CEO, United Nations Global Compact
Phillip Austin, CEO, CHEP Asia-Pacific and IMETA (India, Middle East, Türkiye and Africa), Brambles
Alison Rowe, Global CEO, Edge Impact
Jim Giannopoulos, Global CEO, GHD
Facilitator: Kate Dundas, Executive Director, UN Global Compact Network Australia

Pillar: Lead

5:15pm - 5:30pm

Close Day 1: Opening day closing reflections

In this session we connect as we analyse the biggest issues presented on Day 1 – with a special look at the outcomes from the Connect Lounge – as we prepare ourselves to innovate and solve on Day 2

Susan Moylan-Coombs, CEO, Gaimaragal Group; Assoc. Professor, Transdisciplinary School, University of Technology Sydney
Robin Mellon, Director, UN Global Compact Network Australia; CEO, Better Sydney

Pillar: Connect

Day 2

Thursday 31 October 2024

Time

Session

Conference pillar

8:00am - 8:50am

Registration

Pillar: Connect

9:00am - 9:05am

Day 2 Welcome & Acknowledgement of Country

Susan Moylan-Coombs, CEO, Gaimaragal Group; Assoc. Professor, Transdisciplinary School, University of Technology Sydney
Robin Mellon, Director, UN Global Compact Network Australia; CEO, Better Sydney

Pillar: Connect

9:05am - 9:15am

Sustainability in action: activate & solve

Join Dr Isabelle Phillips as she prepares our minds for day two. In this exercise, she’ll help us look for positive opportunity, present our best selves, support our peers and create solutogenic opportunities for sustainable action.

Dr Isabelle Phillips, Consulting Partner, Mackerel Sky – Leadership Matters

Pillar: Lead

9:15am - 9:45am

Fireside chat with The Hon Tanya Plibersek MP

In this session we start the second day with a fireside chat featuring Minister for the Environment and Water, The Hon Tanya Plibersek MP.

The Hon Tanya Plibersek MP, Minister for the Environment and Water, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW)
Sunita Gloster AM, Non-Executive Director, UN Global Compact Network Australia; Chair, Diversity Council of Australia

Pillar: Lead

9:45am - 10:30am

Corporate drivers for nature-positive action

As momentum picks up for nature-positive action via the private sector, UNiting Business LIVE Australia occurs at a crucial moment in time. It takes place concurrently with the Convention of Biological Diversity’s Conference of Parties, COP16; on the heels of the Global Nature-positive Summit in Sydney; just before the UNFCCC’s COP29; and amid the Global Plastics Treaty negotiations. The importance of driving a nature-positive society, with support from the private sector has increased dramatically. Perhaps no moment has been as important for facilitating nature positive action as the UN’s 15th Biodiversity Conference in Montreal, where nearly 200 countries reached an agreement on the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF).

Drawing from the impetus of the GBF, there are high hopes that in our biologically megadiverse nation, the tides may be turning for a global nature-positive future.

Paul Polman (Virtual Presentation), Former Board Chair, United Nations Global Compact
Dr Terri Janke, Owner, Terri Janke and Company
Dr Ken Henry AC, Chair, Nature Finance Council, Australian Climate and Biodiversity Foundation and Wildlife Recovery Australia
Facilitator: Natalie Kyriacou OAM, Founder and Chair, My Green World

Pillar: Learn

10:30am - 11:00am

Morning tea & Connect Lounge

This is our opportunity to refresh and connect

Pillar: Connect

11:00am - 11:55am

Innovation in action: AI, SI and sustainability silver bullets

No recent innovation has captured the world as much as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. Indeed, AI is of particular interest to executives, with examples of AI already replacing the role of the CEO. However, especially with its massive energy needs, the ability for AI to serve as a tool for a sustainable future is a point of contention. This session tackles the advantages and ethics of AI in a discussion on sustainable innovation, sustainable intelligence (SI), and the hope for the innovative silver bullets in green tech that are crucial to further mitigate climate disaster.

Dr Larry Marshall, Board Chair, American Chamber of Commerce in Australia; Board Member, Fortescue
Dr Catriona Wallace, Founder, Responsible Metaverse Alliance; Chair, Boab AI Venture Capital Fund; Shark, Shark Tank Australia
Dr Paul X. McCarthy, CEO and Co-founder, League of Scholars
Co-facilitator: Jeremy Liddle, Managing Director, Third Hemisphere
Co-facilitator: Dr Evan Center, Senior Manager, Environment and Climate Change, UN Global Compact Network Australia

Pillar: Learn

Concurrent sessions:

12:00pm - 12:55pm

Leadership and finance for corporate sustainability

According to the Forward Faster initiative, between $3 trillion and $5 trillion must be mobilized annually to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. It is therefore crucial that investors use their leverage to drive the SDGs. On the flip side, corporates must also develop an ESG programme that can attract necessary investment.

In this session, UNGCNA Chair Fiona Reynolds and our expert panellists explore effective financing strategies that promote SDG progress and delve into how corporations can attract and utilise these investments for a successful net-zero transition. Join us as we navigate the synergies that are shaping a sustainable economic landscape.

Louise Davidson AM, Chief Executive Officer, Australian Council of Superannuation Investors (ACSI).
Kate Temby, Global Head Sustainability Strategies Group, Metlife Investment Management; Board member and Chair People & Corporate Sustainability Committee, Netwealth
Siobhan Toohill, Member, Nature Repair Committee
Facilitator: Fiona Reynolds, Chair, UN Global Compact Network Australia

Room: South Wharf (included in virtual delegate pass)

Pillar: Learn

12:00pm - 12:55pm

Operationalising human rights and environmental due diligence: what works and what doesn’t?

As responsible business regulation continues to evolve, several countries have considered mandating that corporates undertake a degree of due diligence to enable them to identify and assess their impact on people and on the planet. Today, the French Duty of Vigilance Law, the German Supply Chain Due Diligence Law and the Norwegian Transparency Act all mandate a degree of due diligence, which is set to be scaled even further with the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive receiving approval in Brussels.

Commentators have identified the process efficiencies gained by conducting both human rights and environmental due diligence together, through the third-party risk management process. This concurrent session explores those efficiencies and questions whether there are important nuances lost by engaging on both at the same time.

Kylie Porter, Group Head, Sustainability, SunRice Group; Member, Modern Slavery ExpertAdvisory Group
Dr Kavitha Suthanthiraraj, Head of ESG, Human Rights and Social Programs, Westpac Group
Facilitator: Estelle Parker, Co-Chief Executive Officer, Responsible Investment Association Australasia (RIAA)

Room: TriBeCa (not included in virtual delegate pass)

Pillar: Learn

12:00pm - 12:55pm

Navigating sustainability partnerships: does competition law act as a barrier to collective business action on sustainability?

SDG 17 – Partnerships for the goals – encourages multi-stakeholder business partnerships, public-private sector collaboration and policy development to drive sustainability action. Likewise, private sector partnerships are crucial to creating sustainable action, but collaboration is not without potential pitfalls, which includes sensitivities around cartel agreements and exchanges of sensitive information. As the ACCC develops its guidance on sustainability collaborations, the time is now to discuss how to drive fruitful partnerships for the global goals.

This session brings in regulators, compliance and industry and dives into issues surrounding partnerships for sustainability – both to effectively harness them and to avoid running into issues with competition law.

Catriona Lowe, Deputy Chair, Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC)
Ian Reynolds, Partner, Corrs Chambers Westgarth
Brooke Donnelly, GM Sustainability, Coles
Facilitator: Dan Wilcock, Head of Sustainability Governance, UN Global Compact Network Australia

Room: North Wharf (not included in virtual delegate pass)

Pillar: Learn

1:00pm - 1:55pm

Lunch & Connect Lounge

We feast, sustainably with an optional activation in the Connect Lounge.

Pillar: Connect

Concurrent sessions:

2:00pm - 2:55pm

Driving an Australian circular economy

The momentum around circular business is driving both global and domestic action for SDG12, Responsible consumption and production. This session addresses actions the private sector can take to drive a circular economy in Australia, with a deep dive into cost-effective product stewardship schemes, waste recovery (including food waste), circular solutions to reduce emissions and infrastructure required to deliver on the developing UN Plastics treaty.

Marcus Dawe, CEO, MCI Carbon
Brooke Donnelly, General Manager Sustainability, Coles Group
Janet Salem, Founder FootprintLab; Senior Private Sector Engagement Specialist, Food and Agriculture Organisation
Professor John Thwaites AM, Chair, Monash Sustainable Development Institute; Climateworks Centre; The McKinnon Institute for Political Leadership
Facilitator: Jill Riseley AM, Deputy CEO, Infrastructure Victoria; Trustee and APAC Chair, WRAP

Room: South Wharf (included in virtual delegate pass)

Pillar: Learn

2:00pm - 2:55pm

Global movements in voluntary reporting for nature positive impact: trends, tips, timelines, and strategies for success

In the aftermath of the Global Nature Positive Summit – and alongside developments of COP16 – this session surveys the global landscape of voluntary reporting and highlights the most important influences on the future of nature positive reporting in Australia. Specifically, the panel will explore integration of voluntary reporting operations, address recent nature-positive developments and their impact on the Australian private sector, and work through voluntary reporting strategies.

Rayne van den Berg, Principal, NatCap+
Anthony O’Grady, Senior Research Officer, CSIRO
Lachlan Feggans, Senior Director, Sustainability, ESG and Regeneration, Corporate and Asia Pacific, Brambles
Siobhan Toohill, Nature Repair Committee
Facilitator: Karen McWilliams FCA, Board Director and Chair, UN Global Compact Network Australia; Sustainability and Business Reform Leader, Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CAANZ)
Introduction: Heidi Asten, Partner, Herbert Smith Freehills

Room: North Wharf (not included in virtual delegate pass)

Pillar: Learn

2:00pm - 2:55pm

Transformational Governance: Transforming corporate governance for greater impact & resilience

In the ever-evolving landscape of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) issues, companies face unprecedented challenges in navigating the multitude of regulations and expectations. From stretched risk and compliance tasks to the rising demand for transparency, ethics, and responsibility, the corporate governance journey is more complex than ever. Implementing Transformational Governance can drive responsible business conduct, improve ESG performance, and strengthen public institutions, laws, and systems. Likewise, this session also introduces the new UN Global Compact Transformational Governance Self-Assessment Tool, a free tool that enables companies to assess their baseline, identify areas of improvement, and gain actionable insights.

Pru Bennett, Partner, Brunswick Group
Megan Motto, CEO, Governance Institute of Australia
Facilitator: Dan Wilcock, Head of Sustainability Governance,
UN Global Compact Network Australia

Room: TriBeCa (not included in virtual delegate pass)

Pillar: Learn

3:00pm - 3:30pm

Afternoon tea & Connect Lounge

This is our opportunity to refresh and connect

Pillar: Connect

3:30pm - 4:30pm

Personal resilience in action: advocacy, agency and surviving sustainability

Whether due to the ever-increasing urgency of climate mitigation and adaptation timelines, the intensity of working with human rights violations, or the overall pressure of delivering massive corporate outcomes with sparsely resourced sustainability teams, sustainability professionals are burning out. This session bookends our sessions on corporate advocacy and resilient leadership to end the conference.

Join expert panellists as they identify some of the biggest impacts on the mental health of sustainability professionals (e.g. climate grief, siloed operations, lack of resourcing) and provide strategies for working through anxieties, trauma and stress to create resilient, empowered and effective sustainability teams.

Dr David Cooke, Executive Director, ESG Advisory
Dr Josie McLean, Principal, The Partnership
Dr Isabelle Phillips, Consulting Partner, Mackerel Sky – Leadership Matters
Facilitator: Kate Dundas, Executive Director, UN Global Compact Network Australia

Pillar: Learn

4:30pm - 4:45pm

Closing remarks: Sustainability action

In this session we summarise the conference and provide context to the landscape for 2025, both domestically and globally, for the private sector. This includes news from the UN, global elections, the lead up to COP30, domestic climate policy movements and the future of sustainable business in Australia. We then invite you to join us for the closing evening Annual Dinner at Darling Island.

Kate Dundas, Executive Director, UN Global Compact Network Australia
Susan Moylan-Coombs, CEO, Gaimaragal Group; Assoc. Professor, Transdisciplinary School, University of Technology Sydney
Robin Mellon, Director, UN Global Compact Network Australia; CEO, Better Sydney

Pillar: Connect

5:30pm - 10:00pm

UN Global Compact Network Australia Networking Drinks and Annual Dinner

Join us at the stunning Darling Island for the closing evening Annual Dinner.

The UN Global Compact Network Australia Annual Dinner provides an opportunity for business, government and civil society leaders to share what a sustainable future looks like for Australia. This year, the dinner will be held on the closing evening of the UNiting Business LIVE Australia conference – the first time the UN holds an event of this kind on Australia soil.

Tickets sold seperately

Venue: Darling Island, a short 8-minute walk from the conference venue.

Pillar: Connect

Download the program

Event Map

Partners

Networking function partner

Intrepid Travel

Leadership Dinner

Run by travellers, for travellers, we are the world’s largest provider of adventures travel experiences, carrying over 250,000 passengers a year. Our brands offer over 1,000 itineraries on every continent, cater for all ages, budgets and appetites for adventure. Our business is made of Intrepid Travel, Peregrine, Geckos Adventures, Adventure Tours Australia, Urban Adventures, Peak DMC, and the Family Adventure Company travel brands, along with our non-profit, The Intrepid Foundation.

Our Vision: To change the way people see the world.

Program partner

L’Oréal Groupe Australia and New Zealand

Plenary Panel Partner and Concurrent Sessions Partner

For over a century, L’Oréal has been dedicated to one sole vocation: creating beauty. Our goal is to offer each and every person around the world the best of beauty in terms of quality, efficacy, safety, sincerity and responsibility to satisfy all beauty needs and desires in their infinite diversity.

Event partner

Cahoot Learning

Connect Lounge Partner

Cahoot Learning partners with organisations to design and deliver transformational learning opportunities for their people. Our belief is that collaborative learning drives real change.

Our vision is to redefine the way digital learning is experienced to pave the way for a brighter, more connected sustainable future for all.

Program partner

Coles Group

Plenary Panel Partner

Coles is a leading Australian retailer and one of Australia’s largest private-sector employers, with more than 113,000 team members. We are also the largest private-sector employer of Indigenous Australians.

Our Sustainability Strategy has a key role in realising our vision and purpose by focusing on sustainable communities, sustainable products and sustainable environmental practices.

Program partner

National Australia Bank

Plenary Panel Partner

National Australia Bank is here to serve customers well and help our communities prosper. More than 38,000 colleagues globally support more than eight and a half million customers in Australia and overseas across: personal accounts; small, medium and large businesses; private clients; government; and institutional activities.

Our scale and connectivity help us to tackle some of the biggest challenges facing our business and community. We’re focusing on taking climate action, supporting affordable and specialist housing and backing Indigenous businesses.

Event partner

Third Hemisphere

PR Agency Partner

Third Hemisphere is a specialist climate, tech, and finance PR and marketing agency for innovators and leaders who are breaking new ground, and changing the world for the better.

We help our clients lead the conversation to create impact and become category leaders, through strategic and integrated communications across tier-1 news media, social, and digital channels. This drives commercial outcomes with their investors, customers, partners, talent, and governments.

Event partner

Talent Nation

Recruitment Agency Partner

Talent Nation has supported ESG and sustainability teams across Australia and New Zealand through executive search and recruitment since 2012.

Talent Nation brings an unrivalled depth of experience enabling organisations to access strategic advice on team structure and resource planning in this rapidly evolving sector. The networks and connections that Talent Nation has established over the past decade enable their clients to secure exceptional talent to execute ESG strategies, and individuals to secure roles in an environment where they will thrive.

As a founding B Corp Certified organisation, Talent Nation’s mission is anchored to driving positive impact.

Event partner

Winya

Fit-out partner

WINYA is a majority Indigenous owned, Supply Nation Certified specialist workstation and commercial furniture business, operating in each State.

Buying from WINYA directly creates Indigenous jobs in the furniture industry. WINYA financially supports the employment and training of Indigenous trainees within high quality furniture manufacturers across Australia. Manufacturers then make products to WINYA specifications and designs.

WINYA’s Supply Chain stretches way into remote communities where there is traditionally little work. Remote communities supply timber and beautiful hand finished timber pieces. Other remote communities provide art and unique designs for our fabrics and receive ongoing royalties on their work.

WINYA’s furniture designs and installations are at the cutting edge of office fit-out. The design and on-time installation process is managed by senior industry experts who are passionate about both the perfect delivery of your project, but also about the Indigenous employment objectives your project is helping to achieve.