Press Release

Sustainable Brands to Host Breakthrough Research Shaping 21st Century Business Models

SAN FRANCISCO, August 23, 2016 –A series of research studies and breakthrough innovations focused on the intersection of business and purpose will launch at SB’16 Copenhagen. The Sustainable Brands® community will gather in Northern Europe at the Radisson Blu Scandinavian Hotel in Copenhagen on September 26-28th to host these emerging insights and collaborate on how companies are developing real tools, techniques, methods and models for embedding purpose into the core of a brand and finding business success.

Published 8 years ago | About a 3 minute read

Over 100 influential brand leaders and practitioners of environmental and social innovation will share disruptive business models, nascent technologies and compelling research designed to amplify purpose-driven leadership. Collaborative discussions will focus on macro forces that are creating system conditions for purpose-drive businesses as well as strategies for connecting brand purpose with customer purpose. Product and service innovation will focus on resilient and regenerative business models that are proving to be financially successful.

Distinguished faculty and program highlights include:

GlobeScan, SustainAbility and Sustainable Brands will present results of new joint research projects surveying the ‘landscape of purpose’ in terms of both consumer preferences and business leaders’ perceptions of achievement and gaps in sustainability actions by the private sector, NGOs and governments.
John Elkington (Volans) will lead the European launch of the new Breakthrough Innovation Platform, a strategic partnership between Volans and the UN Global Compact. The Platform showcases disruptive technologies for sustainability and spotlights positive systemic change.
Chamber of Danish Commerce Environmental Director Jakob Zeuthen and sustainable communications expert Lars Ludvigsen will host a first look at the results of an in-depth new research project studying labeling and certification models impacting Danish brands in 5 product areas: personal care, food, clothes, homes and offices.
Edelman EU will unveil new purpose-centric data that builds on its influential 2016 Earned Brand study for marketers analyzing and measuring the strength of consumer-brand relationships. This first-of-its-kind index reveals untapped opportunity for brands to build stronger consumer relationships that can lead to increased sales and protect against challenger disruption.
IKEA, DONG Energy, Stora Enso, Marimekko and others will share how they have gone about pivoting their business models and innovation pipelines in the direction of future-proof products and services aligned with sustainability-inspired brand positioning.
The Future-Fit Foundation, BASF, Novozymes, Aker BioMarine, BillerudKorsnäs and others will bring up-to-the-minute insights on aligning the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with brand strategy, product and service innovation, employee engagement, and corporate sustainability goal-setting.
HEINEKEN, L’Oréal, Unilever, Neste and Arla Foods will be among the brands sharing how they conceived and implemented successful marketing and advertising campaigns aligned with a higher-order purpose inspired by social and environmental priorities.
adidas, Harvard University and author Giles Hutchins will be among those exploring the kinds of leadership and stakeholder engagement it takes to navigate the long list of political, economic, environmental and social crises affecting business climates around the world these days.
Procter & Gamble, Maersk, The South Pole Group and FSC Denmark will share best practices in developing the capacity for three types of innovative partnerships that are proving very useful in helping brands advance the scope and quality of their sustainability initiatives.

Sustainable Brands is proud to recognize Novozymes as Platinum sponsor for SB’16 Copenhagen. Silver level sponsors include: thinkstep, BASF, DONG Energy, Thailand Sustainable Development Foundation and Quantis. Additional sponsors and partners include: Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, FLOCERT, TEVA Pharmaceuticals, Radley Yeldar, WeSustain, Guardian Sustainable Business, Blue Practice, 3BL Media, CSRWire, SustainAbility, Refresh Agency, GreenBlue among others. Nature Bank is the official carbon offset partner and South Pole Group is the official renewable energy partner.

Sponsor and partner opportunities are still available for companies with breakthrough ideas, tools and technologies that support business success in sustainability. Contact Geoff Trotter at 1+ 415.626.2212 or [email protected] for sponsorship opportunities.

Further information, including an initial list of speakers and sponsors, a downloadable brochure and conference schedule for the September 26-28 event at the Radisson Blu Scandinavia Hotel in Copenhagen, Denmark, can be found at www.SB16copenhagen.com.