TR Sustainability Week makes its long-awaited return on 2-6 December on TRBusiness.com.

TRBusiness is pleased to reveal the webinar agenda and speaker lineup for the the fourth edition of TR Sustainability Week, which takes place on 2-6 December on TRBusiness.com.

TR Sustainability Week, the DF&TR industry’s only virtual event dedicated solely to sustainability, ESG and CSR, will execute a dynamic and insight-laden programme of ‘live’ conference sessions, Sustainability Pitches, and news, views and interviews throughout the week – click below to view the full agenda and register now.

Attendees will be able to follow all the action – live and on-demand – on TRBusiness.com, with access to a raft of sustainability-themed content published throughout the week on the website, which houses a dedicated sustainability section.

Four immersive webinars will be broadcast on Monday 2 December through Tuesday 3 December (09:00 – 18:00 CET).

Topical and timely discussions

TRBusiness has joined forces with BCG company and leading sustainability consultancy Quantis this year to deliver a webinar programme that will interrogate several timely and important issues affecting DF&TR stakeholders, such as circularity approaches to packaging and waste, the importance of nature and biodiversity to business strategies, toppling barriers around diversity & inclusion and fostering best practice during the travel phase; and confronting the dual challenges of greenwashing and greenhushing in different categories.

In the opening keynote on 2 December (10:00 – 11:00 CET), TRBusiness will lay the foundations for a busy and dynamic week with a timely temperature check on travel retail’s approach to sustainable packaging and waste.

Be it reduce, reuse or recycle, what gains have travel retail companies on the ground, in the air and at sea made in transforming their packaging strategies, from pre-Covid to today? Which areas can be improved? Is plastic the answer?

The session moderated by TRBusiness Editorial Director Luke Barras-Hill will also deep-dive into the sizeable challenge of airline cabin waste and ask how industry actors are seeking to tackle the problem.

This cross-channel panel will cover travel and retail perspectives from the air, on the ground and at sea, with contributions from Lara Schlüter, Director Travel Retail, Babor; Linzi Walker, Chief Commercial Officer; Harding+; Diana Cawley, Head of Commercial, Aviation Sustainability Forum; and Alison Wells, Head of Marketing and Communications, Aviation Sustainability Forum.

Rejoin the webinar agenda at 13:00 (CET) for what is billed to be an exciting session dissecting the phenomenons of greenwashing and greenhushing.

Dubbed ‘Two sides of the same coin? Dispelling greenwashing/greenhushing’ the 75-minute webinar moderated by Rebekah Lees, Sustainability Communications & Engagement Lead at Quantis Switzerland alongside Benedict Evans, Content Editor, TRBusiness, will explore how consumers are making considered and informed choices about green products and services, with a particular focus on the beauty sector within global travel retail.

Discussion will take in the implications of the EU Green Claims Directive and what it could mean for travel retail divisions when it comes to compliancy and corporate responsibility in validating claims around green products and services. What could the proposals mean for science-based standards and regulation? How might it influence certification requirements of existing and new eco-labelling? What can we learn from eco-scoring trailblazing in the beauty segment?

A respected panel of speakers including Julie Lassaigne, Secretary General, European Travel Retail Confederation (ETRC); Camillo Rossotto, Chief Public Affairs & ESG Officer, Avolta AG; and Laurence Pardieu-Duthil, Chief Sustainability Officer, L’Oreal Travel Retail will tackle critical questions shaping the future of consumer transparency and sustainability in the category, including updates on the aforementioned EU Green Claims Directive and its implications for compliance and marketing in travel retail. What does this mean for the industry’s approach to sustainable claims and are brands ready to adapt?

Left to right: Justin Meade, Global Marketing & Business Development Director Champagne Telmont (Rémy Cointreau); Anna-Ruth Cockerham Accessibility Manager, Gatwick Airport; Arnaud Rolland Vice President, CSR, Lagardère Travel Retail; and Ylenia Maitino Group Public Policy Sustainability Manager, Ferrero.

Global travel experience player Avolta AG will share key insights on consumer expectations for sustainable products in beauty and other categories. Are brands truly meeting these expectations? Or is there a growing gap between consumer demand and industry offerings?

ETRC will offer a regulatory update as it applies to the provision of information to consumers on and off-pack, in areas such as environmental policy, production, packaging, ingredient sourcing, life cycle assessments and other areas.

Meanwhile, L’Oréal Travel Retail will present its latest strategic innovations, including the launch of the EcoBeautyScore for transparent sustainability claims and the integration of refillable product options.

What do these shifts mean for beauty brands and their travel retail divisions and how can they lead the way in sustainable innovation? Is the industry prepared for transformative changes and can they be leveraged to build trust, empower consumers, and drive the adoption of eco-friendly products and services?

Kicking off day two of TR Sustainability Week on Tuesday 3 December (10:00 CET) will be a panel session concentrating on ways to remove obstacles facing disabled passengers and non-disabled passengers, those with health conditions, hidden disabilities and neurodivergent travellers.

Luke Barras-Hill, Editorial Director, TRBusiness: “A high-calibre lineup of expert speakers traversing brands, retailers, airports, associations and think-tanks operating across airports, airlines, cruise and the wider travel and tourism eco-system are set to make a decisive mark in this fourth edition of TR Sustainability Week.”

What approaches are being taken to overcome disability discrimination in store and across the wider terminal estate? What can we learn from domestic shopping malls or department stores when it comes to delivering a first-class customer service experience for people of all ages, nationalities, languages and backgrounds?

As a highly popular component of TR Sustainability Week, the ‘Sustainability Pitch’ initiative returns to your screens with four ‘Pitch’ sessions through the week.

Ferrero, Suntory Global Spirits, Kellanova GTR and Rèmy Cointreau will put their sustainability initiatives in front of an esteemed panel of ‘Sustainability Guardians’, which include Julie Lassaigne, Secretary General, European Travel Retail Confederation;  Ian Upton, Head of Category Operations, Fulfilment (inc HCC), Services, Sustainability, Heathrow Airport; and Graeme Stewart, CEO, Enviro-Point.

Established in 2021, the Sustainability Pitch initiative invites stakeholders to submit a video detailing their sustainability strategy, products and/or initiatives.

Following the video submission, the Sustainability Guardians will have the opportunity to put questions to the Pitch participants.

Each of the pitches are then evaluated according to a range of criteria and those that meet the required benchmarks will be awarded either the four-star TR Sustainability Trailblazer or five-star TR Sustainability Hero status, which can be used by Pitch participants in their B2B and B2C marketing and communications.

In doing so, the TR Sustainability Trailblazer and TR Sustainability Hero logos act as mark of confidence to enable consumers to navigate and make sustainable choices in store.

For those that missed any of the conversations, the webinars will be available to access on-demand, with the Sustainability Pitch sessions published on TRBusiness.com.

Building on the huge success of the TRBusiness ‘Shorts’ format, produced in partnership with The Bluedog Group, TRBusiness will present for the first time a dedicated ‘Sustainability Shorts’ run of video interviews, profiling the eco-conscious activities of established and upcoming brands alike.

“A high-calibre lineup of expert speakers traversing brands, retailers, airports, associations and think-tanks operating across the gamut of airports, cruise, airlines and the broader travel and tourism eco-system are set to make a decisive mark in this fourth edition of TR Sustainability Week,” commented Luke Barras-Hill, Editorial Director, TRBusiness.

“Each of our panellists will add a depth of knowledge and expertise that will prove hugely beneficial as they lean into several topical and trend-influencing topics, from the interwoven subjects of shopper consumption and business ethics, to regulatory and compliance nuances that affect discourse within our industry – if not today, then into the future.

TRBusiness has teamed up with leading environmental consultancy Quantis, a BCG company, to deliver the live content programme for this year’s TR Sustainability Week on 2-3 December as part of a festival of sustainability-themed content being made available on a  free-to-air basis and accessible via TRBusiness.com.

“The TR Sustainability Week’s free-to-air platform acts as a crucial platform for industry stakeholders to champion concerted, long-term change in travel retail and duty free and remains an incubator for new ideas generation. We invite you all to tune in, learn and forge new business connections while cementing existing ones.”

As the duty free and travel retail’s industry’s only event dedicated to sustainability, TR Sustainability Week brings together stakeholders to discuss and showcase the sustainable initiatives and services that are making a big impact.

Registration is now open now, so seize the opportunity to be part of this important event by clicking the button below and filling in your details in order to secure your spot.

To view the full TR Sustainability Week programme, click here.

For more on Travel Retail Sustainability Week, click the below links:

READ MORE: Pitch series returns with high-profile Guardians

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READ MORE: TR Sustainability Week: Ferrero bolsters lineup as Headline Sponsor

READ MORE: TR Sustainability Week: Suntory Global Spirits joins as Headline Sponsor

READ MORE: Rémy Cointreau joins TR Sustainability Week 2024 as Silver Partner

READ MORE: TR Sustainability Week to return in December