"We went beyond the typical conference and it paid off!"
Adam Siegel, vice president of sustainability & retail operations, RILA

RILA has wrapped up another successful Retail Sustainability Conference. This year, thanks to the guidance and efforts of our steering committee, we offered a number of unique features, including:

• Leadership focus. Gifford Pinchot III showcased stories of leading innovators that provided inspiration and practical guidance for navigating organizations and gaining internal support. Darcy Winslow and Sara Schley worked with attendees to enhance their ability to seek out organizational leverage points and accelerate change.
• Hands-on learning. Forty attendees got a behind-the-scenes look at Universal Studio's sustainability program. The tour highlighted Universal Studios’ energy and water facilities, and recycling practices, and ended with an exhilarating ride on the new Harry Potter rollercoaster.
• Collaborative dialogues. Interactive dialogues addressed the landlord-tenant relationship, product supplier engagement, collaborating with state and federal regulators, and engaging local communities.
• Compliance focus. Environmental compliance professionals continued to find opportunities to network and learn from each other through sessions like how to conduct a risk assessment and communicating effectively with regulators.
• Inspiration from retail senior executives. Ken Bonning, senior executive vice president of Kohl’s Corporation, illustrated how senior executives from traditional retailers can garner and share enthusiasm for sustainability activities. Walter Robb, Co-CEO of Whole Foods, went deep into their supply chain, highlighting innovating food production practices that sustain the Earth and people's livelihood. He also walked the audience through Whole Foods' consumer messaging and community engagement practices.
• Insight into investor trends. Trucost illustrated the link that mainstream investors have identified between financial outperformance and social responsibility, and previewed method for calculating the Newsweek Green Rankings released today.
• Intimate breakout sessions. Best Buy, Publix, and the National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF) took a comprehensive look at employee engagement for sustainability. Other sessions addressed lifecycle analysis (LCA) to improve product footprints with Source 44 and REI; building partnerships for social responsibility with UNICEF and IKEA; communicating green building successes with EPA, Petco, and Staples; advertising green products with Clorox, Office Depot, and UL; and more.

These activities will be an ongoing part of RILA's Retail Sustainability Initiative (RSI). If you are interested in staying involved, please contact Adam Siegel (adam.siegel@rila.org) or Ben Hobbs (ben.hobbs@rila.org).

We look forward to your feedback and making the conference better next year!