IMPACT26 Sustainability Summit

Striking the perfect balance: Sustainability meets performance 

- Sports Direct 5.0 proves permanent retail displays can be both designed for operational excellence and environmentally responsible. 

- By embedding sustainability from the outset, the system reduces complexity, material demand, and CO2 emissions without compromising durability or brand impact.

Alex Wilcox, Senior Creative Projects Manager, Sports Direct

Steve Green, Founder, Quagga Design

Collaborating for a Sustainable Future

- How partnerships are no longer just an option—they’re vital.

- The importance of connecting the dots across businesses, building collective impact, and working together to drive meaningful change.

Candice Smith, Head of ESG - Business Strategy and Planning, The Boots Group

Helping our supply chain to raise the Climate and ESG bar 

- Setting the scene: Assessing Climate and ESG risks (Materiality or Double materiality assessment).

- Acting for climate: Measuring Carbon emissions.- Improving standards: Measuring ESG performance and continuous improvement.

Beatrice Dosgheas, Head of Group Sustainability, Evergreen Garden Care

Better by Design: Where sustainability and performance meet in-store.

- Creating high-performing retail displays through smart design, material choices, and efficient production.

- Real examples showing how sustainability is integrated into everyday decisions to support strong commercial performance while reducing environmental impact.

- How successful concepts are refined over time to improve efficiency, reduce complexity, and deliver better results year after year.

Eve Butler, Marketing Manager, The Boots Group and  Linney Account Managers Danielle Cape & Hayley Jenkinson

Over the next 1–2 years, the most competitive retailers will embed circularity into how they design, sell and scale their businesses. 

- Resale, repair, second-life, and circular models are becoming mainstream—extending product lifecycles, driving revenue, and boosting customer loyalty.

- Technology and shifting consumer expectations—especially among Gen Z—are accelerating sustainability, with AI improving efficiency and reducing waste as transparency becomes essential.

- Sustainability is evolving from harm reduction to a driver of resilient, long-term growth

Rachel Wilkinson, Managing Director, GDR

Avon, from Door to Store

- The move from DTC to physical retail.

- Avon launches in store: Repurposing display for sustainability

Emma Bates, Senior Brand Activation Planner, AVON

Aimée Grandfield, Director of Insights & Marketing, Arken POP

Beyond the Brief: The value of partnership beyond project delivery, and why what happens behind the scenes matters as much as what’s delivered.

- This session shares Azzurri Group’s perspective on what sits behind a strong sustainability-focused partnership.

- It explores how expectations around sustainable delivery have become the baseline, and why greater value now comes from consistency, credibility and the behaviours that happen beyond individual projects.

- Supported by examples from Linney, it highlights how wider initiatives such as circularity, community impact, biodiversity and internal engagement contribute to long-term impact and confidence in supplier relationships.

Celia Iordache, Head of Sustainability and ESG - Azzurri Group (Zizzi, ASK Italian) & Scott Tunnicliffe, Head of Sustainability and Responsible Business - Linney

Talking Rubbish Podcast live from IMPACT26

- A weekly podcast that unpacks the complexities of recycling, whilst having a lot of fun.

- Each episode dives deep into the world of waste, exploring innovations and solutions to help you reduce, reuse, and recycle better.

- Whether you're an eco-conscious individual or just curious about how recycling works, we break down everything from the basics of sorting your rubbish to the latest advancements in the world of waste. 

Hosted by: James Piper, author of The Rubbish BookRobbie Staniforth, Policy Director at a leading environmental consultancy