DtB Sustainability Summit 2022 | LECTURES | DAY II

Morning networking over a cup of coffee. With its relaxed vibe of a conference backstage conversation, this informal meet-up will give you an opportunity to meet other entrepreneurs, creatives and professionals attending the event.

What knowledge, skills and tools does an initiator of sustainable changes in the company need? How to implement sustainable development based on hard data, well-defined goals and measurable parameters? Sustainable development is still an area with more theory than practice. Due to the fact that jobs related to this are only now being created, we will not find too many self-help books on how to introduce sustainable changes in the company, products and services from within the organization.

How to introduce a green revolution in the company? | Zuzanna Mazurek (PL) Packhelp, Head of Sustainability

How to act efficiently and introduce changes while we have little time to act, lack information and expectations are enormous? How to involve others to co-create change? How to quantify sustainability, which can be seen as a soft element of a company's operation, not based on hard metrics? Significant changes require knowledge, skills and tools. Zuzanna Mazurek will discuss how she draws on her previous experiences as a product manager and service designer during the challenges she faces today as the Head of Sustainability at Packhelp.
Sustainability is still an area with more theory than practice. Workplaces in the field are only now being created. In bookstores, we will not find many guides on running ecological projects in the company.  For years, Zuzanna Mazurek dreamed of working in the field of sustainability, but her education directed her in a different direction. Today, fulfilling her dreams, she appreciates how much she owes to her previous positions. She draws inspiration from the tools she used as an Innovation Consultant, Product Manager and Design Thinking facilitator. During the presentation, Zuzanna will present examples from the last six months of work as Head of Sustainability at Packhelp.

How can business find itself in the process of changes related to the environmental and social challenges we face? What are the business risks and benefits associated with taking action on a common cause? Today, it is increasingly difficult for businesses to be indifferent to social and environmental challenges. Business ethics and social responsibility may become not only a competitive advantage, but also strengthen the well-being of the ecosystem in which it operates.

Sustainable digitized world and IT companies’ responsibility | Karolina Długosz [PL] Netguru, Sustainability Lead

How to develop the sustainable economy from the IT sector’s perspective — how to build open work culture, promote transparency and social engagement?
This is a story of ethics and responsibility in an IT Company, a story of transparency, diversity, inclusiveness, pro bono activity and a shift towards climate neutrality. During the presentation, you will get to know the basics of business fair play. You will also find out why CSR activities and sustainable development strategies have to be adjusted to the company’s activities. You will hear a story of how responsible decision-making creates higher standards in a co-dependent system which we all inhabit. Netguru is a part of the B Corp movement — an international network of companies, and it has made a commitment to act responsibly in every area of its impact.

Profit – is this the primary goal of the company? B Corp Perspective | Wojciech Bagiński [PL] Impactiv.Law, B Lab Global Public Policy Group, B Lab Market Explorer for Poland

Profit does not have to and should not be the company's only goal. In the 21st century, Gordon Gekko is no longer a hero.
Companies introducing a purpose broader than profit into their DNA (corporate documents, including agreements and statutes) may expect a significant competitive advantage, particularly considering the upcoming regulations in the European Union. This potential also applies to businesses already genuinely implementing a specific social mission. The community of B Corps – companies for-profit with a social purpose – shows that you can run a very profitable business while doing good. You can limit the negative impact of your activities and actively strive to improve the world and the economic system.

Theme-focused Tables and facilitated networking provide the possibility to interact with experts, dive deeper in particular themes and share perspectives.

How to create sustainable innovations in the supply chain? What tools to use to change attitudes in the company, build strategies and change value chains? The products and services produced today are not only under pressure to be the best but also to be the most sustainable. The effective way to create them is based on cooperation and building ecosystems. Sustainable products cannot exist without changing the supply chains.

Sustainable supply chain design in geopolitics | Katarzyna Geiger [CH] MBP Solutions, Head of Supply Chain

Sustainable supply chains cannot become a reality without sustainable products. Let’s explore the logistics processes’ risks and value assessment tools that can be applied throughout a product’s life-cycle. The analytical tools can make supply chains more sustainable, as a value chain analysis originates from design.
Modern industry has come up against a tough challenge of delivering four times more value by 2040 using half of today’s resources. All that has to be achieved with zero emissions. A simple calculation shows that we would need 2 planets to achieve this feat. Hence, the question — is it possible? What kind of ecosystem would enable such ambitious goals? What about the variables of population growth, climate change, pandemic spread and destructive armed conflicts? 

To sustain or to be sustainable? Innovation paradoxes and the development of sustainable business | Piotr Nejman [PL] We are Circular, Founder. 

Modern companies have to deal with an increasing need for innovation resulting from the ever faster pace of change, unexpected events and a growing pressure for a shift towards a greener economy. The process of implementing deep changes is governed by paradoxes. Therefore, companies which are excellent at daily operations might have major difficulties in developing ground-breaking innovations. In the context of green transformation, we cannot afford to make mistakes. A possible error would impact much more than a company’s market position or its long-term perspectives. It could have a bearing on our lives and that of the future generations. Products will soon need to be both the best and sustainable. The effective way to create such products is through cooperation and ecosystem building.

For a business to grow dynamically, it has to be based on the everybody wins situation. Strategy should be based on the assumption that positive effects of business activity should be felt by everybody, even by those who have never used your product. How to act outside the simple client/seller paradigm and broaden the perception of business stakeholders? How to take into consideration the needs of non-human stakeholders as we design products and services?

Why a business headed for self-destruction can still make profit? | Anna Kurnatowska [PL] Too Good To Go, Country Manager

Best business models create value for everybody — not only for its customers and partners.
For a business to grow dynamically, it has to be based on the everybody wins situation. Strategy should be based on the assumption that positive effects of business activity should be felt by everybody, even by those who have never used your product. Such an outlook enables a win-win-win situation with a virtuous effect on all the company’s activities.

Your next persona will be non-human! | Monika Sznel [PL] Design & UX Researcher

Taking into consideration the needs of non-human stakeholders as we design products and services might still come as a shock. We will explore and normalise this novel approach. During the talk, you will learn how to enter the new enchanting world of ecosystem centred design.
User Centred Design (UCD) and Human Centred Design (HCD) have revolutionised the way we design solutions for those who pay for them at the counter. Nevertheless, our methodology, tools, performance indicators do not account for the cost all of us are paying for the use of those solutions. All of us meaning — biocenosis and biotope, both animate and inanimate nature — forests, humans, desserts, birds, seas and rivers.

How to work with innovation, notice trends and think about the future in times of uncertain and dynamic changes?

Environmental trends — from ”nice to have” to ”must have” | Aleksandra Kulińska [PL] infuture.institute, Future Change Analyst

The COVID-19 pandemic showed us that environmental trends determine how our world and everyday lives change.
Organisations must alter their perspective on environmental trends from ”nice to have” to ”must have”. Unfortunately, this leads to the appearance of wide-spread phenomena referred to as greenwashing and more recently as pinkwashing, redwashing and even bluewashing. How can we implement the environmental trends responsibly? How to couple them with the Sustainable Development Goals? Are the trends, including the environmental ones, one of the most important blocks in resilience building?

* Registration required. To participate in workshops, buy the package: Premium or Premium+

In this part of the event, participants dive deeper and learn by experience how to use the tools and competencies that allow for creating sustainable change in business. On the first day of the program, there are 3 unique workshops conducted by experts from leading organizations from Poland and abroad, in Polish or English.