Dr Victoria Hurth to headline the inaugural Channel Islands Sustainable Business Conference

Dr Victoria Hurth, an Independent Pracademic and Fellow of the University of Cambridge Institute of Sustainability Leadership, has been announced as the headline speaker at the inaugural Channel Islands Sustainable Business Conference. Victoria co-led the 5-year development of the first global ISO standard in Governance of Organisations, was Technical Author for the world’s first national standard in Purpose-Driven Organisations and advised the UN on the methodology for SDG 12.6.1 (sustainability reporting). She is an advisor for UnaTerra Venture Capital and SACE (Italy’s national export underwriter). Victoria will bring over 25 years’ experience in business transformation, having previously worked for 3M and Accenture and by developing cutting edge theory as a full time Associate Professor of Sustainable Business and Marketing.

In her keynote presentation she will outline in a clear and understandable way, where we have gone wrong, why transformation is so hard, what good looks like and why gaining capabilities in governance and purpose is the heart of turning ambitions for sustainable business into an assured reality.

The conference takes place on Tuesday 15 October in Guernsey and on Wednesday 16 October in Jersey and speakers have been chosen to inspire, challenge and support local business leaders starting or developing their sustainability strategies. Both events incorporate a series of keynote speakers, panel interviews and solutions-driven interactive round table discussions and will conclude with a speaker panel, audience Q&As and networking drinks.

Victoria said: “Sustainability is a state of long-term wellbeing for all. Economies are anchored to this goal (to take resources and allocate them for collective wellbeing over time) yet the way we have set up and governed the economy has resulted in the exact opposite. As we try and firefight the consequences, we are in danger of drowning our enterprises and our leaders when we need them most. The challenges are going to get harder, and if we are simply responding to partial and inadequate ESG laws as an unwelcomed compliance add on, then it is unclear how many firms will survive and how we as humanity will turn the tide of tragedy.”

She added: “In other words, we are rapidly creating a market economy bound up in bureaucracy as we try and plug the holes in a system entirely unfit for purpose. As business leaders we can choose to remain beholden to this path (and risk losing the benefits of a market economy) or we can rise above the chaos, gain the tools to properly see the problem and get tooled up for doing our best role in transforming the economy - and our companies that underpin it.”

In the last eight years, international consensus on the base tools to put this into practice have been created and Dr Victoria Hurth is looking forward to giving practical insights on them at the conference, including: ISO37000 (Governance of Organisations); PAS808 (Purpose-Driven Organisations); outlining what the new ISO in Purpose-Driven Organisations means for the world and how to get involved in its development, and passing on the 3 logic diagnosis model which has been embedded in the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainable Business’s ‘Business Transformation Framework’.

Also taking part in the conference is Steve Kenzie, the Executive Director of the UN Global Compact Network UK, the UN’s corporate sustainability initiative. The Network facilitates learning, knowledge exchange and networking, while promoting the UN Global Compact and advocating for business engagement in sustainable development. Steve Kenzie’s session at the conference will examine the need for businesses to support the transition to a sustainable future, including a deep dive into practices and governance that need to change.

Joining Steve Kenzie and Dr Victoria Hurth is Dr Marc Kahn, the Chief Strategy and Sustainability Officer at Investec Plc where he chairs the group’s ESG Executive Committee and heads the group strategy function. He is also a senior associate at the Cambridge Institute of Sustainability Leadership, Cambridge University. Dr Mark Kahn’s keynote speech will highlight transforming organisational models that embrace sustainability and will reinforce the practical guidance from the Business Transformation Framework and link a sustainable strategy to exceptional performance.

Estelle Levin-Nally will chair the speaker panel at the Guernsey conference. Estelle is the CEO and founder of Levin Sources and has been working in sustainability research, advisory and assurance for 20 years. The speaker panel in Jersey will be chaired by Michelle Ryan, Chair of the Jersey Association of Sustainability Practitioners (JASP). Both conferences will be hosted by Sally Rochester, a Director of Mourant Consulting. Sally is studying for a Masters of Studies in Sustainability Leadership at Cambridge University and is working to raise awareness of the need for corporate sustainability through a number of community based initiatives. She said:

“Unlike many challenges in business, the wellbeing of people and planet is a challenge we should all be working to address collectively and so it is with a desire to collaborate, support and encourage that we come together at this conference to try to solve this most complex of problems.”

The conference’s headline sponsor is law firm-led professional services business, Mourant. Supporting sponsors include Handpicked Hotels, Investec, The International Stock Exchange (TISE) and TPA. The events are supported by The Institute of Directors branches in both Guernsey and Jersey as well as by the Jersey Association of Sustainability Practitioners (JASP), the Guernsey Chamber of Commerce and the Jersey Chamber of Commerce.

Tickets are priced at £75 per person. For further information and to book tickets please visit: www.sustainablebusinessconference.com

Tickets for Guernsey conference: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/sustainable-business-conference-guernsey-tickets-949882071847

Tickets for Jersey conference: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/sustainable-business-conference-jersey-tickets-949892813977